First
they came for the Communists
And
I did not speak out
Because
I was not a Communist
Then
they came for the Socialists
And
I did not speak out
Because
I was not a Socialist
Then
they came for the trade unionists
And
I did not speak out
Because
I was not a trade unionist
Then
they came for the Jews
And
I did not speak out
Because
I was not a Jew
Then
they came for me
And
there was no one left
To
speak out for me
The above lines, written around the time India
won independence, are in vogue these days, given they well-summarise the time
we are living in and are prescient of our future, if we chose to believe the
semblance of sanity.
When Mohd. Akhlaq was killed by a mob based on a
rumour that he has stored beef in his house, I chose to dismiss it as a stray
incident. After all, subjugating and trampling the marginalised – economically
weak, or performing a role one is considered socially or culturally unfit for,
or practicing a particular religion – was definitely low, but not unheard of. In
a democracy of more than a billion people, no wonder there will be a handful
black sheep deviating from the norm.
What I see today is aberrations becoming the
norm. The report of people being booked for pro-Pakistan slogan after a cricket
match was particularly worrying – they won because they played well, what is
seditious in it? Cows cannot be slaughtered because that is cruelty towards the
animal. I hope people proposing these laws have taken an objective look at the
dairy farms, certain practices there to ensure the cow is milked are far more
atrocious than killing it. Invariably, it is the lower-income group of the
society, with their limited means to access pricier-than-gold pulses and other
protein sources, is hit by the double whammy – loss of food and livelihood,
without being provided with any alternative for either of the loss (remember
those who were beaten for skinning a dead cow?).
And all this when people of the ‘majority’ makes
fun of someone’s faith, and kills the person because his religion kind of calls
for it.
Someone on the social media suggested that at
this rate, civil war will be the ultimate outcome. If any ‘civil’ stuff is left
until then – I thought. People have forgot what civility is, aping their
political masters and taking pride in hurling abuses at the slightest or no
pretext; civil society, in spite of the alleged irregularities, is under duress
like never before; and may be sooner than we realise, civil rights may well head
for the exclusive realm of dictionaries and academic discourses.
Some say people are now releasing their pent-up
frustration with previous governments who they accuse of appeasing minorities
(reading “Muslims” won’t harm either) and these protests are only maligning the
country’s image. How innocent!! Has the country done itself any good by
allowing these ghastly events to happen? In remaining silent against the
blatant acts of mindless violence, this government may be accused of being an
accomplice to demonising democracy – in failing to protect the sidelined
countrymen, it fails the very mandate that brought the government to power. I
have serious reservations in accepting this act of and attempts to silence: This
reign of terror should not continue, and certainly not in my name.
It was just a matter of time that the educated
common man would voice his/her frustration at this shrinking space for
everything. The ‘NotInMyName’ event held across many cities in India and a
couple of other places across the world stems from the concern of a leaving our
children into a simmering cauldron of hatred. All I can hope is that those who
are in ‘power’ realise that their unscrupulous manipulation for political gain
may someday bring its ill to their doorstep as well. That to let or
make people fight for the sake of ballots may not be enough to save their image
of do-gooder or do any good to the generations to come.
