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Perspective
Social Rocketry
by
J. Ajithkumar
 Rockets
are vehicles for delivery of useful or destructive payloads to
pre-determined destinations and they invariably get destroyed in the
process. In a very limited sense they are almost like the suicide
bombers who sacrifice their lives for the ‘success’ of some others’
objectives, which they are brainwashed to believe in. Rocketry relates
to the technology of rockets and we can define ‘social rocketry’ as the
art (or science) of using someone to achieve the objective of someone
else. Such objectives can be purely selfish or for a community or even
for the success of an ideology. Skilful use of social rocketry is fast
developing as a desirable trait among aspiring leaders in every nation
and community. Using others has always been a familiar ploy in history
but some people becoming voluntary vehicle for others is a new
phenomenon. The amount of sophistication involved becomes very clear
when we note (with concern) the fact that many of those who become
‘rockets’ are neither uneducated nor ordinary mortals. Social rocketry
is taking its toll and even the infallible are succumbing to its latest
techniques.
Food chain and social linkages are inalienable facets of our existence.
None of us alive can survive of our own in this universe. We are all
dependent on others and we need other species to survive to ensure our
own survival. The underlying logic of any conservation measure is
essentially selfish and we are just ensuring that we or our own species
survive in the long run. But the interdependency required in all such
natural phenomena is mutual and respect for each other facilitates the
survival process. It is quite different in the case of social rocketry.
Just like a rocket which is created for delivering a warhead or a
satellite, the individual(s) or ideology is got ready for the purpose.
There is no request, approval or understanding involved in this. The
social vehicle which will get destroyed in the exercise is trapped into
use without any scruples.
By
Individuals
Individuals who are adept in social rocketry are also called climbers.
They use others to get what they want. Seldom do they care about what
happens to the ‘social rockets’ they use. For achieving their own
legitimate or illegitimate goals, they destroy the lives and careers of
many others. To a very great extent the political phenomenon of
‘sonrise’ prevalent in the Indian Sub-continent involves very
sophisticated use of social rocketry. Many of the rockets used here are
volunteers obliged to the Family for one reason or another. The
importance of relationships and obligations are too strong in the
Sub-continent and hence we find the instances of ‘sonrise’ also high
here. It is very difficult to find such obligations and kinship among
the Europeans and Americans. For them, merit and expertise become the
determining factors and that is what is giving an upper hand to the
professionals from these areas. So many undeserving candidates are
launched onto the ruling stage by social rocketry in India that we find
the complete lack of commitment and expertise at the very top.
By
Ideologies
Much more dangerous is the social rocketry involving ideologies. The
classic example in our times is the use of Communist ideology by various
religious ideologies to establish themselves in many countries.
Liberation theology and Brotherhoods, which claim to stress on equality
and socialism, are all indulging in social rocketry by using Communism
as their vehicle to capture power. Communism being inherently weak and
incomplete becomes a natural choice for these poaching ideological
variants. The proponents of such mutated religious ideologies are so
clever that they easily trap many declining communists to become their
‘suicide bombers’ for propagation. Only a very few of them will even
survive to realise that they have been used. It would be malapropos to
name the individuals and organisations, but many of the erstwhile Naxal
movements, terrorist groups and farmers’ organisations becoming active
proselytisation agencies in India are classic examples of this.
In olden
days, we used to have only one-time-use rockets. But with the
development of technology, we now have rocket casings that can be used again
and again by refuelling. The same concept is reflected in the field of
social rocketry also. The leftist ideologies are classic examples of
this concept of reuse. Communism and communists have become vehicles for
the launch of many ideological variants which are weak on their own.
Deadly warheads for mankind are repeatedly carried by these leftist
rockets in the undeveloped world where Communism once flourished on
widespread poverty. Now it has become the preferred material of
construction in reusable social rocketry.
September
17, 2006
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Perspective
The Week of September 17, 2006
Fighting Terror: Musharraf's Offer Too Little, Too
Late! by Rajinder Puri
Clash of 'Words' not 'Civilizations' by Col.
Rahul K. Bhonsle
The Last "J" that Broke Bush's Back by Gaurang
Bhatt, MD
Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, Sept 06
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Social Rocketry by J. Ajithkumar
Are China's Rulers Illegal? by William R.
Stimson
Empires and Dust: Travels in Modern India II by
Ashish Nangia
Dating the Dunes at Sam a Photo
Essay by Sutapa Chaudhuri
The World is One Family by TA Ramesh
Arguments for including Bhoti Language
in the 8th Schedule of the
Indian Constitution by Stanzin Dawa
Understanding Mahabharata: A Woman's Fury, Soft
Skills and a Hero by Satya Chaitanya
And, the Clock Stopped ! by VK Joshi
Ustad Bismillah Khan: The Shehnai Maestro by
Yamini Ayyagari
Search Engines: Technology Behind Searching
by Ruchi Gupta
In Feline Company by Bijoyeta Das
Friendship Never Ends by Wazhma Frogh
The Night of Ten – La Noche del 10 by Dibyendu
Ghoshal
The Coast of Mendocino by Walter Durk
A Hope by Arya Bhushan
Ganga's Daughters by Julia Dutta
Investing in Women by Stephanie Hiller
Insurgency: The Long Way Down by Nava Thakuria
The Dark Side of Media Hype by Anuja Agrawal
On the Fast Track to Growth? by Usha Kakkar
Struggling to Make It: A Mother's Dilemma by
Rajesh Talwar
Arun Kumar Das: A Beam of Hope by Amarendra
Kishore
Pune: Down Memory Lane by Vikram Karve
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