[www.keralites.net] Oppression in the air!

 

Oppression in the air DUSHYANT       Vigilantes are imposing their `morality' on the whole nation. Sad part is, we are letting them An acquaintance of mine feeds many stray dogs. A few weeks back she told me that a priest of a nearby temple came to her and started hurling abuses at her. He said these dogs, after feeding on chicken bones, often came and sat near the temple, therefore defiling the temple. He claimed that this was a conspiracy against his religion and was causing him a lot of agony. To her complete astonishment, this gentleman even called the cops and `reported' this conspiracy. The cops promptly arrived and expressed their empathy and solidarity with the priest. They warned her to stop this behaviour or there would be serious consequences . The `youth wing' members of a certain political party (no prizes for guessing which) landed at the house of another friend, who was marrying into a different religion, and threatened her family to desist from defiling their religion. No purpose would have been served by calling cops in this instance -the chaps had brought them along. Earlier this week someone smacked and later accosted a wheelchair bound, differently-abled person on the head as he didn't (or couldn't) stand up during the national anthem, which plays in cinema halls before every film. And this is regardless of whether what follows is a sex comedy. Smacking someone on the head is against the law, not standing up during the national anthem is not. Sometime back, a man was pulled out of his house and murdered for allegedly eating beef.The man accused of killing him recently passed away as well. The latter's funeral was attended by a cabinet minister and his body was draped in the national flag. A radical shift has happened in the past two and a half years. It isn't that we have suddenly learnt the language of bigotry and hatred towards people different from us or anyone who has a voice of dissent. But earlier, hatred wasn't all that cool. The society we live in seemed to be in perpetual negotiation with those who were `different' from the masses. There was a far greater resistance against majoritarian impulses.Now, the dam of hatred has burst. Earlier this statement, a geographical fact, was true: Pakistan is our neighbour. Now, this one is true: My neighbour could be Pakistan.Many of us have turned into patriotism-and religion-protecting Batmen -vigilantes in aid of a greater good. The most urgent task before our country today appears to be not the emancipa tion of the poorest and the oppressed but the protection of "honour" of the "nation" and identification of all non-patriots amidst us.Some of us are the nation, some others are not the nation. There are a lot of these vigilantes on the streets and in cinema halls to carry out this task. And just like in the Batman cartoon, in this case too the state continues to make the right noises: "No one should be allowed to take the law in their hands" and the like. It, however, largely continues to turn a blind eye towards this vigilante behaviour -like in the cartoon -these patriots are but engaged in doing what the state wants to do. Like politicians, most news anchors have sensed the `mood' of the nation. Hatred is served on a platter every night at 9 pm. Have you ever seen the face of someone in a rioting mob? I have. There is tremendous energy which is visible in their flaring nostrils and rage pouring out of every pore in the body. That is what our anchors look like. That is what random people who want to debate nationalism with you have started looking and acting like. Hatred is consuming us. The country's `honour' is indeed at risk. A risk posed by those who claim to be out there protecting it. It is being posed not by the people who don't stand up during the national anthem but by us -suspecting and willing to declare each other a traitor. It is posed by the sight of the tricolour draped around a murderer. There will come a day when we realise that we have made enemies out of fellow citizens. We will realise that we have dived head first into an orgy of bloodlust. We will soon realise that we have proved true that old adage you end up becoming like those who you hate the most. It will be too late by then. There are plenty of examples in the world.The nation does need saving of an entirely different kind than the one in motion. Save it if you can, before it is too late. Like George Orwell said, "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -forever."

 

 

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Posted by: Cool Kis <cooolkis@gmail.com>

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