ONE of the great tragedies of contemporary imagination is that democracy as a discourse has become impoverished. As an imagination, it needs to renew its creation myths. The old social contract built around majoritarianism and electoral view is no longer adequate. It has the tendency to become authoritarian in its everydayness.
The direct democracy experiment did recharge the imagination, but it also revealed that democracy needs craftsmanship that renews its assumption in a changing world. One discourse that needs to be re-examined is the relation between democracy, knowledge, information and communication. These need a new discourse enacting out the dialogic nature, revealing the dynamics between technology, knowledge and democracy.
Democracy lost out in the age of the storyteller. A storyteller imparts more than news. He embodies the angst and enthusiasm to the creation myths of the time. Modern media has brushed aside the storyteller. The whole commons of fables, myths, parables and stories is tending to disappear.
One has to realise that news as information creates forms of obsolescence. It erases what is old, it erases the question of oral memory. Memory is not information. It is a lived era. It is like being more at home with the world. There is a phenomenological intensity to the way it unfolds.
One major illustration of this came when political scientist Chandrika Parmar was interviewing an entrepreneur. We wanted to talk to him on pollution, but he was intrigued by our studies on the partition. He insisted on talking about his experiences. He referred to the train from Pakistan-of hiding in the bathroom, of watching people being slaughtered. He spoke passionately time and again, until we discovered he was seven years old when the partition occurred. We realised he had internalised the story of his father.
Esta historia es de la edición September 12, 2024 de The New Indian Express.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 12, 2024 de The New Indian Express.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Real upset as Lille beat Madrid; Villa down Bayern
KYLIAN Mbappe came off the bench but couldn't prevent defending champion Real Madrid from losing 1-0 at unheralded Lille in the revamped Champions League on Wednesday.
WOMEN LOOK TO STORM DESERT
After the dress rehearsals, it’s time for the real thing as India take on New Zealand in their opening match of the WC
Blow as India miss out on big wrestling events
AFTER losing the hosting rights of the tournament last year due to the wrestlers' protest, India were keen to organise the Senior, U23 and U17 Asian Wrestling Championships next year.
Tata Electronics to resume ops at Hosur plant
TATA Electronics on Thursday announced that it will resume certain operations at its Hosur, Tamil Nadu plant, which produces components for Apple iPhones.
Banking industry likely to increase funding for cloud
BANKS have now increased cloud spending and they are more likely to increase spending on cloud in the year ahead, according to Infosys' Cloud Radar: Banking Industry Report.
Hyundai's much awaited IPO to hit market on Oct 14
THE much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of Hyundai Motor India, the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, is expected to hit the market on October 14, said people familiar with the development.
WazirX to set up creditors' panel by October 9
CRYPTO exchange WazirX has said it will initiate the process of forming a Committee of Creditors (COC) by October 9, and it aims to hold the first COC meeting within a week of the formation of the COC.
Q2FY25 IT results preview: Revenue growth to be positive
IT services companies might report better earnings in the second quarter of this fiscal year as analysts believe that there have been improvements in decision cycles and that Generative AI deals will be in focus.
ITC allowed on construction costs for rental realty
IN a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court on Thursday provided major relief to property owners by affirming that input tax credit (ITC) on construction costs for rental buildings can be claimed, likening such properties to \"plants\" in a factory that generate economic output.
Middle-East conflict: ₹10L cr erased from mkt
Extending losses for fourth consecutive session, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 crashed more than 2% each