A new superhero is in town called the Mango Man but there is absolutely
no threat to other comic superheroes and their franchises because Mango
Man is neither attractive nor glamorous. More importantly, Mango Man is
not always 'man' nor is it one physical entity. It is a class of people
whom the ruling elite as well as the ruled elite call the common man or
common people ( to avoid charge of gender discrimination). Of course it
is a popular play on the Hindi words,'aam aadmi' but the usage here
slightly of a different context. Almost every year, there is at least
one reported incidence of poor tribal in Orissa dying after consuming
mango kernel as a last attempt to ward of death from starvation.
Now,starvation wouldn't be stalking just a few people and not their
other family members which implies that they must have survived the
poisonous meal. Therein lies the earliest signs of the superpower these
people possess but this is not the only one. Often Mango Man can be
found living in the midst of hazardous industrial wastes having been
driven out of his natural habitat by the administration-corporate-
militant
nexus lured by its rich mineral resources. Emmigrating to the nearest
city,he settles in a derelicted site (called slum) which is
subsequently demolished by municipal commissions,at the behest of
powerful builders, to build a shopping malls,multiplexes at the site.
Now he resides in the midst of toxic,industrial waste,generally dumped
away in the suburbs. Of course, in comic books and Hollywood movies the
neuro-chemical reaction might have given him one or more extraordinary
abilities but in this case there is a greater probability of him
developing a fatal disease and his children being born with physical or
mental deformities.
The superpower of the Mango Man lies in his resilience and
imperviousness to exploitation and tormentation at the hands of the
priveleged few. Highly placed sources say Mango Man is elated over the
strings of scams,investigations and leaks. It is not the
detection,investigation of the scams that lift his spirit but the fact
that the Indian state has had that amount of wealth in the first place.
Corruption,misappropriation of public fund have become an accepted norm
but the amounts of money embezzled is what catches Mango Man's
attention. According to him, the knowledge that the fund necessary to
fight starvation and malnutrition as well as access to basic
amenities,did exist even if stashed away in foreign banks is a
comforting thought. "As of now,the popular opinion was that the Indian
state lacked the resources to uplift the under-privileged within
reasonable time-frame. However,these revelations have proved that wrong
and it gives us immense pride to know that the money embezzled in a
single scam were sufficient for eliminating poverty in a group of
villages.
The fact the these huge amounts of money stashed away in overseas
tax-havens instead of being circulated in the market is just
unfortunate. But the Mango Man undestands that the irrational gluttony
of the leaders is a natural trait of some individuals and is willing to
go the extra mile to help the next generations of gluttons. After all,
he may not get a square meal a day,healthcare,education, electricity or
any other basic ammenities but as an Indian his chest does puff in pride
to see names Indian businessmen in Forbes list of the richest people in
the world.
Public discourse is essential for the functioning of a progressive democratic society but sometimes too much of it can be counter-productive especially in a society such as ours where politics dominates every sphere of our lives. For a long time public discussion was compered by print media journalists, radio hosts and electronic media,which took and transformed most somber debates to desi tamashas. Social media revolution has had a very different impact,while it has thrown numerous thought-leaders who would otherwise have passed away in obscurity or limited success,social media has also brought in partisans,radicals and mischief-makers. I refuse to call them "trolls" which was originally used for Usenet users with single-point agenda,but even they were far more knowledgeable than some of the current twitter celebs :p (note to self: post a short entry to elucidate the point).Anyway, blaming a horde of hare-brained web users can hardly be blamed for hijacking public discussions on national television shows. The fault must lie with the greater part of the debating public. 
