Come to think of it
now...the title really plugs well into the CLEAN INDIA mission currently being
run by the government. But alas! Mr Goswami, I dont have a headstrong opinion
about everything under the sun.
My little fairytale
world is knit around the one thing that makes me dream- SCIENCE and its link to
the social make-up we see today. I am a staunch believer in "We are
nothing but biochemical reactions" theory.
I think, hence I am. And
how do I think- biochemicals. I love, hence I survive. Sorry to break the news
SRK fans but love is also just biochemicals reacting. I reproduce, hence I
evolve. Well no doubt that reproduction is all biochemicals too- from
conception to delivery and beyond!
The debate in recent
time about an infamous BBC documentary had many charged up Indians criticizing
this heinous act by the British. We gave them 200 years- like that wasnt
enough! Articles were written, blogs were published and walls were sprayed with
comments. And the mascot of unknowing Foot-in-Mouth
Dr Dawkins was an overnight sensation. His tags now included rude, brash,
arrogant and insensitive apart from the already existing highlight in his
resume- atheist; which is already a dreaded word in the holy society today. With
this debate, it seemed like he had earned another feather in his KuKluxKlanish
hat.
But am I in favor of the
documentary or not, you ask? Because thats the whole point, right? To choose
sides.
However, that is not
what got me thinking in the first place. The way this debate hijacked all sorts
of media with opinions flying in all directions made me feel sorry. Not for
Indians or the British but for the silent death of the actual disturbing facts.
A rape is commited every
29 minutes in India, a dowry death every 77 minutes and about 70% of women in
India are victims of some form of violence- emotional, physical and mental. These
figures are enough to question the “civilized” part of the civil society that
we live in. Yet the drama that unfolded was about why was a Britisher allowed
to interview an Indian inmate, why were facts being shown in a light to malign
India and why did they not highlight the rape incidence in the west which,
apparently, is much higher than India.
Really??!! THAT’S the point in the whole
documentary?
Its like if some unknown
lady on the bus pointed out to me that my kajal
is smeared and my answer to her would be, “Oh! But you are so ugly too!”
Its really that crazy
when we think logically. Or is it?
Probably not.
Actually, what happened
in reaction to the documentary is something very innate, natural and core to
our evolutionary make up. Its called Territory marking.
Many species in the wild
mark their territory by spraying scent mostly by urinating in the territor.
Basically by leaving their scent in that territory they are informing other animals
that that piece of land belongs to them and their clan. It is a behavior seen
across species ranging from fish, birds, lemurs, wolves to tigers.
Understanding territory
marking will make many of our acts in our everday social life suddenly acquire
more meaning and hence, make sense.
There are some facts to
bring forth before we proceed to understand our innate need for territory
marking
·
Territory marking is usually conspecific: Territory is marked by individuals of a specie
to inform other individuals of the SAME specie. A male tiger sprays urine on
the trees in his territory to tell other male tigers who may happen to venture
in that area that this territory belongs to me, Iam the protector of my clan
and you better find some other place for your clan as the resources, food and
nesting sites are already taken. Basically its calling dibs on that area!
·
Territory once marked is defended against: Once the alpha male (ie the leader male of the
clan) marks his territory, he shall defend it vehemently in case it is
challenged by anyone. Battles over territory in the animal kingdom range from behavior
aggression, visual intimidation to actual duels to death.
·
Territory marking is largely scent based: Marking of a territory is largely done by
urinating or by secretory glands that eject out scent that holds information
about the specie, sex, dominance etc of the sprayer.
Now take what you have learnt and plug it into our overzealous
reaction to the BBC documentary.
We are programmed to defend our territory. It is this hardwired
evolutionary behavior that came out in form of those ugly messages painted
across many FB walls.
The issue was not what was being portrayed. Rather, it was an
foreign member of our specie (British) challenging the social make up of our
territory (India). India- a territory already scent marked by the inhabitants
(quite literally actually!!). It was this biologically innate need to attack an
intruder inside a scent marked territory that came out as opinions and anger
across the country.
So the next time Dad lectures you about wasting time rooting for
India in the World Cup instead of studying for your exams, you know how to
explain it to him.
And Dr Dawkins, you are my literary hero and shall always be.
Please don’t mind what my fellow Indians are saying. You know, its just that we
get touchy about comments on India because that’s where we pee. And the evolutionary
biologist in you knows very well….HOME IS WHERE MY PEE IS!
