Civilisation and new academic religion

Early dangerous exposures:

Kaleidoscope because of his years of training in Social-Cultural Anthropology has acquired a peculiar understanding of cultural differences. In the beginning of his study it was his conscious attempt to learn the cultural differences and learn go beyond the 19th Century scientific explanation of Social evolution. This was particularly the time when Kaleidoscope started reading Boas and his students in the very serious National Library, Kolkata. At that time it was okay to take a nap in the library unless you are not snoring. Kaleidoscope was almost half of his present body size then and there was no question of snoring. Therefore, with intervals of nap and reading Kaleidoscope has successfully installed the magical programme called Cultural Relativism. Once its installed you tend to question every assumptions of your culture. You become tolerant for cultural differences but over a period of time you tend to develop particular disgust about them who failed to installs such tolerance.

Eventual transformations:

Moreover, Eventually, with most of the Kaleidoscope's friends especially with people not within the circles of social sciences, Kaleidoscope started to speaking in a quite different language. While his friends continued to ridicule people from different parts of his country with nick names such as Chinkies (designating North East), Meros (designating Marwaris), Khatua or Khotta (Designating people from Bihar) and Ure (designating people from Odisha), Kaleidoscope found these to be offensive. Kaleidoscope always thought that he belongs to a society which is actually not much racist like some of the countries where Kaleidoscope's friends would love to go and never come back (a few have actually done that) or Casteist like some of the other parts of his country, which is of course not true.

Kaleidoscope started taking these languages as offensive. In the beginning he started to counter his friend. But he has actually failed to make them understand why these are offensive and why ethnocentrism is bad for a country like India which has so many variations. Later on, Kaleidoscope has been termed as the 'serious type' - something that he has never been. In much later times Kaleidoscope is designated as "Buddhijibi" literally meaning intellectual but the common usage, obviously is a derogatory sense.

Origins of problems:

Kaleidoscope with such an year long transformation have become a person with near zero tolerance with hypocrisy (although he is not free from it), racist, sexist assumptions (he does not know for sure if he is free of such qualities). Kaleidoscope was happy with it for years and trained himself to become even more intolerant towards such issues.

What Kaleidoscope internalise was an extreme form of cultural relativism. The first problem came when he was asked by University of Calcutta to deliver a course on Human Rights to Post Graduate students. While he developed his course material on Anthropology and Human Rights (http://sumananthromaterials.blogspot.in/2010/06/anthropology-and-human-rights.html) he felt uncomfortable about such a grand narrative. It was brutally against his so long faithful friend of cultural relativism. Even, Kaleidoscope thought, this was so badly distant from the idea of postmodernism!

However, as Kaleidoscope grew, he also understood the problematics of rights of an individual and impositions of society. He could understand them through his own fleeting identity, through his relationships and life course. Hence, accommodating some basic universal principles was no longer problematic for him. However, he nevertheless continued to remain sceptical about the interface of cultural relativism and human rights or any universal grand narratives. The inner conflict is not resolved. Sadly, while Kaleidoscope is forever unsettled in nature, he is quite settled about his intolerance towards a few categories, most conspicuously the communal, the racist, the casteist, the classist and the sexist.

The civilizational taboos:

As the civilisation grew, at least as Kaleidoscope thought that he grew or nurtured civilisation within himself, he internalised certain taboos - no not those incest taboos but something more subtle and serious. The academic taboos which easily gets translated into everyday life. Like taboos of humorous exchanges about the issues of religion, cultural difference and gender difference. Kaleidoscope has increasingly took up an identity which is Atheist and against all 'derogatory' statements and jokes which concerns religion, race, cast, class and gender!   

Yes, Kaleidoscope is happy with such an academic 'elitist' identity of intolerance towards all forms of racist, communal, sexist, casteist and the related jokes, riddles and ridicules. The question however is , where does it take Kaleidoscope?

Yes, Kaleidoscope is careful not to hurt any one's sentiments attached to his identity and culture.

Yes, Kaleidoscope is in a better position to take a stand against anyone doing it because he is clear about his identity of belonging to the so called 'liberal' and 'relativist'

Yes, Kaleidoscope continues and will continue to make people understand the reasons for which one should always avoid such predispositions.

The new religion of academic taboos:

Finally, what are the things that happen hand in hand with Kaleidoscope's 'intellectual', 'educated', 'tolerant' and civilised being? It is that Kaleidoscope has developed  particular disgust towards those who are not as careful as Kaleidoscope is about such things as discussed. He is belonging to a group of touchy, thin skinned, intolerant and humourless species. Now Kaleidoscope thinks actually he has developed a personality which is as consolidated as the extreme as identities which call for riot or warfare. He knows he belongs to a civilizational notions which is so ingrained and he is so involved that even writing this piece can be seen as heresy.

Academic taboos are becoming new religion and Kaleidoscope knows he is living in a society which is barbaric in basic instinct. Even with his slightest inclinations towards such personality predispositions in front of some self declared civillions he could be attacked because of being a "muggle blooded" social scientist.

Meanwhile, Kaleidoscope has taken the risk of asking himself and revisiting some of his assumptions with an imaginary data of a country (think about India) which is loosing humors and becoming touchy. Just like Kaleidoscope but in a much greater scale his fellow countrymen are loosing humors and consolidating identities through outrages on films like PK and vandalism of Hussain-Dosi Gufa.

Fellow academicians can think of Kaleidoscope as muggle blooded but he nevertheless continue to ask such questions and revisit his identities.

 

An imaginary graph representing inverse relationship between Humor and Identity in Kaleidoscope's society

Letting go15: Phallic chair and liminality

The chair with a phallus

The phallus story

The chair sits with an arm spread like a phallus - a parallel phallus looking away from the window towards an even greater world. The phallus looks at the shallow dark table hole. The chair arms could disappear under the table hole - and can never come back unless it is pulled out externally. Does a chair only has to move towards that dark end of a table - like a patriarch which disappears and find itself facing an emptiness? Or can it also look at the corner of its eyes to see the window, outside of which rain falls - like it always has in the green monsoon.

The liminal story

An empty chair is a liminality. An empty chair is a question that asks other vital questions of transcendence. Does it transcend time, subject and space together? Or does it only challenge the moment? The challenge is  to predict how long this moment of emptiness lasts? Does it last for ever - abandoned or does it an uncertain time lag - a stop gap. Perhaps the chair does not know, or does it?

Water, bridging the gap

It was just another day in the not so charming office with a quick and unexpected break from the class schedule that Kaleidoscope discovered this affair in his tiny little staff corner. Kaleidoscope doesn't know whether the chair focusing towards the table bottom, ithyphallus was part of a regular love affair designed by people since the inception of civilisation? Meanwhile the rain comes and bridges all the classifications. Rain brings water from every corner of Kaleidoscope's classified and culturally mediated world. It washes away all, only to question his cognitive assumptions. Meanwhile, it may so happen, that the chair and table belonged to part of a forest where they have been separated from their lovers for ever - and hence both are in a heterotopic space, lusty and lonely. Kaleidoscope sat beside them to listen to their stories to realise the deep rooted patriarchy in Kaleidoscopic imagination. He could finally lost in the forest of stories to trace the roots of platonic love affairs. The sound of bee and finally the rain. Kaleidoscope knows somewhere the rain is still bridging the gaps between all departed souls, to all the moments who would never stay or come back. The chair however continued to narrate the story, beside the window as Kaleidoscope left the place to an even more deeper liminality and switches off the lights for hours, for the night... for eternity. 

Of Everyday Gossiping and Over-rated Civilisation

"The mad tea party" by Mark Bryan, Taken from https://www.artofmarkbryan.com/politics/

Kaleidoscope belongs to a species which is highly ethnocentric in its character. It thinks that it is superior than any other species of the earth.

Enormous divisions and inequalities:

The species within itself is divided based on a variety of symbolic attainments and value perceptions. It thinks, strongly believes and makes it natural that the ability to run a computer is far superior thing than to be able to run itself! Hence, it has a detailed and infinite divisions of the feeling of superiority. Most often it hates each other in the name of certain bodily,  behavioural and fictional differences. It is so important for the species that it adopts symbolic cannibalism! The sense of hierarchy usually ends at an individual level and sometimes even within individual levels divisions are there. Imagine such statements as "I have become a much superior person than what I was a year ago!" Hence Kaleidoscope's species is always going through at least three things:

1. A growth story
2. A classification story
3. A criteria story.

The Gossip theory:

The curious case is it's everyday practices in present time when it attempts to adopt mechanisms to sustain the fictional nature of hierarchy. It usually loves to form group, group within a group, group within a group within a group. The critical problem that Kaleidoscope's species faces is primarily of two kinds, first, the problems of information processing. Imagine when the size of the group is fifty, there are 1225 different combinations of one-to-one relationships! These 1225 individuals in a complex society - such as the one in which Kaleidoscope firmly believes that he lives, has other relationships as well. Therefore,the amount of information that the human brain needs to process in unimaginable. Second, the problems of dealing with heterogeneity and instability.  Even when Kaleidoscope's species is settled (but not sure) about each of the individuals they tend to remain sceptical and seek information to participate in a continuous process of system update, because of insatiable suspicious curiosities. Even in Chimpanzee society groups seldom cooperate (Frans de Waal 2000).

Therefore Kaleidoscope's species tend to form groups and seek information. How to seek information? It is by gossiping. For early humans it was important to know and constantly keep tracking "who hates whom?" "Who sleeps with whom?" "Who is reliable and who is a cheat" - Kaleidoscope's present society continues to remain the same. Kaleidoscope's fellow members continue to gossip through each an every medium of communication! (Dunbar, 1998) 

The re-incarnation of primordial gossips:

What makes present species different through civilisation is its incredible ability to imagine things. Behind the back gossips are often sexually charged or are in a way or other linked to essential nature of the species - looks, Body features (size and shape of breasts, for example!), smell and smile!

Now, when there is rarely any significant data about the rival groups the species tend to imagine things. Remember rivalry can come through a variety of sources: a) rival for different nature/culture/looks b) rival for different opinions, c) rival for conflicts of interests, d) rival for attraction and lack of availability, and so on. When there is a serious lack of substantive data to 'rationalise' rivalry, imagined gossip game helps achieving it. The easiest way in the society in which Kaleidoscope lives in, is to spread rumors about flaws in the imagined standard of living (society calls it morality). Such gossips usually carry sexually charged content and hence become easily popularised. Kaleidoscope would like all his readers to remember the most popular gossips in their office or neighbourhoods. Yes, you know it, its about flaws in the imagined standard of morality- it does not have to be sex only, every culture has different sets of standards and so does different mechanisms of imagined gossips.

The classification of re-incarnated group mobilisers:

1. The frequent oscillators: These are the people who changes their positions according to the actors and agencies with which s/he is interacting. They usually lack strong personalities and usually able to sense the pulse of group dynamics well. Therefore, these are the people who attempts to remain in good book of every power centres.
2. The power cravers: These are the members who compromise anything to retain certain imagined positions of authorities.
3. The open bookers: Represent those who continues to remain open about their positions and orientations and opinions
4. The opportunists: are those who look for self interest maximising opportunities in every situation
5. The strategic silent beings: never speak unless something involves their personal interests, but when anything does involve personal interests they raise their voice and take a stand.
6. Unopinionated: represents those who never gives opinions.
7. The black and whites: those handfuls who manage to remain relatively unattached with any of the subgroups and continue to criticise everything which in their opinion is wrong.

All these players usually love an equilibrium - which is hard to get. One can remember Foucault's notion of power as a net-like organisation where the concentration of power is never settled and extremely situational.

The changing power terrain:

Usually, in a rapidly changing power terrain the "frequent oscillators" initially exchange information between groups and then change their group affiliations. The "power cravers' usually are driven out of the power centres or are given relatively less important but ornamental positions. The 'open bookers" does not experience much of a stress and remain intact. "The opportunists" seeks new opportunities and usually forgets old power centres. "The strategic silent beings" remains silent unless something disturbs their inner equilibrium. "Unopionated" and "black and whites" remains the same, only the later continue to make new enemies.

It continues, in your family, office, schools, clubs and in nations. Kaleidoscope's species could only mask the primordial craves in the name of over-rated imagination of Civilisation.

See if you like

Dunbar, Robin (1998). Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language. Cambridge: Harvard University Press

Frans De Waal (2000). Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

The dangers of mob lynching and cattle politics

... It is perhaps the time we should call Selim (the old man exhales, expressing a grief)
... Cant we make her stay a little longer? - his wife asks
... No, lets not prolong her suffering, Salim will take care of her, she cant even move! - the man replies
... but, look the way she is looking at us! - the wife continues
... yes, she is looking for mercy, her legs will start rotting soon, lets call Selim - the old man says and a stream of tears starts flowing through his eyes..


Selim comes with two of his associates


... what happened to kalapahar? She was quite fit and fine, Ashu da! - Selim asks to the old man
... Yes, Selim, she is old and you know we cannot let her die like this, you please take her - the old man cries!


Selim inspects Kalapahar, touches her head, neck and ears with tenderness, and shakes his head


The old man's wife brings some vermillion and oil to worship Kalapahar for the very last time. Selim pays his respect too. Salim's assistants do the same. The old man, his wife and many kids, including kaleidoscope pay their respect, gently touches its head and neck. Finally,  Selim and his associates takes away Kalapar to 'help' her cross the boundary of life and death.


Yes, Kalapahar was a black cow which Kaleidoscope has seen when it was in its full youth. Kaleidoscope has attempted to steal its milk along with his brothers. Has been kicked by the youthful cow and then finally watched her to be taken away by Selim.


Kaleidoscope didn't know Selim is a Muslim name. He used to call him Selim kaku and not Selim Chacha. Kaleidoscope also didn't know that one of Selim's associates was a Dom - a dalit and outcaste.


It was and Kaleidoscope still hopes is a standard and regular practice in many part of the rural Bengal. A practice which needs to be abolished for the construction of a Hindu Rashtra.

The dangerous idea of Hindu Rashtra and Gawraksha:

Lets have some statistics through one of the reliable sources: indiaspend.com

Cow related violence in India

Victims of cow related attacks

Apart from these clear data, predictably about half of the cases are coming from BJP ruled states and about 124 people are injured (click here).


Although it does not matter, lynching is lynching, killing is killing, but it is nevertheless important to note two qualitative parameters of many of the incidents: first, a substantive number of incidents have taken place based on rumors, and second, in most of the cases such incidents have been recorded and then the videos have gone viral. Yes, Kaleidoscope is serious. He lives in a society which shares such videos of violence against people of different faith and belief systems.


Yes, Kaleidoscope hates it to report that his society is dangerously close towards a catastrophe. Such viral videos are symptomatic, killing based on rumors are indicative. The issue becomes prominent with the murder of Junaid by mob in train. A ray of hope is #NotInMyName. An urban social media based movement that actually have been successful to compel the Prime Minister to comment on the issue.


However, since there is a need for the use of symbolic means to initiate the idea of Hindu Rashtra, PM didn't say cow protection is not needed! He only said killing or taking law in one's own hand in the name of cow protection is not acceptable.




Hence the vigilance and attacks continues.


In an all party meet with Parliamentary sessions expected to be halted by the issues of Cow vigilantism PM says: "Cow vigilantism shouldn't be given a political or communal colour."


Kaleidoscope like others doesn't know how not to associate the idea of Hindu Rashtra - saffronization, BJP and its wings with cow vigilance!


He can only hope that in rural hinterland the conversations of Selim and the old man is continuing even though there are a thousand attempts of creating walls between them!