Notwithstanding the sustained efforts of our neo-colonial rulers to "decolonise" our mental spaces, some vestiges of it remain. Have you noticed how, the moment someone is given a uniform, or a baton, or a public office, he starts wielding his "authority" with indiscriminate abandon and capriciousness, as if to make up for having been at the receiving end himself for years ? (And I'm not talking here of petty govt. officials who are in a league of their own, but of your average non-sarkari Joe). Harken back to your own experience, dear reader, with the not-so-friendly neighbourhood cop, the parking attendant, the security guard, the toll plaza guy, the air-line staffer, the bank clerk, the ration shop dealer, the mobile service center chap, the vigilante "gau rakshak" goon, or any other person with a suppressed or low self esteem who suddenly finds himself empowered to lord it over his fellow citizens. The latest entrant to this sorry tribe is the RWA (Resident Welfare Association) or the AOA (Apartment Owners' Association).
These elected bodies have been established by law to manage their colonies and housing developments, but of late have acquired an extra judicial, parastatal identity, issuing edicts and orders they have no business doing, like petty tyrants. They are totally unmindful of the laws of the land and violate them with impunity. Increasingly, RWAs have disallowed residence/ tenancy of bachelors, student groups, single women, pet owners, live-in couples, even female visitors. Residents who object or complain have their power or water cut off, entry restricted and are slapped with unjustified fines. The high (low?) point of this was reached last week when a New Delhi RWA ordered the daughter of Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyer, ex-Congress Minister and MP, to vacate her flat in the colony and move out ! The provocation ? A social media post she had put up, criticising the Ram Mandir consecration on the 22nd January and going on a three day fast to protest against it. A purely private opinion and a personal gesture in a still putative free country, you would think? Wrong.
The pot bellies of the RWA , donning the mantle of protectors of the Faith, decided that Ms. Aiyar was indulging in hate speech, insulting the Hindu religion and inciting disrespect towards it. She had to go, even though she is reportedly not a resident of that particular RWA, though her father is! This brazen and illegal assumption of an undelegated authority by these medieval burghers marks a paradigm shift and escalation in the role of the RWAs- one towards bare faced bigotry and sectarianism, which is not only disturbing, but is also dangerous in its implications.
In a prevailing atmosphere of intolerance, majoritarianism and religious triumphalism, emboldened by regressive laws like the anti-conversion Acts, the UCC of Uttarakhand and the impending CAA and NRC, this assumption of extra-legal authority by the RWAs and AOAs is ominous. They are gradually becoming the self-appointed gate-keepers of morality, culture and political discourse- a role that the law does not confer on them. Unfortunately, the recent spurt in laws that stigmatize inter-faith marriages or live-in relationships or conversions come in handy for these RWAs to harass those who have adopted such relationships or identities. The time is not far off when these busybodies may determine what their members eat, how they dress, to which Gods they pray. If not checked they could well demand, in due course of time, the production of marriage certificates, prohibit live-in residents or couples in an inter-faith marriage, bar members of a particular religious denomination or hailing from a particular region from living in their societies, compel participation in specific religious functions, expel residents for being critical of government policies, insist on proof of citizenship, dictate how many children an apartment owner can have .Why, they may even insist that all their members vote for a particular party! It would be vigilantism of the worst type. Needless to say, they could legitimately expect the full support of the local police in certain states.
Citizens are already subject to all kinds of surveillance, privacy intrusions and indoctrination by the government; the RWAs could take it to a whole new level. This trend must be resisted before it goes out of hand. State governments must step in now, through their district administrations and Registrars of Cooperative Societies, to draw red lines for the RWAs and penalise those who cross them. A man's house was once his castle, it is now under siege.
A lot of help in running the Blocks/Buildings is taken from local politicians. And I fear the citizenry is paying the price for this.
ReplyDeleteYour apprehension reads like a black and white movie script from the fifties when the Bombay chawl residents were the depicted as the keepers if the resident's morals. One can visualise Lalita Pawar or Kanhaiyalal pointing fingers at single men or women or young couples and getting them thrown out of the society.
ReplyDeleteOur so called modern thinking is regressing ....
Alarming bells are ringing in all spheres of our day to day life..!!! Where are we heading... ?!!?? it's scary to see and hear about these underlying ugly aspects of human nature that have sprouted in the past decade...!! It keeps getting worse day by day...God bless our country 🙏 😢
ReplyDeleteRWAs are necessary. Infact , we Indians are notorious in our community life and RWAs only can force some sense into dirty and uncaring members. Mostly it's a thankless job. RWA ensured govt water, sewage and road connectivity for our colony which was not there when flats were sold to gullible customers by the builder. Our president ine retired KV teacher Mr Mukherjee did all for nothing for 12 years. Without RWA you wint. E able to move your car as roads will be choked by parking. However they should not exceed their brief
ReplyDeleteThat is precisely my point, Vikas: they should do the job which the law enjoins them to do and for which the residents elect them, and not get into politics, religion and cultural matters. There are RWAs which function very well, especially in extricating their Societies from the clutches of builders who are reluctant to hand over control and the lucrative "maintenance" funds.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true even in cities like Kanpur. Even in my society people behave like "big brother" towards the residents of other religions. Novice Sanatinis are becoming Satan of Milton .Alas! what a fall!
ReplyDeleteOur Resident Welfare Association changed hands last month when elections compelled it to dissolve the old committee and a new one got foisted upon us.
ReplyDeleteThe previous Chairman was a character straight out of Mr. Shukla’s RWAs. One of his edicts was the banishing of stray dogs from our towers. For this, 34 bamboo sticks of a particular thickness and length were custom-procured. Not to maim the strays thankfully, but to bang on the paved blocks of the walkways because the Chairman had wanted to hear a particularly amplified “thump” when the sticks would make contact with terra firma upon a watchman sighting a dog. All 34 watchmen would then beat in unison, and the resonant sound was bound to drive the tailed quadrupeds out of the society precincts - so were the Chairman’s orders. A Parsi resident, whose allegiance to the ex-RWA was unfaltering, had instructed that this be performed for 3 weeks, whereafter the strays would be de-trained of their adopted habitat and our towers de-dogged to his guarantee.
After 3 weeks of thumping to the ordered frequency, the dogs stayed put. We lost 3 watchmen to inhuman coercion on duty. And uncountable paving blocks.
The new Managing Committee is in place now. Order is restituted.
What the present RWA will do is to be seen. I am cringing because I am one of the members on it.
We, as a society are sliding backwards so fast, pushed along by idiots spreading oil on the slopes. Only a matter of time before the ones who are still hanging in there will get sucked in, with us becoming a nation of braindead/voiceless robots.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed how, the moment someone is given a uniform, or a baton, or a public office, he starts wielding his "authority" with indiscriminate abandon and capriciousness, as if to make up for having been at the receiving end himself for years ? (And I'm not talking here of petty govt. officials who are in a league of their own, but of your average non-sarkari Joe). Harken back to your own experience, dear reader, with the not-so-friendly neighbourhood cop, the parking attendant, the security guard, the toll plaza guy, the air-line staffer, the bank clerk, the ration shop dealer, the mobile service center chap, the vigilante "gau rakshak" goon, or any other person with a suppressed or low self esteem who suddenly finds himself empowered to lord it over his fellow citizens... !!! aukaat?
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, of course, of course.
DeleteBut have you also noticed how we take our lead from our so-called superiors? If the boss is a bully, the staff tend to follow.
Can bosses not be bullies?
Can messages, verbal, seen and trusted as largely unquestionable, be conveyed and nurtured and be truly 'seen' to be good?
Small dreams. Of scorpions no less. Forwarding to Avay - no tech sense to do better - a rather brilliant video of Mr Praksh Raj, the actor(?).
ReplyDeleteIt's not about RWAs but about our very own resplendent soul. And reading to him a simple question - do your stuff in your own house, not in mine. Parliament is my house, our house. Who the hell are you to conduct a havan there? No scope for debate. Get to the point.
Perhaps this could apply to jackbooted RWAs too. Start small, if y'know what I mean.