Though political and economic issues get much attention, little is said about social reform initiatives. Nevertheless, one must acknowledge the importance of these measures not just for mitigating concerns but also for making personal and community/social dynamics more productive and friendly towards life, creative thinking in society that inspires global development. How strange it is that social reform can be marginalized over time despite its enormous capacity for positive change. In many cases where there are efforts towards this end, they often fail because they do not capture the fundamentals. This phenomenon can be observed in many regions of the world but this trend is most pernicious in the world’s poorest countries, where poverty and deprivation are at their worst. For example, the need to curb alcohol consumption is universal across rich and poor countries but even greater in some of the latter because intoxication literally schools addicts economically. India had a rich history regarding social reforms before independence. Thanking our stars that we had social reformers like Raja Ram Mohun Roy and B.R. Ambedkar. Basically the struggle for freedom was part and parcel of social reform, thus those picketing public houses were important to society in the cry for independence from colonial behaviour. While we perhaps owe this close integration to the efforts of Gandhiji, but even looking at the other sides of freedom movement such as Shaheed Bhagat Singh or Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose or Master Surya Sen etc., the face comes to the fore that sense of respect among them for social reform was too deep. India has a long tradition of social reform, some from its past and even more in the recent history ranging from Raja Ram Mohan Roy to B. Ambedkar. It is unfortunate that this field is now neglected and also tragic due to which it has been damaged as a consequence. Obviously, we need to redress this neglect and place social reforms on an equal footing of priority with far greater importance in the national scheme. Now is perhaps the best time for us to address and carry out social reforms —even though we live in trying times. The idea is to recognize that there might be a higher likelihood of individuals proactively supporting social reform during times of hardship. In such circumstances, the desire for relief and the search for other options generally is very intense among people. It implies, therefore, that our preferred social reforms ought to provide immediate relief to individuals in specific areas. Also, our initiatives should be complex and extensive yet straightforward and unambiguous.
“It is, therefore, necessary for towns and cities to mandate committees to look into this matter every once in a while. It is also important that these committees work together in order to make better and more efficient policies. Governments can help by directly involving with social reformation committees in the time of policy building and supportive behavior. What is even small efforts in some countries will turn out to be some huge social changes with the passage of time.”
Definitely avoid dogmatism. The message about social reform must be clear—fitting into real experiences of citizens and open for interpretation in context. Upon careful consideration, we have arrived at three key simple rules that will facilitate positive change in society. Firstly, it is necessary to deliberately refrain from causing any kind of pain towards another person or even any living creature on earth as a whole. We must always strive to make it part of new social order. Second, while interacting with the weak or disadvantaged, helping them rather than exploiting their weaknesses should take precedence over all matters. Thirdly this means getting rid of all feeling or attitude based on discrimination so as to truly adhere to the principle of equality and fundamental unity amongst all human beings irrespective of their caste, creed, race, sex or any other factor that may divide one man from the other. Each of these simple messages, it turns out, has a vast domain of applicability to everyday human behavior. Ultimately, this has important implications for the designs of our human societies and forms of governance we collectively decide to adopt. In the near future and the distant future, if we care about seriously reducing human misery and suffering, then we will need values like these—however, they will need to be accompanied by action-oriented programs. These will bring about significant transformation in health, family atmosphere, social tastes and attitudes and our general sense of self worth. (The) women and the child shall be the biggest beneficiary of a culture that shall learn to rid itself of its two thousand years’ prejudice and practices. The consequential diminution of agony and suffering would be unimaginable. Such a work cannot be expected to be accomplished by one individual. It needs to be carried on for a reasonable duration so as to stabilize the gains and, if possible deepen them. It is, therefore, necessary for towns and cities to mandate committees to look into this matter every once in a while. It is also important that these committees work together in order to make better and more efficient policies. Governments can help by directly involving with social reformation committees in the time of policy building and supportive behavior. What is even small efforts in some countries will turn out to be some huge social changes with the passage of time.
(The author is a freelancer. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
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