Why Chiranjeevi video should be a warning to people of privilege

Actor-turned-minister Chiranjeevi trended on social media on Wednesday and continued to be the subject of Facebook shares on Thursday. Not for any political-breakthrough for his party, the Congress, or for any of his legendary dance steps; but for being at the receiving end of the ire of a common man. On Wednesday, the minister went to vote at a polling station in Khairatabad assembly constituency in Hyderabad. There was a long queue and people had been waiting for more than an hour to cast their votes. Chiranjeevi walked past all of them and apparently tried to jump the queue, along with his son, daughter and wife when a man in the queue stopped him. The voter, a software engineer based in London, told the actor-politician: “Do you need special treatment? You may be a union minister, but you are not a senior citizen. You should not jump the queue with your family.” Chiranjeevi suddenly sensed the mood of the people, who applauded the voter’s intervention, and went back to the tail end of the queue. He even made up for his mistake saying that he was simply checking if his name was in the voter’s list. [caption id=“attachment_1504735” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chiranjeevi. AFP.[/caption] Later the voter told NDTV that he went to Chiranjeevi and said that “we have been standing for 90 minutes for our turn. You can’t jump the queue.  Your family members are voting already, that’s not fair.” The voter became an instant hero and the public adulation, which started as claps in the polling booth, hasn’t stopped yet. What Chiranjeevi experienced, to his utter embarrassment, was the ire of the common man/woman in India - what we can easily term as another Aaam Aadmi moment. Such stories of awareness, conviction and courage have been emerging from different parts of the country, in which a politician gets slapped or a millionaire-businessman with a shady background gets smeared by black paint. In December, a housewife at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala took on Left party leaders when they blocked her right of way. As part of their agitation to immobilise the state chief minister Oommen Chandy, the leaders had blocked the road that leads to his official residence. However, what they forgot was their action had caused inconvenience to people. The housewife who couldn’t access her children’s school because of the blockade publicly unleashed her anger on the leaders in front of TV cameras. She even told them that if they continued their action, causing inconvenience to the public, she would bring others from the locality and stone them away. Like the Chiranjeevi video, the footage featuring her also went viral on social media. Sooner than later, the Left party leaders dropped their agitation. A few months earlier, a young karate trained girl took on a group of eve teasers, which again was caught on video that went viral. Politically, this anger is the raw material that Aam Aadmi Party has capitalised to generate its political capital. “If there is any wave existing in the country today, then it is the wave of the anger of the common man,” AAP leader Manish Sisodia had said in March. The CPM or the left parties in Kerala did try to dismiss the anger of the woman on the street as a political conspiracy and even as the reaction of the petty bourgeoisie. But Chiranjeevi, acceded to the common man’s anger and behaved in a way the middle would appreciate. When an unknown man slapped NCP leader and union minister Sharad Pawar a few years ago, he didn’t make a fuss about it, probably because he thought that there was some reason for the anger. One of the reasons for the increasing sensitivity of the middle class, which includes the “professional-managerial class,” is its awareness of its size and potential. Inequalities have been perpetrated for a long time by people with privilege. Fundamental entitlements and basic services had been hard to get even as they pay more and more taxes. They abide by the myriad rules and regulations while the people of privilege break them right in front of their eyes. Life cannot be electively hard for the majority for long. Perhaps this awareness has expanded to a level of empowerment that makes them brave enough to ask tough questions and react when necessary. They don’t care if their target is a powerful minister or a group of thuggish politicians. Even globally, about half the population is middle class and one hears more and more stories of resistance  of various scale ranging from big “springs” to simple community action. It’s certainly the time of reckoning for the common man.