The world faced a pandemic over a hundred years ago. The spanish flu took many lives and left us with lessons on better and equitable healthcare systems and economic planning. A hundred years hence, we are yet again facing a widespread disease that has led to a certain degree of turbulence and uncertainty for all. We are moving at a fast pace, achieving many things that our previous generations either could not imagine or simply not achieve. So to speak, 2020 is the time of advanced technology, developed economic systems and aware societies. But these benefits lack equality; the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Whether an individual, community or country, this phenomenon holds true for the definition of current times. A number of areas exist in a wide range of fields that demand progress and attention. Whilst thinking of life a hundred years in the future, humans tend to have certain expectations. These arise majorly from two sources: dislike for current working methods and constantly realising potential in the ongoing systems. 

Hasrat had over 60 respondents when asked what they think will be long gone by 2120. These respondents gave multi-layered answers, giving us over a 100 different quotes to categorize and correlate. These quotes come from varied parts of the world, from New Delhi to New York, from people aged between 23 and 50 years, working in areas pertaining to communications, economics, finance, retail, manufacturing, accountancy, food technology and medicine. 

A number of themes emerged in the discussions.  So what was it that was specifically chosen from the current times and tagged as too regressive for 2120? As depicted in the graph below, the following 4 themes repeatedly came up and got labelled as ‘endangered’ in their journey for the next 100 years.

As shown above, Institutions, or better termed as ‘Changes Most Desired in the Running of Institutions’, are considered the most regressive in today’s times. Ranging from personal life to community organization, institutions have organized our lives in many ways till date. However, people are hopeful of a change in its systems ten decades from now. 

Next up is Inequalities. Targeting the organization of our societies with reflections from the past in its existence till today, inequalities at a number of levels impacts people’s lives which makes them believe in its eradication in the coming times. Following is Technology and Economics, a no-brainer as we already live in a technology-driven world with organized economic systems on their way across the globe. However, people have higher expectations from these sectors as they look for solutions to current obstacles. And finally, not far behind is Entertainment and Awareness. Thanks to technology and open economic laws, the world is one today especially on a movie streaming platform or social media, but this has brought up concerns with regards to depictions and opinions, which is why people express their interest in seeing a change in this specific area.

Many respondents indicated a desire to see change in the ongoing systems of established institutions organised socially, nationally and/or industry-wise. The highest expectations for change were in the area of Marriage and Household where the respondents mentioned the need for eradication of operating gender inequalities, casteism, toxic effects of media, lack of awareness and openness. Ongoing regressive systems were discussed in lieu of expected change a hundred years from now. “Divorces are such a taboo,” pointed out an Indian female respondent aged 25. Another respondent mentioned her dislike for propagation of traditional gender roles laced with inequality. “Mahesh Babu, a popular Bhojpuri actor publicly claimed to be on the lookout for a wife who would be willing to become a home-maker.” Additionally, the concepts of arranged marriage, prevalance of child marriage and forced marriage and reluctance towards inter-faith marriages were picked as areas asking for change. 

Not far behind is Healthcare, voted to be an area requiring change to meet the advancements of 2120. “Menstrual hygiene is still at its lowest despite having technology for reaching the moon,”  exclaimed one respondent, indicating a need for equitable advancement catering to all significant needs. The life expectancy of humans is expected to experience an increase along with the introduction of Robotic Surgeries, normalization of computer-based prescriptions and the capacity to curb potential outbreaks (endemics/pandemics).

Next up is Law, where people mentioned their disapproval towards the pursuit of economic growth reflected in most national decisions, especially noticeable in the recent unlocking of India in June 2020 despite a spike in COVID-19 cases. Respondents also discussed Abortion Laws and the labelling of off-springs with the father’s name by default in some parts of the world such as Netherlands. Corporate Cultures was voted equivalent to Law as respondents expected to see a change in the ‘C-Suits Boys’ Club’, harassment at work by both men and women, and a discriminating outlook towards married women in many industries.

Following is Politics, reflecting people’s expectations to bid a farewell to bad leadership and dominance around the world naming current leaders such as Boris Johnson, Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. This can be connected to Media as India faces the repercussions of a widely adored leader who may be curbing its media freedom. Education was also brought up in the discussion, “I wish I was taught more about Black leaders from history,” said one of our respondents indicating the need to revise curriculums without bias. Lastly, we saw trends in people’s expecations to end animal cruelty and discimination in the name of Customs alongwith a highly advanced mobile banking system “eradicating the need for physical currency.”

Our societies, as divided by gender, religion, nationality, race, caste etc. have organised us in a number of ways that may have become a breeding ground for discriminations. The first concept out the window in 2120 will be gender-based discrimination, as per our respondents. 65.65% of the respondents believed that the current systems of gender equality are not enough and that the world should have achieved a higher degree of equality in this and many other respects a hundred years from now. Chemists wrapping sanitary pads in black poly bags, the concept of men being women’s protectors yet needing women to cook, clean and wash and have a career along with it, female celebrities facing harassment online by men and women - were some of the topics raised in the discussion. These topics, as hoped by our respondents, should have resolved themselves by 2120.

Next up at 28.1% is inequalities on the basis of race, caste, religion and sexual orientation. Our respondents found concepts such as “homophobia”, “aggressive level of defense for one’s religion”, “killing of and suppressing minorities” as too regressive, validating their expected eradication by 2120. “Putting make-up on actors to make them look darker,” commented a respondent as the norm she expects to see the last of, hinting at giving opportunities to people belonging to all skin colors rather than employing fairer candidates for all roles. Almost every day, we read a news article on how nationalist Hindus killed or severely injured a Muslim citizen for transporting beef. “How dare they kill and eat our गौ माता?” is usually the quote. As Indians, we never forget religiously motivated acts of violence be it the Partition in 1947 or the Godhra Riots in 2002 that yielded nothing but devastation and emptiness for both Hindus and Muslims. One religion was not better than the other, and never will be.

Terrorism is defined as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims”. So wouldn’t all these incidents be nothing but acts of terrorism?. Lastly, we have Reverse Effects at 6.35% that make up for an expectation to see less of propaganda on the concept of inequalities. “Talking about feminism all the time,” commented a respondent indicating her disapproval towards excessive discussion on the topic in today’s times. This also goes to show the need for a ‘talk less work more’ environment. Certain incidents wherein women place false accusations on men or utilize community support for the wrong reasons has come to have adverse effects on the menfolk leading to anxiety, stress and even suicide. Awareness on the other side of the table is an expected practice for 2120.  On the flip side, reverse effects might also reflect a segment of the society that finds inequalities to be unworthy of attention or non-existent, in turn, giving rise to a pressing need for fairness and equality.

Healthcare/Medicine: The large and diverse population India makes having access to proper healthcare and medicine difficult. Many people live in areas where electricity is a rarity and therefore staying updated with the rest of the country remains tough. 

Infrastructure: in 2019, Ivanka Trump visited the Indian city, Ahmedabad as part of a business summit. To ensure a smooth and memorable visit, the AMC built high walls around multiple slum areas so they would not be visible. Furthermore, when Ivanka Trump in 2017 also visited Hyderabad, the streets were immaculately cleaned for the same purpose in a very short period of time. This proves that the country has enough resources to plan and improve infrastructure. However, it would be remiss of us to also mention the users here, in this case the citizens of the country, to maintain the infrastructure instead of soiling it.

Transportation: While many metro cities in India have public transportation, many still do not. Mumbai is one of the cities that has an extensive public transport in place. Cities like Ahmedabad and Bangalore are some that do not. That combined with the issue of casteism in India also contributes to the increase of private cars on the road and refusal to use public transport on a daily basis. Are we really saying that some of us are better than others so we’d rather not be in the same space as the rest of them?

Retail: IKEA has a facility called Home and Kitchen planners, where the app or website allows you to take a picture of a room in your home and choose products from the online store to place it in the picture. Essentially, this service shows you how your living room or any other room might look when you purchase certain products. Likewise, Lenskart has an option where you can upload a picture of yourself and place different glasses on the photo to see how you might look with them. During the COVID-19 lockdown, people across the globe had no choice but to resort to online purchasing of products. While that option does have its own cons, it can also be done in the comfort of one’s home. And with a time of a 100 years, there will surely be improvements in technology that will make the online shopping experience even more reliable and trustworthy, possibly making the physical purchasing of products extinct.

Leadership: New Zealand recently announced that it would look at the well being of their citizens over economic pursuit to truly analyse the growth of their country. So in the future, if the time ever came when there was a second pandemic, the country would be able to survive and stay ahead of the curve for none of its citizens would be living below the poverty line. In 2020, why aren’t other countries talking about a similar growth strategy?

One of the quotes that we received for this category was, ‘Do we really not have anyone who genuinely wants to see the nation progress without any racist, sexist and political corruption?’ A 100 years from now, respondents believe this question will be regressive.

In this day and age when everything is a push of a button away, social media has made it extremely easy for netizens to sit behind a screen and criticise any attempt to entertain an audience. Twitter is one such platform where you can see on a daily basis a plethora of bright minds using their energy to unnecessarily and unreasonably criticise instead of motivate and encourage others. 

On June 14, 2020, Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide. Following this devastating piece of news were multiple posts of condolences by other Bollywood celebrities including Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt. However, netizens were quick to point out that they had briefly made fun of Rajput on the hit talk show Koffee with Karan a few years ago. Are we now looking for every opportunity to criticise those in front of the camera? Isn’t there a difference between a show whose content is not supposed to be taken seriously as opposed to an actual death? With the availability of platforms like Twitter and Instagram where expressing opinions is as easy as breathing, are we forgetting our basic moral responsibility to differentiate between a partially scripted show and real life?

Kabir Singh, a movie about an alcoholic doctor who fell in love with a younger student at a medical school, was released in 2019. The movie was a hit at the box office and many were quick to point out the raw emotions that were captured well by the actors’ talent and the director’s vision. While it may be true that the crew did a good job shooting that movie, let’s also address the disturbing volume of sexism and misogyny present, which was highly glorified. Below we are listing a few instances from the movie that should’ve gotten everyone’s blood boiling. 

1. The movie starts with the protagonist, played by Shahid Kapoor, holding a girl at knifepoint asking her to strip so he can have sex with her. If this isn’t attempt to rape or sexual misconduct, what is?

2. Kabir slaps Preeti, the girl he is in love with, because she refuses to oppose her father and elope with him. Right before the slap, he profusely disrespects her father and refuses to talk reasonably with him. So because your girlfriend, who has been raised by her father all her life, refuses to blindly follow you, you resort to violence. If this isn’t misogyny, what is?

3. At the end of the movie, when Kabir has magically been healed with therapy and rehab, and has also fixed his relationship with his father, he spots a 9-month-pregnant Preeti in a park (with his child of course) and they make up for lost time. After all the mental stress and misogynistic abuses that Kabir imposed on Preeti, he is rewarded with all that he wanted - her, his father, and a child. Are we really telling the men of this country, a lot of whom are versions of Kabir Singh, that no matter what you do, you will face no consequences? You will get everything anyway at the end? And for women, are we really spreading the message that their only attempt at happiness lies when with a man?

Unfortunately in India, we tend to idolise our celebrities so much that we cannot tell the difference between them in real life and a character they’re playing on screen. And our respondents believed that movies like Kabir Singh take the country back several years, ensuring that the progress of movements like feminism comes to a standstill. 

Moving on to advertisements,  there’s many by large corporations that focus on a man helping out his female partner in multiple avenues in life. The aim of the advert is to celebrate and support feminism. But research indicates that women, instead of being advertised at, prefer when brands, companies, and men, simply do it instead. Don’t create feminist content, implement it in your life instead. “This kind of content constantly reminds me that I’m not an equal yet,” said one respondent.  

While many of these themes may seem familiar to you, it is important to understand our own roles in them. Not just India, but we as global citizens, have a long way to go. And the change will only occur when we consciously make decisions to bring in the changes we desire. It will be interesting to monitor the developments in the aforesaid areas as well as new sectors and areas that may come up in the next 100 years.