Indians are multiplying like
never before, they are set to ransack the planet. In the year 1900 human population
on planet earth was about 1.7 billion now only Indians are 1.27. What is matter of concern or a serious shame
is now celebrated as market takes centre stage and everything is seen from this
vantage point, hence the chest thumping of demographic dividend. While it is
different matter that trickle down never trickles, but people matters as numbers
while elite sections tidy up to represent and exploit the mass. India’s skewed
social system as also some really pretentious leaders and pernicious privileged
class have attempted minimal social reforms, hence had easy run with the exploitative
status quo. They are on personal basis with each other, also referred to as
nepotism that works into cronyism, but refuse to get personal. It is a
gentlemen’s code that they got acquainted from colonial masters. It is clever
ruse since they know the home truths. Further, for common people these codes
and procedures are sometimes matter of life and death. These personal matters
and choices of careless entitled sections have tragic consequences as it gets
into the realities of common people. While the religious heads want humans belonging
to their faith multiply more than ever, indeed some even have inbuilt systems
like polygamy (what an amazing patriarchal foresight, for pretenders these are touchstone
of secularism). In the dwindling resources and increasingly bleak surroundings of
deteriorating environment it is poorest who suffer. Conservative estimate put India’s
abjectly poor at about 30% and that is out of 1.27billion people, astounding
number of people who don’t get enough to eat, you can add few millions more who
slip in and out of poverty in the vagaries of their situations and surroundings.
And you can also be quite sure that majority of these people come from sections that
are traditionally exploited. That the feudal norms were consolidated, no attempts on land reforms as also tardy law machinery made democracy virtual trap for most people. It is the reason why elite don’t get
personal in their attempts at nuance, the british conduct in the hand of clever
‘natives’, ditto they did to everything they could lay their hands on,
including the wastrel’s sport called cricket. In the case of skewed society with exploitative mindset demographic dividend can mean only one thing: brutal exploitation of cheap labour. Recently the government relaxed child labour laws, the intend is clear.
That market could celebrate something
as bleak as population growth puts it in positive framework, as constructive participant
of human predicaments, hence stories of prudence and heroism that cloaks
material success. The wealth creation strategies that produce likes of Donald Trump, listening to him you can be sure
that money making is a juvenile trick (that this blogger was never really excited
about). It is something that American media drivels in as most desired way meanwhile
complaint mediocre Indian elite sidestep in awe concomitantly grabbing falling
crumbs –and that is the beginning of service industry gigantism. Anyone with
some sense will tell that a society that bases itself on service sector has
more deceit and manipulation in it, is superficial and slick, really not
lasting. These are chimeras of market. So much energy is spent on consuming as
malls spread, goods brightly lit up and smiling gracious people, everything and
everyone readies for promoting sales. Precious resources, and yes environment
destroying consequences, are attuned to help us buy and help personal consumption.
Please buy ours, Please see us; that seems to be the main use for human life. We
could live affluently with minuscule of what is consumed. But market greed doesn’t
allow it, as it hinges our aspirations on consumption and creates idols who
promote these.
While religious heads fight with their
divisive agenda, market seeks to bind hence population growth is a secular expression
from this hallowed worldview. Both consider population growth as inevitable. Inevitability
is something Vaclav Smil sees of carbon emission, ofcourse with convincing and compelling
logic. He also adds that if US doesn’t do the emission Chinese and Indians are
going to do it. Practical, but not really logical. I sincerely hope they break
that nuclear fusion mechanism, that seems to be the only hope at the moment. Reducing
and prudent consumptions are viable options. In the meanwhile it doesn’t really
exonerate Mr Gates. One Indian market columnist is celebratory on India’s population
increase, “Let millions of Indians migrate; let many little India’s bloom”. Aw. Probably they should be bundled into
Mars. Indians are almost 18% of world population while India occupies only 2.4%
of land area. That is nothing short of imposing oneself on to the world. But not
Indian elite, they now seek to represent our pride, the market has fed them so
much that they seemed to have lost touch of the reality. He writes, of course
as a spokesperson of market goodness “Japan will sell more geriatric diapers
than baby diapers by 2020, a sorry tale of its aging population”. Sorry tale? I
am wondering is it plain stupidity or lack of understanding that infects this
man to write these. Then I realise consumption driven society’s value
juvenilities. When market takes over prudence everyone becomes a little more
like Donald Trump. Japan, a little island
nation’s contributions is significant, it is that evolved understanding that
seeks to reduce, to miniaturise. Reducing population is part of that evolution
that seeks to balance (I am under no illusion that market has not ransacked Japanese
culture too, but there is overwhelming element of subtlety that has presence in
mainstream), it is something natural in a society that seeks refinement and delicate
connection with nature. Humans need to reduce. This blogger is quite careful
these days on reducing as much as possible, some are compulsions but most are conscious
choices. Though this blogger is nowhere near it but has experienced that when
one is meditative, mindful, things shed, you reduce and get into rhythm of the elements.
Market works on opposite, by creating cruder understandings and surroundings
that seeks consumptions. It takes you away from realities.
Market incentivises young, it is
a lifeline, there is placement of energy, newness, possibilities so on attached
exclusively to this demography. Ironically market itself diffuses these early enthusiasms
into its own gains and pattern that seeks to consume. Younger only seems to
make them vulnerable hence easily manipulated, fodders. If you can make a
chocolate actor to sell whatever, you need to be quite stupid or novice to fall
into. Hence market celebrates population (i.e. numbers=consumers) as also youth
(i.e. high chance of entrapping into buying). There is no doubt though that from the consumer point of view India is a ‘big market’ as there are more people but Indians need to
be treated with contempt for imposing themselves on to the world hence severely
putting stress on natural resources. Population growth is a serious matter,
more number shouldn’t be an incentive. If the fictional reality i.e. democracy,
religion and economic growth model don’t match with objective reality i.e. humans
increasing in an unsustainable numbers, then it will fracture quite badly. Fictional
reality being a human construct will have to give way to laws of nature unless
ofcourse it attune itself.
