Tomichan Matheikal's blog

When you are on the wrong side of fifties you don’t learn anything anymore.  Whatever happens comes with a feeling of déjà vu.  Even PM Modi’s demonetisation did not excite me though I did gloat a little over the predicament it would bring to some of our political leaders and other traders who stashed away hoards of black money.  I knew it would serve little to curb the black money menace in India or corruption in the country’s politics.  We are by and large a dishonest people.  Expediency is our only solid guideline.  The aftermath of the demonetisation has shown that even the PM’s own party men were quick to amass the new 2000-rupee notes.  That’s how India is: incredible indeed! There’s a lot of hardship that people are undergoing especially in the rural areas (where I now live) where cash is the only means of transactions.  Yet very few seem to be complaining because people seem to believe that their hardships are going to reap rich dividends soon.  That’s another joke th

Patriotism is the desire to see your country as one that promotes the welfare of every citizen irrespective of religious, cultural and other differences.  Patriotism has nothing to do with killing people whose eating habits differ from yours.  Patriotism has nothing to do with playing the national anthem in cinema halls or wearing the national flower on your sleeve.  The recent order of the Supreme Court of India to play the national anthem in the movie halls before the beginning of each movie actually belittles the anthem by making it a prelude to mere popular entertainment.  Worse, most people who visit the cinema halls are not likely to be in a mood to display their patriotic sentiments; they are there for entertainment.  There will be some latecomers who will be still searching for their seats.  There will be physically handicapped or elderly people who may not find it easy to stand at attention.  There are many practical problems, in short.  What was the need for issuing

I will be discharged soon from the hospital where I remained confined to my bed for the last ten days with a fractured foot.  One of the precious lessons I learnt during these helpless days is that too many people are losing trust in systems including medical services. Hospitals carry out unnecessary tests and even surgeries merely for profit. This was the opinion of the vast majority of my visitors. Most foods are adulterated. Education is sheer business today. Most people seemed to have little trust in any system. The present wave of patriotism that is sweeping the country also came in for much ridicule. The decision about demonetisation was leaked to people who matter. The foulest souls are preaching the noblest ideals like patriotism and need for self-sacrifice for the sake of the nation. Comparisons are drawn between the suffering citizen and the warring soldier. I imagined my wife as a Rani of Jhansi as she shuttled among her workplace, home, my hospital and merciless ATMs.

Social psychology tells us that friendly relationships and a lot of inevitable gossip can keep a group or organization functioning successfully as long as the number of members does not exceed 150.  Intimacy is impossible when the number of people is large. In such large organizations people will remain strangers to each other to a significant extent. How can strangers be held together for the successful functioning of the group? Myth is the answer. Two total strangers coming from entirely different cultures can be united by a myth to such an extent that they can together fly a jet plane with hundreds of unsuspecting passengers into a skyscraper housing hundreds of innocent people. "Any large-scale human cooperation - whether a modern state, a medieval church, an ancient city or an archaic tribe - is rooted in common myths that exist only in people's collective imagination," according to historian Yuval Noah Harari. Holy cows bind people more strongly than plain tr

“Yesterday’s gone ... and tomorrow may never be mine,” says a Christian hymn .  Only today, this moment, is mine to act in.  But is it really possible to live in the present moment much as that is the best thing to do.  It is best to live without the hangovers of yesterday and also without the mirages of tomorrow.  Is it really possible, however? One plain truth is that we are a product of our past to a very large extent.  Whatever we may do, it is impossible to erase all of our past.  The past has shaped our attitudes, thinking and our very character so much so it steps in whenever we are trying to find solutions to the current problem.  It is impossible to ignore the past.  The past is an integral part of our very being. Religion never lets the past go Not even in the life next! I spent my youth with certain people who rendered unenviable assistance in making a mess of my life.  They were apparently trying to help me shape my character which, according to them, was p

Fiction Every scoundrel I come across these days preaches patriotism. Or nationalism. A few months back it used to be also called Hindutva or the great Indian Culture. I often wondered why only scoundrels preached patriotism while all gentlemen and ladies went to work to earn their living. Nowadays more people think of becoming patriots.  Earning your living is almost impossible otherwise.  The scoundrels make the rules.  They decide who will have how much money with them. And they know how to look after themselves and their chelas. And also to make us sing the national anthem in the theatre of the absurd. Ignorance is patriotism, my boy.  It's a game.  You make rules.  More rules.  Bind people by rules.  After taking away their cash so that they have no means to fight anything.  Make people beggars.  Then they will lick your feet.  You become a god.  And you decide who are patriots.  And who are traitors. Shoot the traitors.  Call it encounter killing.  You are an exper

Thomas Jefferson who drafted the famous American Declaration of Independence which contains the oft-quoted phrase that “all men are created equal” owned about 200 slaves when he wrote that and never set them free even upon his death .  It doesn’t mean Jefferson was a fraud or even a hypocrite.  Rather it points to certain bizarre truths about social systems and the beliefs which create them.  The Americans during Jefferson’s time did not even consider Negroes as human beings.  Negroes were subhuman, according to the beliefs that upheld the American social system of the time. All social systems are built upon certain beliefs most of which may not stand up to rational analysis.  The ancient Indian caste system or many other social practices such as Sati were not based on any objective truths.  Social systems are created by certain individuals in order to protect their interests by subordinating the interests of others.  It was not mere selfishness either.  More than selfishne