Satyameva Jayate:Simple and Effective

We elect members to our parliament, state legislatures and local governing bodies regularly and they form the government, frame laws, rules, regulations and policy. The judiciary interprets and pronounces judgements based on these laws, but these organs of state have little power to decide what we think, what we aspire to become and what our attitudes are. It cannot decide for us what jobs we will take up or what sort of education we want, but can only provide us with options and ensure fairness and freedom to choose. We make our own decisions and in this aspect, the state has little role to play.

Our country has seen several instances of crimes against those belonging to lower castes, women, tribes and minorities. The government can only act by prescribing punishments for such acts and cannot be expected to mark its presence in every street corner or in every home and probe our activities. It is true that government can encourage and promote development of those belonging to lower castes, women etc but ultimately it is up us, the individuals, to treat our brethren with respect, dignity and honour. This is where Amir Khan's television endeavour "Satyameva Jayate" has its place, in influencing and educating the public, in generating awareness about the evils that plague us, in a simple yet effective language of a common man and one, thanks to his celebrity status, people will listen to more than they will heed the words of our politicians.

The solution to a skewed sex ratio is very simple, treat girls as equal to boys. The government cannot frame a law for this, go to every home and ensure this happens, our society must change because it feels the need to change and not because there are rules and regulations and incentives to promote the birth of girls. The role of government in these areas is limited, the role of public discussions, awareness, debates and opinions extremely important and such visible forms of discussion as envisaged by Amir Khan should get people thinking because it is in a form people can understand, relate to and most importantly gets their attention. It is much better than the cacophony and extremely annoying professional news presenters that rule prime time television, as "Satyameva Jayate" consists of sensible discussions without any animosity and hot-headedness, shows real problems of real people and not merely expert views of those residing in ivory towers, detached from reality. It deserves appreciation since it goes much beyond tokenism and PR exercises of celebrities and it is evident that there has been some genuine effort from the actor's part to bring an issue to the public.

For all the talk of his actions being amateurish, perhaps that is exactly what the country needs now. A known face coming out and asking questions of us, our lives and attitudes which will be understood by all, an attempt to find simple, elegant yet obvious solutions to the problem that face our country. In my opinion, Amir Khan has succeeded in that and I hope the initial enthusiasm the programme received continues and we too start thinking about the issues in our society to which we alone hold the answer.