People We, the people are countable singularities, mathematically. And in life stories, we are amazingly unique particulars who have preserved ‘specificity’ about them. Economics looks at us as individuals while politics desires for us to remain a crowd, anonymous and credulous. We, as people have our identities walking ahead of us and walking behind of us, shadowing our past experiences. People is a term used typically for humans and not for any other species. It is not a matter of science but sociability. Human as the most social being of all, reside in civilizations and maintain families. But the term ‘people’ has something more to it than being ‘just human’; it is suggestive of a collective of persons. Each person is a part of a larger unit and yet holds something different from the rest. People is a group of unique and differentiated persons. Let us try to understand the ‘general’ and ‘unique’ aspect of belonging to a people. In a general sense, people can be a collective, a community, a conglomeration etc. It can be as anonymous on a personal level, yet it can be a part of a collective consciousness. This collective consciousness is what gives it a name or an identity, also a purpose of existing. Often, people are seen entangled in shared identities such as of a faith, caste, race, tribe, gender and so on. Such common archetypes tend to appeal to all people as it adds to their personal identity and offers meaning to their lives. People have strong urges ‘to belong’ to some place, lineage and ‘to identify’ with some culture, traditions etc. Thus, the community becomes of utmost importance and provides the quintessential purpose to people, for living. Another aspect of getting attached with the categorizations of community, is the need for survival. In order to have security, people form societies which promise them the secure environment, with all the rules and regulations, formulated for its preservation. Whatever reasons led us to believe in the labels embarked upon people, it can make us digress and derail from ourselves, if not examined properly. A popular narrative about people in societies is that they have ‘herd mentality’. Herd mentality is a mental disposition where people tend to follow what is popular, thereby making it more popular. It is indicative of the pitfall of having a social conditioning which enforces subconsciously, to subscribe to the norm. These social norms are not eternal declarations offered to us by God, rather they are creation of the community itself. Ranging from standards of beauty, labor, mannerisms, or a happy life itself, all are markers of a particular culture or society. People are victims of herd mentality ubiquitously; in one way it enforces some norm and in other way, it lets individual autonomy take a backseat. However, Is herd mentality always a bad thing? With rise in human population around the globe, societies have become more complex and distinct. There is some truth in the statement that this herd mentality has been successfully making people into a culture or tradition. Herd thinking provides a well laid path to societies, forming social norms which brings stability and order. These are useful at times, while they are always not especially functional. Such as, these stable times are also marked with oddities, known to be anomalies which present a new way of thinking and living in society. For instance, a person with revolutionary ideas or novel manners of living. So, born from the people which follow a conventional way of life, are some autonomous individuals that offer a new perspective with their eccentricity. This takes our focus on the ‘unique’ aspect of belonging to a people. Here, we may concern ourselves with those specific individuals, who have changed the course of histories. You may think of many such persons in the field of history, science, philosophy, politics, etc. who have changed the fate of humanity. What was it about them that changed the direction of thinking? What made them the proponents of a ‘new’ normal? What qualities did they possess as to challenge the age-old customs and frameworks? That element was the uniqueness of their being a person, this is the presence of an idiosyncratic quality in people. Such idiosyncrasy distinguishes you from the lot. Every person can point some things about them which makes them unique and offers the world a fresh perspective. It is true that when people gather and make a collective, each is seen as a unit or just a number in the bigger picture. But the reality is even more diverse. Each person that makes a people, offers his experiences and his struggles which cannot be generalized. Everyone has a different take on life, such that some jobs are challenging for some and easy for others, based on their capabilities. Similarly, what gives joy to some people can be frantic for others. The Jain philosophers believed that there is no one viewpoint of looking at life, rather there are numerous points of views. And so, there are many realities, not one; thus ‘anekantavada’. Jainism is a philosophy based upon the relativistic and plural nature of existence. The famous example given by them is of many blindfolded monks touching upon various parts of a single elephant, and regarding their perception as true reality, not fully aware of the existence of the elephant. In a similar manner, Jains believe that people are aware of only their perception of the truth and can never arrive at the truth itself. The theme of people fundamentally swings between these two aspects - general and unique. No one person can be claimed to have only one aspect defining them. It must be a balance of both. Often, there is an imbalance, where people are more inclined to the conformist general aspect than the idiosyncratic individual element and vice-versa. Nonetheless, both the aspects have shaped a history of people. Nothing noble was ever limited to one person, it took form of an idea and moved masses of people, which then turned into revolutions, sustained cultures, and created plethora of values which still stand as markers of humanity. People is a term that invokes unity of individuals, these individuals are not just a mathematical unit, instead they are breathing, living, conscious persons that are capable to bring about any change required. We have created boundaries and have become nation-states long ago. Yet the universality of being a human is what makes us people, irrespective of race, creed, religion, and other discriminating categories. To recognize the other sharing the same space with you and to uphold their name and identity in a dignified manner, is what makes us worthy to be called people. Our times and civilization progress have defined and re-defined the meaning of what are people. We might as well keep on changing its bearings, but we must accept, at the least that- people is who we are. In ten thousand years of human history, people have died, people have lived, people have suffered, people have rejoiced, and people have moved on. It is the most basic of any identity than can be experienced upon humans. And by virtue of it, we continually enjoy a superior freedom in the animal kingdom. People is also, a humble way of reminding ourselves that we do not live in isolated and detached spaces. We are one workable link in a long chain of living beings, which transcends our finite knowledge and finite existence.