Keeping it civil

Swadesi performs live

The idea of political apathy lingers somewhere between being arrogant and living in a fool's paradise. It was George Orwell, who once said, "In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics'. All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia." That might be a morbid indictment even of our current state of affairs. But the fact remains that turning a blind eye to the powers that be, leaves the polity vulnerable to insidious manipulation at the very least, and authoritarian subjugation at the very worst.

"But youngsters simply aren't interested in politics because they find the content boring," says Pratik Kanodia, co-founder of Bluewhistle, a start-up that aims to engage the youth in meaningful issues that have a direct impact on their life. And with that in mind, this weekend, they will be organising the first Mumbai edition of Intellectual Blah Blah, a platform where a serious political subject is viewed through the prism of humour.

Pratik Kanodia

The subject that will be tackled this time is the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The event will involve a panel discussion featuring educationist-cum-columnist Raghav Pandey and political consultant Surabhi Hodigere - who will speak about the merits of the UCC - and a student who will present an opposing viewpoint. Then there is a satirical sketch on the subject that comedy collective Tadpatri Talkies will put up, apart from a rap performance thanks to the hip-hop crew, Swadesi.

Kanodia adds that outside of such offline events, his start-up also organises workshops and boot camps for students. "Journalism, public policy, and sociology - all these courses are the ones that impact our society directly. But the problem is that the people who study these courses get a passive form of education, as opposed to a dynamic one," he says, pointing out how right-thinking people who aren't afraid to ask tough questions to the government are the need of the hour since "dissent is the safety valve of democracy", as the Supreme Court's Justice DY Chandrachud recently pointed out.

ON September 30, 5 pm
AT The Habitat, Hotel Unicontinental, Khar West. CALL 9833358490
ENTRY Rs 300 onwards

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates