We the privileged

"Stop giving free rice to the poor, it is ruining their habit". "They earn enough, but still they behave as if they don't have anything". "Why give money to them? They will get drunk and finish it all off". "Reservation system is taking away opportunities from the well deserved". "There has to be some implications of caste, it is all in the genes", and I can go on with the list of rants by us. But what is it to be privileged? Is it a duty? It is a right? Is it some kind of advantage? What exactly is it?

I remember I wanted to write this post when one of my acquaintances at work who also happened to earn in lakhs per month had mentioned that he would start donating eighty per cent of his money when he starts making ten million a month. Do you find anything absurd? If yes, then I think you can continue reading this small post!

If we go by the dictionary, then social privilege does come with particular advantages and entitlements but is it all? In a nation like India, does an Antillia make sense? Does an ornate temple or mosque, and sky-high statues make sense in a country which houses the maximum number of people below the poverty level? Think! The problem today is that we have stopped thinking and questioning and marking people who do so as urban Naxals and anti-nationals. And the worst part? It all has become acceptable by and large in society because the privileged feel threatened, and when power is threatened, it becomes all the wilder.

Voices go unheard because it's not only about majority and minority. If the majority would have been the only factor then the tribal people and the people from the lower castes and economic class would have ruled the nation, so it is all about societal privileges, and most of it has come down as a gift through families. The best part is upper caste people only think casteism and being gender biased is wrong when they face reservations, never reflecting for once on the privileges at the cost of perils that they have enjoyed for centuries.

Privileges come with money, caste, religion, gender, sexuality and with all of it comes duty. Today, when the debate about nepotism in the film industry is raging, it is time to think about casual, 'normal' and often unnoticed privileges we enjoy every day and if we are a bit compassionate and empathetic we can make a better world without really compromising much on our privileges. 

Why do we think the Netflix show 'Indian Matchmaking' made us Indians so uncomfortable? Because we know that is the real picture put out there for the world to see and yes all of the people in the show belonged to the very privileged classes of the society, the 'people who hold the reigns', 'the people who can bring the change' but are we still on the same page? If so then by now maybe I have made myself kind of clear with a lot of questions, and without being preachy I would just like to end by repeating the question, "Is privilege about entitlements or duties?"