INS Vikrant, Cyrus Mistry and the great Indian attitude problem

The happy commissioning of the indigenous aircraft carrier and the distressing demise of the firebrand businessman seem unconnected events, to unsuspecting eyes. However, a mildly deeper introspection does suggest that they are both linked to a classic Indian malaise, which impacts our well-being and influences our misery.

Must read: Airbags of Cyrus Mistry's Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV worked; not wearing seat belt cost his life

On Mr. Mistry, best known for his truncated tenure in the top job at Tata Sons, the tragedy is Shakespearian and the grief is alarmingly limitless. But what must be regrettably reiterated is the strain of the GIAP (Great Indian Attitude Problem) which led to this debacle, performed confidently by the wealthy of our land. This includes a deep disregard for backseat seatbelt usage and a clear affection for wrong-side overtaking, and not to mention the callousness towards speed safety.

Now, this is a public-private carcinogen as the authorities are lovingly indulgent towards miscreants, indulging merrily in tokenism, bribery and amateur policies. Notably, these self-same caricatures will adhere sternly to draconian norms while on driving holidays in the Scottish Highlands or the Yellowstone National Park, such are the levels of life-diminishing hypocrisy. We see able specimens of this conduct in daily city driving, where pedestrians and cyclists compete stoically with motorists in terms of law abdication or should I say, rebooting.

On INS Vikrant, the Great Indian Attitude Problem assumes even more scalable dimensions, especially to those cognizant of the 1962 China carnage. Firstly, we must all be grossly proud that we have an indigenous (for the most part) aircraft carrier, one that helps us compete stoutly with our only real military foe, and I do not mean the urchin state of Pakistan.

That those who are criticising PM Modi’s ownership over the pioneering feat need a lesson or two in basic statecraft – the Forces serve the citizenry and those currently in democratic authority are accountable for their development and operations.

In case further evidence is necessary of how a callous Government led to a momentous debacle, please do read Brigadier John Parashuram Dalvi’s ‘Himalayan Blunder’, a scathing account of the 1962 disaster. On how the entire spectrum from strategic policy to the basic allocation of warm clothes and boots rendered the majestic bravery of our forces grossly under-resourced, and this is much documented narrative history.

As a result, Defence Minister Krishna Menon and General BM Kaul had to resign, while those in the know suggest that Pandit Nehru’s health receded irreversibly. INS Vikrant is thus a vital ingredient towards creating a level playing field against China and those criticising the PM’s dramatic demonstration of pride are clearly patients of this patented Indian disease, designed to arrest good sense as well as action.

The Great Indian Attitude Problem sadly begins with the wealthy and the educated but clearly does not end there. Even in the most vociferous free societies, divergent mindsets unite in matters of state, and surely individual mortality and state security quality amply in this regard.

It is incredible to witness exposed universal citizens driving and walking like stereotypical Jhumri Talaiya in the high streets of developed India, as if their entitled destinies supersede ill-advised conduct.

Equally to the chronic critics of the Government, let it be amply clear that national agendas demand convergence of solidarity, or else we are casually succumbing to the evil schemes of able enemies.

Winston Churchill inherited a war arguably perpetrated by Neville Chamberlain and was himself succeeded coldly by Clement Attlee as soon as Hitler popped the pill, but the course of history remains a singular narrative, so it does not matter if the carrier was seaworthy when Manmohan Singh was hanging on to the mirage of power.

It is important to symbolically connect the unnecessary deaths of the brave soldiers in the 1962 China War to the horrendous termination of Cyrus Mistry (and so many others) to criminal driving protocols, indulged by a culture of callousness.

The aircraft carrier is a perfect epitome of lethal competitiveness and we do need a suitable equivalent to make our roads safe. Perhaps our surging numbers of activists (real and social) can diversify meaningfully to this much-needed terrain, as speed must not be a bar in exterminating the Great Indian Attitude Problem.