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June 12, 2005
Call for "secret society" as a tool for activism in India
TOC:
* The Call
* What is a secret society ?
* The need
* Historical examples
* The efficacy of a secret society
* Why should it not be open to general masses ?
* Why does it have to be secretive ?
* Problems with secret society as a tool
* Conclusion
The Call
How many times have you thought, "if only I have the power to fix this corruption, if only I can kill this bloody politician to rid of his evil influence on the system, if I only become the prime minister with absolute majority in parliament to clean the system" ? I have heard a lot of people even wishing for dictatorship to fix the system; the democracy is too noisy and the masses are too docile.
Do I want to join a political party to fix the system ? The path is cumbersome and messy. Do I want to join an NGO (non-governmental organisation) to fix the system ? The NGOs are too timid to solve the burning problems. The answer is "Secret Society".
The able, brilliant and concerned citizens need to form secret societies around the chosen goals and execute them fastidiously. The secret society is a more efficient form compared to either political party or an NGO.
What is a secret society ?
A secret society is a social organization where the members conceal the activities of the society. The membership in the society is not open to the general public. Most of the times, the membership to the club is possible only at the invitation of the organisation. The society picks the members who best fit the goals of the society. The initiation ceremony and the activities of the society are concealed from the general public. The members are sworn to hold the society's secrets by an oath.
One form could be vigilantes which are militias who attempt to enforce the law by taking the law into their own hands. As we many a times see in fiction & movies, the vigilantism often occurs when the population is frustrated with the complex and seemingly unfair court procedures that apparently allow the bad guys to walk free or when the organised law enforcement breaks down.
Historically there have been instances of many secret societies in the western society. The secret societies could be legal or illegal organisations. But what I am advocating is ofcourse for a society which does not violate the law.
A secret society could even work as a "think tank" with additional responsibility of influencing the public opinion from behind the scenes.
The need
India is in dire need of tall leaders of the stature of Gandhi who can fix the existing system. We need a leader who can fix the corruption, reform the system of injustices, set a vision and inspire the nation out of morass. The problems are too complex to be solvable by any of the existing cadre of political leadership. Rather, the existing leadership itself happens to be the origin of the problem.
A lot could be achieved by NGOs (Non government organisations). But inherently, the structure of social service organisation is weak which renders it too timid to address the complex issues like casteism, religious strife or corruption.
Historical examples
The freemasons is a successful fraternal organisation which survived the centuries of existence. The members of the freemasonry share common ideals of moral and metaphysical values. There are a lot of conspiracy theories of how freemasons influence and control the world to bring a new world order. The famous freemasons include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Winston Churchill, Cecil B DeMille, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alexander Fleming, Henry Ford, Rudyard Kipling, General McAruthur, Thomas J Watson and so on.
The Bilderberg Group is a secretive and international association of powerful people from Western Europe and North America who meet every year in Netherlands. The original intention of the group was to increase the understanding between Western Europe and North America through informal meetings between powerful individuals. Each year, the group's steering committee picks an invitation list of 100 names. The agenda of the meeting is kept secret.
The Trilateral Commission was founded by David Rockefeller of over 300 citizens of Europe, Japan and North America to promote closer cooperation between these areas.
There are even malign secret societies like Klu Klux Klan (KKK) which spearheaded white supremacy and targeted black killings. Any radical, extremist and terrorist organisation also would fall under the "secret society" category.
The efficacy of a secret society
A committed group of individuals can achieve more than a single individual. However such group should not be too huge which removes its agility to act.
Why not just an individual ? The amount of results achievable in certain areas by a single individual is small. Even if certain things can be achieved by an individual, some of the moral challenges are too oppressive for a single individual's spirit. A group can sustain and nurture the faith in the goal in a better way.
If you are fighting an issue, imagine what all you could achieve if only you have a band of 10 journalists, 10 lawyers, 10 civil servants, 10 politicians, 10 intellectuals and 10 fired up youth on your side.
Why should it not be open to general masses
It is very tough to maintain the secrecy of the charter & activities of huge organisation. A small organisation can achieve better agility and discipline. Invitation based organisation has benefits for efficiency of the effort.
Why does it have to be secretive ?
There are certain activities which are tough to take stand in public. It is very tough to take a stand on sensitive issues like removing a religious place built by crooks on the public roads.
Problems with secret society as tool
There is a possibility that these organisations can spawn really harmful organisations which can foster communal hatred or terrorism. Who is going to decide what is right and what is wrong for the society in general ? Are political assassinations a choice for an organisation? At some point, if a certain organisation is found violating the law, should an individual member be held punishable? Yes, the individual members are liable for themselves if they are found breaking the law even if they commit them at the instance of the organisation. It is your choice to join an organisation or not. It is your duty to join an organisation if you firmly believe so. Not only the nuns and saints have the callings. Listen to the callings of your soul. I am not here to tell you what is a right cause. I am only espousing the "secret society" as a tool to further the cause you believe in.
Conclusion
Society evolves through dialectic process of opposites. Activism (of whatever kind) is better than the passivity and fatalism. Now it is your choice.
Posted by nachiketa at June 12, 2005 07:02 PM
Comments
Excellent post.
Posted by: Ramesh at June 17, 2005 03:40 PM
Hi Nachiketa,
With all this info posted i am sure you must have done quite good research on Secret Societies. But was wondering how did you miss in your research that in fact no secret society has added any positive value to the society. Not one from the list you specified. freemasons, Bilderberg, Trilateral all these had hidden agenda and the agenda publicly available sounds good but if you go inside the core group the agenda is not that good. These societies are used by influential people and all these societies had a negative effect on the economy, people and or countries, like pulling threads to up oil prices, support war on Russia by Afgan, Global village etc. All these societies are to make US & UK more influential in the world economy and show their suppremacy. Even George W Bush is part of one of these societies and what did he do invade Iraq right to get oil.
If you take for example the naxalites present in Andhra Pradesh in India, they are secret society and what are they transformed into now? Even these guys had (at least to say) good communist & socialist views.
The concept looks good to hear but in practice when there is no face to a society it starts getting villainous if not initially gradually. Just like the Invisible man movie, There may be many good things to become invisible but when people start becoming invisible they tend to be become villainous.
Just my view.
Thanks
Raj
Posted by: Raj at July 27, 2005 03:07 PM
I don't think, I have a satisfactory answer.
I think, you are partially right that people tend to become villains if they start operating in private. A lot of our good behavior seem to stem from being exposed to others.
Populism is such a trend in India (or for that matter any country). Populism and political correctness may never let us solve the so many contentious issues if we handle them in "public". For example, religious issues (like Muslim Personal Law versus Uniform Civil Code), using the caste (based on birth) to base reservations, caste in politics are so contentious, I doubt we have a leader on the horizon who can solve them impartially.
I believe, we (whoever is uncomfortable of a certain issue) have the responsibility to act rather than let go it un-addressed in despair or apathy.
Just like secret society had in the past become a tool for rich & powerful to advance their selfish agendas, I believe, it can become equally capable for good agendas.
Coming back to Naxalism and what they transformed into. How do we solve the problem of misguided naxalism ? Naxalites are too dangerous now to be tackled by you & me in "public". Just like those naxalites united behind a secret agenda, why not we form our own "secret anti-naxalite agenda" ? If not "anti-naxalite agenda", why not "correct-the-path-of-misguided-naxalism agenda" ? These agendas got to be as secretive as naxalism itself to achieve the purpose.
So what if our own secret good agenda turn sour at some point ? Well, it is better than not acting now.
See, how George W Bush (and whatever the secret club he belongs to) have done enough damage to the world. What should we do ? Or what did we do ? Some people took to the street and some just shut their mouths. I think, forming our own secret society to further our own anti-bush-Iraqi-adventure agenda would not be a bad idea.
Just because the bad guys have formed their own society, it does not mean that good guys shouldn't form one too?
Now coming to your concern that what if good guys turn into bad guys once they start operating in private without public eyes, I don't think, I have an answer for it. But somehow I am still intrigued by secret society as a tool. I lost enough of my faith in both political system and the social service organizations. My few only remaining hopes are on press, private enterprise and next generation.
Yes, I don't have proper answer to "Invisible Man's tendency to get villainous at some point". Whenever I can't seem to conclude on an issue, I use this rule: either what happened in past or the apprehensions of what can happen in future should not let me attempt a solution any less than the ideal one. With that tone, at least for my personal case, I am still convinced of "secret society" as a tool.
Posted by: nachiketa at August 5, 2005 02:03 PM
Dear Nachiketa
that was a superb thought but any secret society must have three ingredients i.e.
1. Clearly defined goal
2. Homogenous set of inner core (ethenic, religious and economic factors should be common for the core group)
3. Well managed and developed system of handling secrecy.
Posted by: Obiwankenobi at October 16, 2005 11:36 PM
Everything you said is fine?
But How and where to start the Scoiety?
Trust is the Life.
Posted by: Sivan at October 31, 2005 09:45 AM
Dear Sivan, I believe, starting of such a society needs to start with people we know. As for me, I am approaching some of my friends with few ideas. As a matter of fact, you and me could brainstorm about one. Internet is a great tool to collect people around. We need to think creatively. Since we need to initiate the people we trust into the club, we need to know them reasonably well, I guess. Do you have any themes/ideas for such society ? We could take the discussion offline to email.
Posted by: Nachiketa at November 1, 2005 06:36 AM