The British PM David Cameron might lament the loss of British family values and accuse such loss for the UK Race riots. Whether it is true or not is for social researchers and historians to decide.
Back home in India, we often hear many people, from different walks of life, from industrialists to social workers to press barons and editors, to judges and entertainers, not the least politicians, cry out that the traditional Indian values and family system is being destroyed due to some ‘foreign’ influence.
They quite often point that the Indian acceptance of the American style of consumerism and conspicuous consumption is the main reason for the degeneration. Others gleefully jump on the intrusion of Cinema and TV into the homes and in our everyday lives.
The Nations nearby go out even further -
:-P
Of all such people the politicians are the worst lot. Often they choose to forget that policies they envisage and implement, possibly in good faith, can and do directly lead to erosion of tradition and values.
Thus a minister can be truthful when he claims that in India today women are more concerned about mobiles than toilets. It is a different matter that he was slammed for making such a ‘crass’ observation. It is also a different matter that the Census of India 2011 reaffirms his point that more Indian homes have mobiles than toilets.
This post is not about a ministers cussedness or the hype by the media. This is about how a policy by the same government to which the minister belongs enforces a policy which directly leads to disintegration of social structures and values in India. This is not an exception but the rule and if we care to dig enough, every government, whether national or of any one of the states could be shown to wallow in the same trough.
A prime example is the findings in the latest Census of India 2011, which categorically states that the Indian joint-family system is on the vane. The survey shows that … “the proportion of households with one or two married couples has risen over the last few years, while the proportion of households in which three or more married couples lived together has declined” … (direct quote from ToI).
The report goes on to state that less than 1/3rd of India now comprises of families boasting more than 6 members. Or to see it from the other side, the proportion of families with 3 or more couples living together in the same home in India has fallen to less than 75% of all Indian households.
The statistic still does warm my heart. If 33% of Indian households still live with 5 or 6 members or 2 married couples, it probably and most likely means that 2 earning couples with their 2 children and 1 (or 2) parents are living together. OTOH, it also pains me. The fact that more number of families do not have more than 2 married couples means that the same family which now lives together as a unit - 2 elders, 2 earners and 2 youngsters is going to split up when they grow up as 2 different households.
Assuming the 2 elders pass away, the Census probably, but surely indicates that the 2 earners today are going to end up one each with the kids, who would grow up, marry and have 2 kids each. Which in turn means that the percentile of 3 or more couples living in the same household is going to fall further. Even worse if they choose to split the care for their parents - mom with the elder one and pop with the younger or vice-versa.
:-)
To look at it from another perspective many of those splits may not be by intention, but be forced. Not necessarily because of ‘spouse trouble’, but maybe because of migration of labour and better career prospects, which are inevitable in a progressive, industrialized society.
All said and done, there is always a mad.madrasi take. There has to be one, doesn’t it?
The present policies of the GoI and the Oil Companies deem that every household would be entitled to only one LPG (cooking gas) connection and even that should be limited to 4 cylinders an year. The absurdity of the 4 cylinders per year has been blasted by me earlier in ‘Where is the Czarina now?’
Now the question I raise is how far has this cockeyed policy of limiting the LPG connection and cylinders per household spurred the people to split up. Obviously limiting or restricting a 3 or 4 couple household to the same number of LPG cylinders or consumption as that of a 1 or 2 couple home is absurd.
And splitting up into 2 or 3 households, even with elders staying alone (at least on paper), would entitle them to 2 or 3 connections with 6 possible cylinders, keeping in mind that every connection can claim an additional cylinder as spare, to switch between them, if the necessity arises.
If the Government insists upon such an idiotic policies how can we ever hope to uphold traditional values and culture - in this instance concerning joint families?
I mean isn’t that penalising people for living together in a joint family?
While actually the government should be encouraging people, wherever feasible, to stay together?
I might term myself as mad, but in reality the people who act as if they’ve absolutely cranks are the Prime Minister, the Petroleum Minister and the members of the Planning Commission of India, chaired by the Rasputin-like Montek Singh Ahuluwalia.
They would certainly have had full access to the Census data and there must be quite a few (if not a whole lot) of nuggets like this, which should form the nursery for future policy guidelines.
Wonder if even this simple cause-and-effect ever occurred to them? I think not. Despite their education, knowledge, experience, grooming, entrusted powers and responsibility, they still act like idiots.
My Naughty half natters, ‘that Rasputin to Montek morphing is a classic work of art. Wonder why no one commented on it?’
Here is the snapshot, for the actual animated GIF see this post.
Back home in India, we often hear many people, from different walks of life, from industrialists to social workers to press barons and editors, to judges and entertainers, not the least politicians, cry out that the traditional Indian values and family system is being destroyed due to some ‘foreign’ influence.
They quite often point that the Indian acceptance of the American style of consumerism and conspicuous consumption is the main reason for the degeneration. Others gleefully jump on the intrusion of Cinema and TV into the homes and in our everyday lives.
The Nations nearby go out even further -
- Pakistan bans Indian TV soap operas and music, while
- Bhutan blocks Indian TV channels entirely,
:-P
Of all such people the politicians are the worst lot. Often they choose to forget that policies they envisage and implement, possibly in good faith, can and do directly lead to erosion of tradition and values.
Thus a minister can be truthful when he claims that in India today women are more concerned about mobiles than toilets. It is a different matter that he was slammed for making such a ‘crass’ observation. It is also a different matter that the Census of India 2011 reaffirms his point that more Indian homes have mobiles than toilets.
This post is not about a ministers cussedness or the hype by the media. This is about how a policy by the same government to which the minister belongs enforces a policy which directly leads to disintegration of social structures and values in India. This is not an exception but the rule and if we care to dig enough, every government, whether national or of any one of the states could be shown to wallow in the same trough.
A prime example is the findings in the latest Census of India 2011, which categorically states that the Indian joint-family system is on the vane. The survey shows that … “the proportion of households with one or two married couples has risen over the last few years, while the proportion of households in which three or more married couples lived together has declined” … (direct quote from ToI).
The report goes on to state that less than 1/3rd of India now comprises of families boasting more than 6 members. Or to see it from the other side, the proportion of families with 3 or more couples living together in the same home in India has fallen to less than 75% of all Indian households.
The statistic still does warm my heart. If 33% of Indian households still live with 5 or 6 members or 2 married couples, it probably and most likely means that 2 earning couples with their 2 children and 1 (or 2) parents are living together. OTOH, it also pains me. The fact that more number of families do not have more than 2 married couples means that the same family which now lives together as a unit - 2 elders, 2 earners and 2 youngsters is going to split up when they grow up as 2 different households.
Assuming the 2 elders pass away, the Census probably, but surely indicates that the 2 earners today are going to end up one each with the kids, who would grow up, marry and have 2 kids each. Which in turn means that the percentile of 3 or more couples living in the same household is going to fall further. Even worse if they choose to split the care for their parents - mom with the elder one and pop with the younger or vice-versa.
:-)
To look at it from another perspective many of those splits may not be by intention, but be forced. Not necessarily because of ‘spouse trouble’, but maybe because of migration of labour and better career prospects, which are inevitable in a progressive, industrialized society.
All said and done, there is always a mad.madrasi take. There has to be one, doesn’t it?
The present policies of the GoI and the Oil Companies deem that every household would be entitled to only one LPG (cooking gas) connection and even that should be limited to 4 cylinders an year. The absurdity of the 4 cylinders per year has been blasted by me earlier in ‘Where is the Czarina now?’
Now the question I raise is how far has this cockeyed policy of limiting the LPG connection and cylinders per household spurred the people to split up. Obviously limiting or restricting a 3 or 4 couple household to the same number of LPG cylinders or consumption as that of a 1 or 2 couple home is absurd.
And splitting up into 2 or 3 households, even with elders staying alone (at least on paper), would entitle them to 2 or 3 connections with 6 possible cylinders, keeping in mind that every connection can claim an additional cylinder as spare, to switch between them, if the necessity arises.
If the Government insists upon such an idiotic policies how can we ever hope to uphold traditional values and culture - in this instance concerning joint families?
I mean isn’t that penalising people for living together in a joint family?
While actually the government should be encouraging people, wherever feasible, to stay together?
I might term myself as mad, but in reality the people who act as if they’ve absolutely cranks are the Prime Minister, the Petroleum Minister and the members of the Planning Commission of India, chaired by the Rasputin-like Montek Singh Ahuluwalia.
They would certainly have had full access to the Census data and there must be quite a few (if not a whole lot) of nuggets like this, which should form the nursery for future policy guidelines.
Wonder if even this simple cause-and-effect ever occurred to them? I think not. Despite their education, knowledge, experience, grooming, entrusted powers and responsibility, they still act like idiots.
My Naughty half natters, ‘that Rasputin to Montek morphing is a classic work of art. Wonder why no one commented on it?’
Here is the snapshot, for the actual animated GIF see this post.
Rasputin will be spinning in his grave, if he is in one, for he did not have to eat the crow like Monty python did. :-)
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