PLATFORM SANTOSH DESAI | Columnist
The Tyranny of Labels Liberalism
accompanied with a surge in conservatism IT is increasingly difficult to escape
labels. One is either a liberal or not, and along with that description comes a whole set of ready made beliefs. The very act of being able to slot yourself in these neat categories, brings along with an ability to exude certainty from every pore about holding some pre-fabricated positions on some favourite subjects. When a question is framed in terms of these labels, the answers tend to be predictable. When we ask whether the liberal space is growing in India, the truth is that we already know what the answers are likely to be. The optimistic liberal will agree enthusiastically and hunt down data and anecdotal evidence that supports the case while the pessimist will bemoan all that is wrong with everybody else. Likewise, the conservative will launch into a well-rehearsed rant about pseudo-liberals and their pretensions. Any argument becomes less an exercise in meaningful debate and more about scoring points and using hoary gambits.
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A meaningful examination is possible only when we step away from the coded meaning of these labels and ask more fundamental questions. The experience of liberalism has gone beyond its limited meaning of holding a certain set of views on certain subjects—it involves the ability to lead one’s life with a greater sense of control over it, the desire to accept and be tolerant of other perspectives and the willingness to factor in larger human needs in the choices one makes as an individual. Viewed from this perspective, the question of liberalism and conservatism actually breaks down into questions of continuity and change, open-mindedness and reflexive thought and independence as against a desire to belong to a preformed school of thought. For the Indian urban middle-class, the sense of control over one’s life has by and large increased substantially. Traditional authority structures have diminished in power, leaving more room for the individual. The possibility of social and economic mobility is
Author
Santosh Desai is the author of the bestseller Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense of Everyday India. He is a columnist, media critic and social commentator. He is the MD and CEO of Futurebrands, a branding services and advisory company and serves on the boards of ING Vysya Bank and Mumbai Business School.
higher than ever before, leading to a sense of opportunity. In an everyday sense, we see a levelling out of some social differences as the emerging class enters the economic and social mainstream. The idea of having romantic relationships before marriage is becoming more acceptable and socially legitimate and the ability of women to lead their lives with a relatively higher degree of control is increasingly visible. We can see these changes find reflection in our popular culture which displays dramatically lower levels of repression and is open to fresh characterisations. So what of the rising tide of moral policing and chauvinism that we seem to see all around us? What about the regional chauvinism in Mumbai, ultra-nationalistic gestures that hold sports and cinema hostage, right-wing cultural conservatism that sees incidents like the attack on girls in pubs in Mangalore—the list is depressingly long. Add to that the return to a particularly pernicious form of intolerance shown by the Khap Panchayats and it