How much fun is it to be believe that ‘ah this time things would change! This time surely a revolution would stir up and bring drastic differences to our lives. This time we will get what we want!’.
And only to realize that nothing really changes.
It is not being cynical and nihilistic. Alright, maybe it is. But things never change here. Even if one applies 500% tariffs, life finds a way and people re-route their exports (and even their people). As someone had said, we in India live both in 2050 as well as 1850 exactly at the same time. And this is the worst thing and the best thing about us. The complexity of systems and their inability to change quickly is carved in stones here.
Why it feels like things would change?
Every few years there is an itch in some section of the society. And every few years the youth awakens, stretches, yawns, and scratches the itch, before snoozing and sleeping again. All thanks to the inactions, and actions of the Government or some miscreants. Roads get made, and they get dug up the very next day. Bridges get made and collapse after the first rain. Let’s not go into potholes, figuratively as well as literally. To get anything done honestly, one gets drained so much that we tend to go towards the closest shortcuts #IYKYK. But one day, the blood boils up to the brim and it spills. That day, we all realize that enough is enough and people up top have to go.
We decide to act and take matters into our own soft snowflake hands. We dress up with #grwm, pump our fists, make angry faces, take out our weapons of choices (phones and keyboards) and post angrily online. Boom. Job done!
Then it appears that yes few things have changed but only on a surface level. But nothing really changes. After enough provocations, and some folks, with no responsibilities (job and family wise) and enough motivation to join/create a political party and make a career out of it, come on the roads and take out protests. If the protests really fit our confirmation bias, we support them. We collectively mobilize, raise slogans, and rally behind them. Because we need some leaders to get moving. It is easy to follow someone. Why think originally when we can outsource it? Why make effort ourselves because we have designated some leaders to fight for our cause? The most we could do is make some reels, post a few stories, crack some pun-laden tweets on X, and feel pride as if we hit our protein goal for a day.
It feels like finally things would finally change.
Why nothing would change actually?
Expecting things, institutions, and systems to change in this country is like expecting to reach the end of the feed of your infinite scroll. They cannot change by any revolution. In fact, having a revolution itself is not possible due to the heterogenity in our homogenity. You have to do something really drastic to make the tides turn. Like indulging in some meaningful protest and sprinkle a bit of violence on the side. That might work in some cases. Normally, things change here only one way. Organically. Virally only jokes spread or diseases.
If one expects that papers shouldn’t leak before exams, it means that the price of the leaked paper should be so high that nobody, and not just them, is able to afford and the paper leakers starve and shut down their shop. Otherwise if by chance it is available, anyone who can afford it would happily get a copy. Have you ever cheated in an exam? No? Ok. You try to bring real change and then a lollipop of freebies are shown to you which makes your attention diffused like a water cannon diffuses a mob.
For the education system to change, it needs absolute change of the whole mindset of the community. This is not possible in at least my lifetime. We believe english speaking is equivalent to education and a degree means a shortcut to success. Try engaging on this with sense with anyone, and you will be cursing yourself to even try. The people up top are the same people down below. Have you ever tried changing yourself? Please.
What to do then?
The only and literally the only way out is to outgrow your surroundings and peers in terms of skills, education, and finances (and of course luck). No excuses, just sheer efforts, persistence and chance. Till you don’t have the combination of these things, keep sharing angry social media posts. Best wishes.
P.S.: This post is short but might be intentionally longform for millennials and it would be too much to read, and for Gen Zs impossible to hold attention for this much time. Moreover, these terms and classifications of generations is as helpless as a cockroach 🪳 lying upside down.
