"Zindagi" is mere Survival, Cockroach is already within you :::::: What's changing in India and the world ... 'perhaps has already changed' :::: UCC was also seen as a tool of “imposition” of Hindu-led uniformity :::: But in 2026, PM has directed Ministers to use Reel power

Did each one of us told a 'lie' to ourselves when we were young ?

There was something wrong on the face; but we kept changing the bathroom mirrors !!

An estimated 61 percent of all active internet users in India, that is approx 588 million people, actively consume short-video content, says - the Internet in India Report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India.  

We do often ask - 

Has India changed or is the world still changing fast ? 

Perhaps the world and India included -- has already changed. What's changing is no longer a valid question. 

In this photograph Amnesty International protesters wear black hoods and a noose around their necks demanding abolition of Death Penalty (near India Gate, New Delhi)  

The issue in debate in this blog is not capital punishment. This is our post-modern era. Noose can come in many form.  The melancholic Kishore Kumar song - "Zindagi ka safar ...." makes a lot of sense. 

Life often these days is like a junction point.  But with most of us around the age group of 50; life is on move and pretty fast. It is no longer waiting ... and it has the power to pull you towards ultimate goal - a self chosen destruction.  

I often say - 

We won't live as much I have already lived. Gen X ... right ?

Those born between 1965 and 1980 today have insecure job, unpleasant office atmosphere, aging parents but clueless about modern challenges we face and hence would be throwing their traditional tantrums. 

That my parents are gone is a personal tragedy; and one is left like an orphan !!

There is yet another middleclass issue - the highly demanding and dependent children. Incidentally, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are in debate in India. They have already toppled regimes in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. 

2011 - Egyptian Revolution 

The "perception battle" of the 2011 Egyptian revolution refers to the fierce contest over how the 18-day uprising is defined, remembered, and spun: whether as a genuine democratic awakening, a foreign-backed conspiracy, a hijacked ideal, or a calculated military transition.  

But there are fighters too. In India, the Modi Govt is determined to fight the evils among Gen Z back with a mixed approach of selfie-videos and expose the 'darker' sides of the Jantar Mantar protest. 

The classic fighter of August 2026 is the ousted leader of Bangladesh - Sheikh Hasina. She announced on Aug 5 (exactly two years after she fled to India) that she would go back home by December this year.  

She knows she could be arrested and even killed. But 'daughter' of South Asian democratic journey is not bothered apparently.  

In the meantime, me and my friends ... are at a loss. Some colleagues died during Covid and a few are now following them.

A few simply will not wake up one morning. A few others died of heart attack while waiting for a cab to catch an early morning flight. 

For others - parents and even uncles slipping away - step by step and one by one --- taking away with them the last people on earth whom someone could depend and even scream at. 

Even two years ago, things were different.  Indian political circle was contended debating Uniform Civil Code. In 2026 - there is a uniform civil and uncivil anarchy and complex challenges for Gen X (born between 1980 and 1965) ... but no one is around to care about.  

Ideally, the UCC represents a 'call for unity'; but in a communally sensitive pluralistic India, the concept of UCC was also seen as a tool of “imposition” of Hindu-led uniformity.  

But by July  2026, issues of public debate and concern have changed. PM Narendra Modi has last month directed his Ministers to use Reel power. 

Namo was unapologetic. Modi stressed that because Gen Z and first-time voters consume information primarily through visual social media platforms rather than legacy media or even platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), ministers must create bite-sized video content to explain his government policies. 

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report document that 32 percent of Indian respondents now identify social media as their primary gateway to news.

As many as 58 percent of online users in India explicitly rely on YouTube. So, somehow elders and Gen X are losing control. 

Narendra Modi is in office since 2014. By 2029, he will have completed 15 years as India's Prime Minister. The BJP won the last election in 2024, garnering about 36 percent of the vote. That meant around 236 million votes.

Now, by 2027 - crucial polls are due in seven states including Modi's native state Gujarat. Other states are Himachal Pradesh, UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.  

If the majority of youth aged 15 to 24, numbering 256 million, are unhappy - the table could be turned adversely.

The BJP has replaced its IT cell chief.  

The big issue is not whether Modi can fight back and survive. The bigger issue can we - Gen X survive this emerging world. 

I have friends who are on total unpredictable sources of regular income. That has however not deterred the expenditure outflows. 

The results deserve closer studies.  The intellectual debates among lawyers, professors and media persons most often turn melancholic. 

Discussions end up around 'donkeys' in offices and frustration about family life. Spouses will not understand the problems either unlike the generation of elders when balance was struck well between austerity measures and family duties and demands. 

The joke in the drinking session is - we are now attending more funerals than weddings or anniversary parties.  

"Somewhere in 50s, the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer bright. It has changed its character and nature. Either it is gloomy and most often dark," says my 57-year-old friend now trying to practice family counselling. Her 'family' ... well she has a broken marriage and the kids are indifferent to her life.  

She and other 'experts' like her tell me - things are not only complex. They are just beyond any comprehension. 

You do not have Ambition around. Your Plans have gone awry and what is left about 'Zindagi' is mere Survival. If you are not economical with truth - Cockroach is already in you. 

ends