A status report

This is a status-driven society. Everyone and everything needs a niche. All things created by God, be they sentient or not, have to fit into some man-made category or the other. Of course, G himself appears to have his own classifications, but that is a dangerous religious terrain and we will skip it. In any case, intra and inter-religious conflicts have proved that even God is subjected by His subjects to status questions like true and false.

Point is, the human mind and eye love things to be cut, dried and slotted so that they are easily ‘identifiable’. By definition, status is a position or situation vis-a-vis somebody or something else and naturally entails, if not always a hierarchy of lows and highs, at least, distinctions of ‘this and that’. But being a human endeavour, such compartmentalisation is not a rigid regimen though eminently flexible. The status of a person can move up, down, laterally and even be overhauled. Small wonder even the virtual world of Facebook talks in terms of ‘status updates’.

But forget the coloured human vision. Today, the State is the biggest arbiter of status. In a scenario where the Government is the new God on the block with the power to make or break barriers and boundaries, there is always a clamour directed at it by some group or the other for a change of status, either for them or for some object of their interest. The quota system is an example of such State-sponsored status restructuring. While the intent of the Constitution to correct generations of social injustice is honourable, can it be achieved within the short-sighted poll timetable of politicos? The Apex court is currently seized of a few such questions: Reservation for minorities, quotas in private sector and prferences in promotions in Govt jobs to SCs, Sts, BCs etc. The reigning norm that one has to acquire a backward class status to move forward in life is itself a kind of social revolution!

The official obsession with status can get very ridiculous. With monsoons playing truant many regions are staring at droughts. But it needs an official status declaration of ‘drought hit’ for relief to flow. Farmers’ plight cannot move the Government unless files too move. With more pesticides than grain around and suicides zooming, by the time help arrives the status of many more farmers may change from ‘just alive’ to ‘dead as mud’! That debt and drought are sure killers of the tiller is common sense logic dictated by head and heart but it takes file notings to ratify them. Ditto in NE where the real situation had to worsen to a certain status level for the invocation of some obscure official rules that can warrant action!

It is always status quo in Parli. There are enough statistics to show that both Cong and BJP ‘stall-warts’ are equally adept at disruption when in opposition. Indeed, Parli is the only place on earth where there can be so much noise and action but nothing really ‘happens’. It is time its status is declared as ‘Messing in action’! But MSingh excels. Like the legendary Vamana, he straddled the entire heavenly spectrum with one mammoth 2G scam. And with coalgate, he has covered the netherworld too in one mighty sweep. And the third step, for want of worlds to loot, has already landed on our heads in the form of inflation and what not. All very ungodly, no doubt, but are we right in calling him a demure puppet any more? By his own merit does not MSingh deserve a status elevation to, say, A Slimy, Smart Puppet?

There were other status shifts too. Imported jihadi and a State guest Ajmal Kasab’s ticket to paradise got upgraded to ‘confirmed’ status by the SC. Of course, that does not mean he will take the journey. We all know that in our compassionate country there could be many a slip between neck and noose. So, unless Kasab himself is in a hurry to collect and enjoy his dues up there, he can look for a status quo as State guest through a mercy petition. There is quite a queue at the hangman’s door and with Parli’s attackers of longer vintage themselves remaining alive and kicking, can just a recent killer of ordinary voters be given priority? Also, among other considerations, the ruling regime will have to think of the sentiments of Pak and the status of Indo-Pak relations.

There is one status, the cry for which always raises my hackles: Heritage. As Chennai aged a year more and with Metro rail racking its insides out, the cry is at a crescendo from historians, activists and an assortment of walkers and talkers, for declaring several places as heritage sites. But in all their loiterings through the town, they have missed the most obvious candidate, one that fits the bill perfectly for the heritage label. It has been in Chennai for long and is preserved in its pristine glory; it defines the city, its ethos, its culture, its people, their habits and the ‘care’ of those in charge. It is a legacy that sees accretion by the day with contributions from all its denizens. It is permanent and all-pervading; And it is predominant because it blocks out all other heritage spots, even the favoured Indo-saracenic ones, from our eyes and noses. Indeed, it gives the city a unique feel and ‘flavour’. Take it away and Chennai is barely recognisable!

Yes, why not confer heritage status on our garbage mounds, the true status symbol of Chennai that was Madras? We could reap heaps of heritage in one sweep!

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