Opium of the Indian Masses

People give so much importance to movie actors and cricket players. If cricket and movies are only seen as entertainment, there is no harm. But people take it to the extreme.

With the white noise of useless information, it has been getting increasingly difficult for social activists, organizations and political parties with good intentions to make an impact and bring about change.

The remedy is to educate people to respect and give importance to the right role models and the real issues. We need to give importance to who really matter in public life - good politicians, scientists, social activists, and eminent people in many other fields.

 

Cricket and movies have become the opium of the Indian masses. Youngsters are ending up knowing every useless detail about celebrities, but nothing about what and who really matter in public life. With so much stupid information floating around, they are oblivious to the issues that matter, like:

• The government policies
• What one's locality needs from the local representative in the assembly and parliament
• Whether the local MLA and MP are doing any useful work or are they indulging in corruption
• Any social movements going on to change the status quo
• What the government is doing about pressing issues like education and healthcare

 

The media is just pandering to the low tastes of people instead of educating them. We see movie news and meaningless sensational tidbits encroaching upon and getting equal if not more importance and air time on TV channels. Newspapers give so much importance to celebrity trivia.... that it is getting increasingly difficult for us to differentiate between actual news and trivia.

 

We need a change in the attitudes of people and the media if we hope to bring about any positive change in India.