Writing is a constructive work of intellectual order, where your mind and hand synchronize to give shape to your thoughts. Today, I started with a quivering hand and a confused, foggy brain. So much has passed before the eyes during the last few days that every discourse seems to fizzle, and leaves the soul distressed.
If you begin with the loss of human lives, the damaging of properties, the vandalizing of religious sites, and the by and large defeat of humanity what should the discourse further lead to? Equally vitriolic is a polarized social media discourse centering on who ‘belongs’ and who is the ‘other’, where the rules of the game are simple. If you conform to my ideology you identify as ‘mine’’, otherwise you fall into the realm of the ‘other’. Logic, reason, and truth do not stand a chance. Never before has the Indian society been more fractured on the basis of religion.
With CAA and NRC at the core of the conflict, the ruling government denied equal right, the judiciary preferred to look sideways, and left the aggrieved with no alternative but to come out on the streets to protest peacefully. Few days pass, then public opinion is further created against the protestors. By now they become a sore to the eyes. An ultimatum is pronounced and people are threatened of dire consequences, if they do not retreat to non-existence.
I have heard many people complaining about the inconvenience faced because of the peaceful sit-ins, and I wonder how none of these have ever cared about the over spilled, stinking garbage often covering Delhi roads as eye sores and olfactory assault. Honestly, it has not something to do with inconvenience, but many have been made to believe that ‘their’ country do not owe the ‘others’, the right to respectful existence as citizens.
Media has played a massive role in creating this opinion. If you think, it is only the state affiliated news channels then you are overlooking the sudden sprout of so called historical Bollywood movies, where the common villain is a ruthless, lecherous, evil Muslim invader who eyes your women, laughs after killing, and spews communal venom.
Now commercial films have become a potent source of rewriting history, and they are working as the most effective medium to serve distorted truth as fact, and a prelude to what would follow. The recurrent reference to Mughals, and successors of Babar in political speeches has nurtured a queer nationalism, where your own countrymen remind you of plunderers and invaders. It does not suit the political agenda to mention that the Mughal emperor Babar was confronted by Ibrahim Lodhi. Perhaps, it would be more strenuous on the mind to go beyond 1526 A.D.
It is convenient to brush aside the part of history where these outsiders (Mughals) permanently settled and made the country their homeland. There is ample historical evidence to prove that the Mughal period was predominantly peaceful and progressive with development of roadways, postal system, trade, agriculture, etc. Besides, every country has a history of natives and foreign settlers, but not all head backwards to settle the scores of the past. It goes beyond sanity. So, why is Indian polity bent on looking back? There is surely method to this madness.
Of all the images and videos circulated during the past few days on the social media, one that stood out was of a few rioters, primarily young boys in their teens. It made me think of them at length, as to why these individuals are the soft target of the cult of hatred. They represent an age that is carefree, emotionally detached from parental control, and do not yet have the responsibility of a family of their own to take care of.
Honestly, polarization has an impact on all. None of us are left without a strong opinion over it, either for or against. But eventually, our thoughts and emotions are taken over by the commitment to duty and responsibility towards family, work, and social obligations. On the contrary, when you have nothing to do, with no constructive engagement, and there is a brute energy of youth pressing hard to channelize, coupled with numerous fake and inflammatory WhatsApp shares and Facebook posts to build your perceptions, then you are volcano in the making and it just needs a vent to bring everything to ashes.
Not surprisingly, we have seen these young men charging and cheering at the loss of human life. Remember, the teenage shooter who announced his name proudly to the media persons, as if he has done a heroic act and attained the purpose of his life. The sense of pride was well written on his face and his body language.
I have no words of wisdom to conclude with, the reign of anarchy is written on the wall. Uphold the basics of humanity, lest it will soon be hard to call ourselves humans.
(Views expressed by author are personal)