Majority Is Mediocrity: Socio-Political Scenario in India Will Help Us Understand This Phenomenon
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
16 April
2024
The Sold
Out Print and Visual Media, A Huge Team of IT Crusaders Working Overtime for
This Government and Completely Spineless Sycophants Like Major Gaurav Arya, Maj
Gen. G D Bakshi, Shrillest Warmonger in The Media, Pushpendra Kulshreshta,
Whose Day Begins and Ends with Abusing Muslims, Among Others Have Been
Extolling The 'Exploits' Of This Government and Condemning Muslims Relentlessly
------
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of
the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
Mark Twain
Hujoom Jab Bhi Kahe Ke Ye Sahi Hai
Samajhna, Mulk-E-Jaahilaan Yahi Hai
Jaun Elia
(Whenever the crowd says that this is right /
Rest assured, this is the country of ignorant people)
Mark
Twain's quote, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it
is time to pause and reflect" and Jaun Elia's almost similar Urdu couplet
invite us to question the inherent nature of conformity and the allure it often
holds.
Twain
reminds us that blindly aligning ourselves with the collective mentality can
obscure independent thought and critical analysis. By advocating for a pause
and reflection, he challenges the notion that popular opinion is always
infallible or just.
This quote
serves as a call to action, urging us to consider our own principles and values
before accepting consensus, emphasizing the importance of individual thought
and introspection as essential virtues in navigating the complexities of
societal dynamics.
Jaun Elia's
couplet also underscores the age-old wisdom that sanity and majority are seldom
friends. Majority is like a herd of sheep; always in a state of submission and
stupor.
The current
socio-political scenario in India will help us understand this phenomenon.
Despite the existing political dispensation's failure on all fronts, a large
number of people in India still believe that this is the best government India
has ever got.
The sold
out print and visual media, a huge team of IT crusaders working overtime for
this government and completely spineless sycophants like Major Gaurav Arya, Maj
Gen. G D Bakshi, shrillest warmonger in the media, Pushpendra Kulshreshta,
whose day begins and ends with abusing Muslims, among others have been
extolling the 'exploits' of this government and condemning Muslims
relentlessly.
A majority
of people think that these absolutely unethical characters with vested
interests are bang on and this government is the best government. The credulous
individuals have an aversion to using their brains because they blindly follow
the majority. Bheed Mein Gum Ho Jaati Hai Aawaaz Apni/ Sun-Ni Ho Ise Toh
Bheed Ka Hissa Na Ban (The voice is lost in the mayhem of crowd/ If you
want to listen, stay away from the crowd).
Voices of
sanity, sensibility and sensitivity can thrive and survive only when we think
individually and independently and avoid the majoritarian spirit. If you follow
the nameless, faceless and brainless crowd, chances are that you too will
become like them because majority is mediocrity. One must question and
challenge the zeitgeist. So, instead of staying the course, charter your own
path. Think individually, not collectively.
----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism