I may have great sympathy
and empathy for the so-called "leaders of development," but I have no
respect for them. Why do I use the word "Drama" with
"Development"? Development is a pious word or concept used for improvement in humanity. This is the reason why the act of drama is being made in the name of overall development. I may be wrong about the concept of development in general, but I
must be right when the concept of development is used in specific regional
areas or for specific cultures around the world. Which regional areas or
cultures are included in my "awkward" term? All areas and cultures
included in this 'Drama' term are referred to as "undeveloped" or
"developing" regions, cultures, countries, or nations. All these
regions, cultures, countries, or nations are engaging in great drama in their
respective fields.
What is 'Drama'? Drama is
an emotional act of a specific mode of fiction represented in a performance to
show sympathy or empathy with the viewer, spectator, or audience. It has no
reality of performance in the real world. It is simply an act to show
performance to satisfy the egoes of the mass of spectators. It is merely a game
or plays enjoyed by people's representatives with the people in different strata. It
may be a comedy or a tragedy, depending on your wisdom, analysis, evaluation
capability, or judgment. Some dramas can be performed in combination with
religious music, i.e., religious performances. Some dramas may only include
emotionally spoken dialogues. It all depends on the analytical or critical
thinking level of the people or the masses and the acting level of their
leaders.
What is 'Development,'
and why is it different from the concept of 'Growth'? Development is an
inclusive concept that encompasses all spheres and aspects of life. Growth, on
the other hand, is an exclusive concept that includes only limited aspects or
scales that can be visualized with the naked eye. Development is a
multidimensional improvement, whereas growth is a single-dimensional increase or improvement. The
concept of development demands an 'innovative' culture, i.e., a scientific
mentality or rational and logical thinking. Hence, the growth of 'cement, brick,
and iron' cannot always be considered as indicators of development. The production
of petroleum may contribute to the growth of some nations in middle east, but development can
only be observed in that certain nations.
What is culture? It is a
way of life that is learned from one's inherited society. Culture encompasses
attitudes, actions, behaviors, values, patterns, traditions, and thinking
processes, among other things. Simply put, it is the software of society that
runs, controls, regulates, and affects all spheres of life in general. Only
humans have culture. Without culture, there is no difference between a man and
an animal. But only a culture based on scientism, i.e., one that gives
importance to logic, analysis, justice, equality, freedom, and fraternity in
life, is a developing culture. If any culture does not recognize these
elements, it must be a feudal one. Every backward society has a feudal culture
that has arisen and developed during the middle ages of history.
All developments are done
for humans, either in the short run or in the very long run. Since all
developments are done by and for people, we must consider the mental stage or
level of the people concerned. All people are human beings and, therefore, have different
levels of consciousness compared to general animal levels. As humans, people
have different thinking levels, i.e., different levels of culture, i.e.,
different levels of their thinking process. Some wise individuals have a good
level of thinking, i.e., a critical thinking level, while others mostly have a
poor level of thinking, lacking critical thinking. In human society, cultural
inertia, i.e., the inertia of thought, works effectively in traditional developing
or undeveloped societies. Inertia is the natural properties of objects or ideas or cultures which opposes the change in its earlier position. Clearly, these societies, cultures, regions, or
countries are backward.
This means that ‘culture’
and the ‘inertia of culture’ have a prominent role in the development process.
Without considering these factors, all developmental acts are simply a great
drama or a type of drama. Wise people in that society or culture are aware of
the role of cultural hindrances in the developmental mechanism. However, if they
are cunning or artful, they may not acknowledge this hindrance mechanism of
cultural inertia. Cultural inertia always favors the wise, prosperous,
respected, honorable, and strong individuals or communities in that society.
These individuals or communities have a natural affinity or love for that
cultural inertia. They see the benefits of cultural inertia and therefore do not want to
disturb the traditional culture in the name of a "perpetual and glorious
culture".
Actually, the culture of
a backward society or nation, which is considered "perpetual and
glorious," is a feudal culture that originated during the middle ages of
history. These "perpetual and glorious cultures" lack archeological
evidence or primary authentic sources from ancient periods of history. The
ruling community is aware of this fraud but supports it because their community
traditionally benefits from this culture. The other suffering people, in the
name of their "perpetual and glorious culture," support the feudal
culture, which is not the original, real, ancient, and perpetual culture of
that society. These suffering people do not understand the concepts and
processes of cultural inertia, the inertia of thoughts and the natural scientific development of history.
If we don't want to
transform the thinking pattern, i.e., the mental process, i.e., the software of
that society, we are merely participating in a great drama in the name of
development. We are discussing the concepts like critical thinking, out-of-the-box
thinking, scientific temper, scientism, etc., in theory, but we do not want to
implement these concepts on the ground. What is this acting? It is actually a
great drama of development performed by different global agencies, other
organizations, and many governments on a global level.
If we truly want
development, we have to consider the power of culture and transform the
mentality of the masses. We must give special emphasis to changing the inertia
of culture or the inertia of thoughts. Firstly, we have to recognize the
problems in the cultural environment and thinking process, i.e. the running software
of society. Otherwise, we are simply participating in a great drama. We should
not rely on "over-matured," "over-fatigued," and
"sold" individuals of that society for drastic social transformation.
We should rely only on the youth, who are the true early adopters,
trendsetters, and game-changers due to their age level.
I don't want to raise any
questions on the integrity of any authority, but I must raise questions on the
integrity of the so-called wise people and professors of the concerned society
if they are truly wise and knowledgeable. If they are unaware of these things,
they are innocent. However, if they are aware of all these things and their
mechanisms and they do not present them to the concerned authorities, they are
betraying their society, culture, country, and humanity in general.
Think it over. It is a very
serious matter for their society, culture, country, and humanity as a whole. Is
it not a great drama of development?
Acharya Niranjan Sinha www.niranjansinha.com