what can we do to encourage more public discourse?
The standards of public discourse in India, is really limited. We often get to discuss some urgent and pressing issue -- often political -- for around two months,and then conveniently forget them.
In recent times, only one incident seemed to engage the public attention much more than never before -- the brutal rape of a paramedic in New Delhi. This gang-rape engaged the collective consciousness of the nation for well over four months, and this was a sort of record. However, since them, we have not been able to sustain the momentum of any big public discourse.
The reasons are not difficult to fathom: we have our own worries to care about and bother about. We just do not have the time to bother larger social issues. What happens when we start neglecting every social issue, as if it does not concern us?
The issue is lost for ever. The public do not apply pressure on the Government to change or enact laws or to even think of any small change.
The best way to engage public attention, and also encourage public discourse, is to attempt the same in the press, make at least a few members of the parliament to sustain it through questions, file a public interest litigation and then try to change the status quo.
In Chennai,there is one individual called Traffic Ramaswamy. He has been waging a lone battle against the big and mighty -- against huge encroachments of land in the busy T Nagar area. This is a big headache for the powerful businessmen, who have threatened to literally finish him off.
Mr Ramasamy is fearless, and has several public interest litigation s in the courts, to his credit. He does not bother one bit about the consequences of his actions. He gets good press coverage and TV coverage as well. He is seen as a lone crusader, but he is able to take the public discourse to the next level.
India needs thousands of people like him. We need to discuss serious issues in public, through websites, the newspapers, and even street plays. We can always take the help of professionals, who will help.
For instance, the movement against dowry has taken serious and very interesting proportions. In several colleges of India, women have taken a vow to never get married to men who demand dowry. Thanks to the skewed birth ratio in many communities, the educated women simply lay down the first condition to their parents: do not introduce us to any guy, who would possibly be our husbands, if they were to demand money or accept gifts in kind.
The mind-set changes have already started to occur -- the men who are all well settled in the USA or UK do not demand any form of dowry at all. This change has come to this stage, only after a sustained movement.
Similarly, in many places, the public are up against the politicians who try to snatch away their lands through fraud or threat or both. In fact, even in Bangalore, attempts of this nature have failed, thanks to an alert press. What we need is a lot more attention from National TV channels, particularly in English.
During the days of the IPL scandal, two such English, private channels, both of which have huge following and can shape public opinion, devoted too much time to the arrest of one official of one of the teams. It is not that this issue is a non-issue which should not be discussed, or focused upon, Unfortunately, the tenor of public discourse turned out to be a witch hunt, with many suggesting a North Vs South dimension to the whole thing. Since the Chief of IPL has been a person from the South of India, serious motives were attributed to the channels and their work.
The public should have a compelling reason to be engaged, and should really think that it is their own issue. Some years ago, several Indian film stars were roped in to carry an important message -- pay income taxes regularly, so that the Government has the revenue to pay for pubic amenities like roads, street lights, public schools and so on. These messages, done in several languages, made waves.
That particular year, the IT department reported that the direct tax collections had gone up. The message is simple. Film stars are celebrities who have immense potential to carry forward the powerful messages.
There is nothing wrong with such usage of public figures. Better still, if celebrities can be roped in to favor social causes, like funds to help the victims of the Gujarat earthquake, through sustained campaigns, the results can be dramatic.
A. R. Rahman, a big name in Indian film music, volunteered to collect huge funds through a public concert. Several film stars took to the streets in several parts of South India, and it was a big collective endeavor that enabled the collection of over two hundred crore rupees for the victims.
Public discourse should not be localized. Any issue-- big or small-- should be hotly debated and the press, television, the outdoor media, the film stars, the public and the faceless common man ( that is, those at the bottom of the pyramid), should naturally chip in, with all their resources and support. Once this happens, the high voltage campaigns can yield good results.
The media relations cells of the departments of Visual Communication courses, at the graduate and post graduate levels, that are there at various levels, should be used to collect public opinion on burning issues. This research results can be published and the appropriate action taken, even if such action should involve the police at the reform level -- for example, the police were roped in to tackle the drug menace in Chennai. They were also roped in to facilitate the quick movement of heart and eyes of a man, who was declared brain dead. The parts were flown in from Coimbatore, and reached the needy in time, in Chennai, with several traffic signals compulsorily blocked, with public participation.
It is this level of public involvement and discourse, that is required, and even more. When we have all people taking part in movements, reform can and will happen.
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