THE CAPITAL-IST MENTALITY

 

It is not known whether others have also noticed a tendency among those residing in the capital cities to have a tendency of feeling superior to other citizens elsewhere in the country/state.

I at least have felt so.

In general, the people living in Delhi, at least those who have settled there for quite some time, have a tendency to behave as if they know more than the outsiders.

This could be because they are near the power center.  They get to know more people who rule the Country.  They have access to more inside information about what goes on in the corridors of power, because they have their own relatives or friends there, or get to know of the whispers through them.

Due to being at that place, they feel more confident of having access to any of the wheels or inner wheels of power.  They also therefore have more say in policy making.

This perhaps gets into their brains and their DNA and thus they tend to have a 'superiority complex'.

The same tendency exists among the Capitali-ists of each state, vis-a-vis the rest of those in the same state.

While I have noticed this to those in almost all Capitals, within India however I have also found a counter to the Delhi mentality coming from those in Mumbai and Kolkotta.

They also are in capitals of their respective states.  But the people of Mumbai are seen to have the capacity to overcome the Delhi-ite phenomenon, perhaps because they are from the Commercial Capital of the Country.

The mind set of Kolkatta-an perhaps stems from their capacity to observe the events and come to conclusions before-hand.  I have seen an inherent fear for the Easterners among those in Delhi.  They feel that they do not easily submit to their ‘authority’.

Capital-ists of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi (not Trivandrum mind you) lie in between the mindset of Mumbai and Kolkatta.

Narendra Modi was acutely aware of this syndrome and promised to make a difference by going to Delhi.  But he has handed over his government to bureaucrats (including most of the Ministerial berths) thereby letting this Capital-ist spirit continue to take complete control.

The spirit of a parliamentary democracy lies in balancing the above aspect by allowing people of all parts of the country/state to air their views and policy to be made accordingly.

But due to Parliament and the election process becoming victim of Party identities and the rigidities strengthened due to the anti-defection law, the proceedings in the Parliament have lost relevance.  Policies are decided elsewhere. Parliament has become just a debating hall, at best.

This phenomenon of the Capital-ist could be seen on the world scenario also.

It was visible in the case of Imperial Rome in earlier years, Britain in the last century and is visible now in the tendency of Washington.  And like in our country’s example, Washington’s challenge lies in China and Russia.

On the world stage, India that is Bharath, is placed in the position of the southern states in the above example  within the country.

The basic tendencies therefore appear to be the same.

The tendency of those who are in the capitals, or who own ‘capital’ hence are ‘Capitalistic’.

This holds equally good to the city dwellers also, vis-a-vis those in villages and those in command of a particular influential language vis-a-vis to those who do not possess it.

When in authority, whether due to political power or financial power, you feel superior. The other alternative is to be keen, observant and vigilant against the others’ moves.

The tendency to subjugate is the underlying animal instinct behind every political and commercial activity.