Patriotic intolerance

“Prolixity is not alien to us. We love to talk at length”- Amartya Sen, the Argumentative Indian.

“ How do we make somebody love us?

Welcome to my world son!”- Bruce Amighty(2003)

Hospital is a very professional place. It has personnel super specialised to do just what they are trained to do. Sometimes I feel they must be winners of the notmyjob.com annual award. The staffs are just concerned about their own aspect of care, in some instances passionately complying with protocols, than common sense. The anesthetists want to leave on time. The surgeons just want to operate without optimising other issues with the patient. For the bone doctor the only thing that matters is a fracture. Once during an emergency, the anesthetist, only as a futile exercise, enquired about the patient’s chest. ‘We are orthopedicians doctor! We don’t listen to the chest,’ came a sincere reply over the bleep. On another occasion, the anesthetist curiously asked about the general condition of the patient. The surgeons with the usual air of nonchalance replied ‘the patient is just fine. He just needs a small debridement on the leg. He is very stable except for a history of sustaining a myocardial infarction 12 hours ago. He is in CCU ( Cardiac critical care unit) intubated and on  a small dose of inotropes. Other than that he is totally fine. He just needs a small cut. It’s only a 5 minute job’.

‘Why don’t these surgeons look at the big picture?’ is  a usual angst in the  anaesthetists chat sessions and whatsapp groups? Why does the ortho doctor keep chiseling the bone while his colleagues are performing chest compressions on the other end? why do the ‘scalpel wielders’  bother with unswerving attention only about that hernia, that lump, that ear and that tear, rather than the person having that malady? When the emotion settles and reason gains strength, I realize that the virtue of holistic care is achieved only when different professional groups work in unison to make the patient well. The danger in working at a hospital may be to get addicted to your own aspect of care and developing this supercilious attitude of falsely believing that one's care alone is significant while others are only in the shadows. That’s why surgeons popularly opine that all physicians are too lazy and the latter believe that all surgeons have lesser grey matter than themselves. But the health of a patient who enters the halls of the hospital gains priority over professional egos. Specialities co-operate and coexist for the betterment of the patient.

At the national level, the reverse seems to be true. All of us have the big picture firmly imbibed in our minds. The problem only being, we miss our pieces in the jig saw puzzle of a great India. It is like everyone in the hospital desiring the patient to become well, while committing repeated blatant errors in their zones of contribution.

We want an honest India, but we grease the palms of officials to buy time and get the machinery moving. We can’t wait. We want a cleaner India except that we can dump our wastes on the road when none is watching. We want a rich India but are reluctant to pay taxes. We want orderly India but we give a damn to the culture of queue and social etiquette. I am no better. I am talking to myself first. It is like trying to pass an exam I did not study for and trying to reap a crop I did not sow. Sometimes the scenario begs the question-' Do we deserve a better India' rather than 'why do we not have a better India'.

We are a very angry nation. We are all frustrated with the state of affairs. Just scroll down any news article web page. The simmering discontent on the governments, the system and the state is reflected in the vitriolic comments poured out. The consequence of that anger is brewing patriotic intolerance.

Patriotic intolerance comes with a worldview like this. What I think about India alone is right. What others do, think, talk and dress is not right. Their idea of the country, its values and what it should be is inferior to what I believe. They are all corrupt, insensitive traitors while I am a committed Indian. What I eat alone must be allowed. Whom I worship alone must be encouraged; others should leave to neighboring countries. These lesser Indians should be taught how to sing national anthem- where to sing and how to sing. They must be dragged to courts and beaten to pulp if they don’t conform to my idea of patriotism. Their voices should be stifled, their worldviews minimized and their freedoms curbed to realize true freedom in my country.

Somehow the idea of patriotism has been stereotyped. Shouting slogans of India is great is only a part in patriotism. Let me daresay, that is the easiest part. The difficult part is to nurture men and women with sense of duty towards the nation. I need to do my duty before judging what others should and should not do to make India a great nation. If I administer good anaesthesia, the patient will become well. Berating the skill of the surgeons and the laggardness of the maintenance staff without doing my work well will not help.

My idea of patriotism is this. If I am a doctor, I must serve my patients well. If I am an engineer, I must construct solid strong structures. If I am a police, I must be unbiased and honest towards the public. If I am an administrator, I must plan and execute projects for the welfare of all the people. If we from all walks of life contribute our daily work for India realizing our duties and not just the rights, India will be great again- whether we sing about it in movies, whether we blame Pakistan, doubt government policies or otherwise.

Love towards the country is voluntary. All love after all is voluntary. A mother cannot force love out of her offspring. The only thing sons and daughters can do is to tend to her in her old age and live for her honor the rest of their lives. Are we living for the honor of our Bharat Mata?