There’s something wrong about the way we look at the age-old Indian tradition of ‘jugaad’. Once upon a time, this was an idea that was celebrated; now, if and when it is adopted by the government, critics start to crawl out of the woodwork with accusations of betrayal and corruption. When did we turn into such killjoys? It saddens me, because lying was one of the few things we did efficiently as a people; to see that virtue attacked is like watching us lose an integral part of what makes us truly Indian in the eyes of the world.
The reason for this complaint is a spate of memes and jokes that recently attacked the government in Delhi for its attempts at hiding data regarding pollution. Apparently, according to unconfirmed videos on social media—which, when it comes to anything portraying the government in a poor light, are always to be referred to as unconfirmed or doctored by opposition parties— water sprinklers were used around air quality (AQI) monitoring stations in the capital. This was supposedly done to manipulate air quality readings and convince residents that their eyes, ears, and noses were not to be trusted.
I understand the anger triggered by these videos but couldn’t help wondering why the government was being criticised. If it really did this (and no one is saying it did, obviously, because everyone knows that honesty is one of the pillars of governance across the country), shouldn’t we have tried to examine the reason behind the act? Shouldn’t we have understood that this was done to make the people of Delhi feel better? After all, even as millions of them were exposed to toxic air, who but the cruellest among us would remind them that their lives were being cut short? When you visit someone in an ICU, do you carry flowers or wear the colours of mourning? Hiding those terrifying statistics was an act of kindness, nothing more.
It isn’t the first time this has occurred either. Consider that unnecessary controversy about a ‘fake’ ghat by the Yamuna with filtered water for the Prime Minister to pose in. Apparently, devotees have to stand in the river alongside, which one or two people say is incredibly polluted. There is no data to back this so, to avoid litigation, let’s assume the river is among the cleanest on Earth and focus instead on the pond filled with drinking water. I couldn’t help asking, again, why this was a problem. How is the Prime Minister supposed to model for one of his weekly photoshoots surrounded by thousands of men in their underclothing? Is that the sort of picture we want the send out to the West?
A week after that incident, which was luckily ignored by the mainstream press and died down as quickly as reports of young Indians being held without trial, another minor controversy arose following photographs of the PM walking down a newly constructed highway in Andhra Pradesh, personally inspecting its quality, design, and progress. The streets had been cleared, which annoyed residents who claimed their lives were being disrupted. It made me question why they hadn’t complained about this before, given the many roads personally examined by the PM over the past few years.
It sometimes feels as if there is a conspiracy afoot, to try and attack the government whenever it tries to do something for the good of all Indians. We should be applauding its full-fledged embrace of the spirit of ‘jugaad’ instead of insisting on things like accountability and transparency that have no place in a country as rich as powerful as this one. Imagine what China or Dubai would be like if their rulers were forced to focus on openness or honesty. It’s almost as if some of us don’t want to see India turn into a superpower. I believe we need to focus on things that matter and learn to live with minor issues like air pollution, declining water tables, disappearing public resources, and accusations of voter fraud.
Luckily, I see that a majority of us aren’t swayed by these temporary bouts of outrage. Patriots have an eye on the bigger picture, which is why these accusations of gaslighting, lying, and misinformation will disappear as quickly as they have arisen. The rest will come around too, and understand that sometimes, a few white lies are important for public relations. After all, that is another thing that defines us — the need to always ‘keep it in the family.’
When he isn’t ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira
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