Wheel of Power

More often than not, we barely acknowledge the privileges that we enjoy while being, if not aloof, ignorant of the strata that we fall in.

Recently, I came across an interesting article, rather, an instrument, by Sylvia Duckworth, called the Wheel of Power/Privilege.

It shows the comprehensive and intersectional view of how power and privilege come to exist in social structures and how we navigate these power structures in a relational manner.

The original version by Sylvia Duckworth is set in the western context and there are versions used by professionals in mental health, social workers, academicians, policymakers and others in their domains. The format though has similar characteristics across all situations.

In India, we boast of our diversity. But, it is prudent for us to look at our scenario to understand how much power or privilege we enjoy and how much we probably don’t. All this is born out of the social structures built in our society over the ages. Given below is an Indian version made by The Listeners Collective.

There is greater segmentation in the Indian outlook. There is an entire catalogue of segments that sits in our society. It is indeed a matter of solicitude for all of us. We can observe that some issues in the west are very trivial to us in India, whereas some issues in India would not even hold relevance elsewhere. In the western context, an area of marginalisation is 'mental health'. Now that, in India, is yet to come as much to the mainstream as the others although there is an active effort to do so.

In the Indian context, caste is very specific to us here and will need effort to even explain what it is to someone elsewhere. Caste is nothing but a 'tag', based on age-old customs, made to improve organisational management. Holding onto such 'tags' in current times is nothing less than preposterous.

I personally feel they have weights too, which would differ from society to society. Let’s take an example, say an able, educated, upper-middle-class, Hindu, male is gay. Now, the effect it would have on him in society is far more than what it would have if he were straight and a Muslim, or, uneducated and gay. There are a number of permutations that can be made and each will only show how darker it could get if they (with no choice or control of theirs) fall into such a combination. Each of these combinations definitely exists in society and am sure is facing discrimination in subtle or bold ways. They will have to navigate through such discrimination on a daily basis.

It is necessary that we understand that none of these segments holds power as such legally, but has an enormous impact socially. It is but a pseudo-sensation of privilege given by the functioning of the ways of societal perception. This has become so, due to the majoritarian status that a few combinations hold. It has been so deeply rooted that those entitled to it, don’t even know that there are some who lack such abilities or features which seem very basic to one's day-to-day life. This in a way is the portrayal of a lack of empathy. (although probably unconscious sometimes). But there is the other set of people who being aware don’t respect and help the people in need. Many people behave insensitively without even realising the effect of their acts, and some do so even after knowing, which only drops the needle of morale even further. For example, it is a horror for people to come out to their friends and family. More often than not, they are besmirched for not being in consonance with society’s paradigm of an ideal individual. This more or less arises from the feeling of social superiority, off-late backed by the mask of culture and heritage by self-proclaimed individuals' responsibility towards perceived change stemming from their apparent righteousness with the catalyst of zeal to bring about such change towards the prerogative. This has become the skewer of reasoning running through many irrational thought processes.

Nonetheless, the outlook towards marginalization is improving and many are working towards erasing these lines while we have conversations or while we work in organisations. There is a growing movement towards the non-judgemental acknowledgement of the existence and acceptance of those in the lower parts of the power structures.

This being said, many of us ourselves may not fall totally into the centre of power, but this is about those who are in the bull's eye of discrimination, falling farther away from the epicentre of privilege.

The wheel of power has been running for long but has generally not resulted in progress. We must be treading a path to be egalitarians in the true spirit. Hopefully, sooner than later, we can have a wheel that shows empowerment rather than marginalisation for both run in opposite directions.

Sahruday