They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes all it takes is a cartoon to hold a mirror up to society. And to my mind nothing captures the current situation in our country as well as the recent one by American political cartoonist Eric Allie: "Help. Please. Someone do something!!!" screams a girl accosted by a mugger, while a dozen or so people peering down at them from their apartments erupt into a flurry of hashtags: #Do Something; #StandBy Her; #BanKnives, and the most sanctimonious, #DoingSomething.
The incessant ubiquitous commentary from social networking sites has become so loud in India that even mainstream newspapers have reported on the fractious wars and the irascible nature of exchange on these sites where friends have turned into foes over their political opinions. Unfortunately, like in Allie's cartoon, most of it serves no real purpose except to give people a feeling that they are involved and, thus, important.
The babble runs along these lines: left-leaning liberals attacking each other for not being 'anti-Modi' enough; his right-wing supporters attacking the doomsday purveyors for shouting 'Wolf'; and those who have adopted a wait-and-watch policy (like me) arguing for temperance and a more positive approach being heckled as opportunists.
All this, while outside our windows, the desperately poor, sick, needy and vulnerable face their daily challenges - alone.
It is not my contention that everyone should desist from criticism and scrutiny. With the kind of mandate that Narendra Modi has got, a strong, vigorous and alert public is called for to keep the new government on its toes and in check.
But this extent of almost hysterical apprehension is doing no one any good and is fouling the atmosphere, making people adopt rigid and stereotypical hardline positions. Dubya Bush was once caricatured by the phrase "either you're for us or against us". Ironically, many who he deeply offended amongst the liberals are today using the same approach when it comes to the new regime - to browbeat those who want to give the democratically elected new government a chance. And the contention - that if you do not support the alarmists, you've crossed over to the dark side - is as absurd as it is fatuous.
Vigilance does have its place, but extremism in any form and from any group mostly elicits extremism as a response. There is a great need for strong voices to emerge that are respected by the powers that be and the people - voices that are respected because they are known to be fair, unbiased and unprejudiced. This, in fact, is the need of the hour. Because if indeed the worst fears of the alarmists do come true, it is only these voices that will have the opportunity to speak out and be heard.
Through all this clamour from the chattering classes of who is an opportunist, who is a closet communalist, who has sold out or cashed in or let the side down, the one ray of sunshine is young Virender Raika, the boy from Haryana who has been offered a whopping Rs 4.85 crore by Microsoft for developing a much-needed anti-hacking software program.
He did not sit around commenting on matters of national import and political discourse. He focused on the job at hand, worked hard and got on with his life.
Perhaps it's time we got on with ours and allowed those who have been elected to do so - to get on with theirs too.
Malavika Sangghvi is a Mumbai-based writer malavikasangghvi@hotmail.com
