Grunt and groan if you cannot speak

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent
Ludwig Wittgenstein

What does Wittgenstein know? How dare he, a mere mathematician, comment on ways of life, when to speak, when to hold one’s silence etc.? We, the Indian public, know better.

Wittgenstein said nothing about whining, groaning and grunting, in perpetuity and that is the crack in the door. So, we do those things when we are tongue tied (this does not happen as often as it should though). We do not know how exactly governance proceeds, but we are quick with our condemnations. We do not define corruption but we recognize it in others, especially politicians, in a trice. We do not know how to tailor public actions in the face of threats of epidemics/pandemics, but we are ready with our know-it-all suggestions; after all we are a democracy. We do not recognize the particular form of democracy we have adopted, yet condemn the whole concept. We do not know the intricacies of politics, “the art of making the impossible possible”, (mis)quoting a politicians’ politician, but that does not stop us from pillorying that tribe.

We take to Noam Chomsky’s logic: You cannot play even tennis ball cricket, yet you offer expert comments on the game at the highest levels; do the same on politics, sociology etc. What stops you? Obviously nothing.

I know nothing about the tussle between RIL (Reliance Industries Limited) and RNRL (Reliance Natural Resources Limited) in which the term PSC finds a lot of mention. PSC (Production Sharing Contract) is something way beyond the level of my comprehension. Mukesh (with a billion dollar multi-storey tower as his residence) and Anil Ambani populate a world that does not exist even in my fantasies. I have now established my credentials, not to speak but to grunt and groan on the current “controversy”, the KG Basin gas distribution and costing.

There is a third party, Indian politicians, in this drama. The cast comprises Murli Deora with a huge ensemble of IAS extras. It is really a pitiable position he is in. If you would recall, a few years back the prime minster was advised to keep-off the family feud between Mukesh and Anil when it came to dividing the family silver. This did not filter down to Mr. Deora and he seems to have taken sides with Mukesh, as per the story that has unfolded so far. But Anil is not a babe in the woods. He has his own strings to pull and is doing it, not innocuously. I do not know the details, but as Chomsky said, I do not need to know.

Amidst all this ignorance, I am sure of one thing. The drama is not a family feud, is not even a corporate fight, but is a no-holds-barred hug-fest (an oxymoron) between the brothers, to strip the government of its rights to regulate businesses, and discharge its duty as the steward of public assets. In their minds, the Indian natural gas reserves in the KG basin have been transformed into family silver. This is just the thin end of the wedge.

The brothers are impatient to go through the rigmarole of normative institutional development; they prefer fast and furious ad-hoc changes that are flexible enough in the future. Footloose and fancy-free.

Chomsky should be proud of what I have written above and my much muted grunting and groaning rebellion against Wittgenstein’s edict is over.

Raghuram Ekambaram