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| India's Sin |
There are sins of
commission and sins of omission, my catechism teacher taught me when I was young.
Theft and murder are sins you commit. There are infinite sins of commission
from feeling jealous of your neighbour’s possessions to worshipping a god other
than the one your religion gave you. I was more fascinated by the sins of
omission. When you omit doing the good that you should do, that’s a sin too:
the sin of omission. A grave sin.
Our world would have been
a much better place if we all did what we could do. We can do so many good
things and yet we don’t do them just because we are afraid. Afraid of our boss
at the workplace. Afraid of our religion and its god[s]. Afraid of the dominant
political ideology.
Cowardice is the gravest
vice. Fear withholds us from achieving what we want to achieve. Bullies rule
today’s world merely because most of us are cowards who don’t dare to stand up
to bullying. Contrast today’s political leaders with those of a generation or
two back and you will immediately understand the difference between bullies and
statesmen. Why have we given all the power to bullies? We are cowards, that’s
why.
That’s not only why,
however. We are selfish too. We think that our gods are the only legal entities
in the supernatural realms. We think that our caste is the only one that
deserves the privileges. Our language is sacred because its ancestry goes back
to some divine revelations.
Our selfishness is even
more practical, in fact. Otherwise we wouldn’t lynch people for herding their cows
home. We wouldn’t garland rapists and at the same time cry for the blood of
social activists. We wouldn’t shout slogans for a system that oppresses certain
sections of the country’s population.
Our selfishness makes us
communal. The word communal has highly positive meaning anywhere in the world
except India. In India, we have made communities mere tools for personal
aggrandisements. We have mastered the art of using people for our own personal
benefits. Consequently we have a few individuals who are becoming gods on the
earth. Idiotic as we are, we are ready to kill for the sake of those few
individuals who live in palaces that would make our ancient Maharajas blush
with envy. The palace can be more metaphorical than Antilia. It can be even
imported mushrooms.
Ignorance is a grave sin
of omission. Even the law would tell you that. You won’t be able to escape by
pleading ignorance if you have broken a traffic rule, for instance. It’s your
duty to know certain rules. Most Indians are ignorant even about their own
rights. Hence they are exploited by silly politicians who wear religious robes
but are actually born criminals. Ignorance is a grave sin that is succoured by
people who wear religious robes.
A much more cardinal sin
is the sin of the intellectuals and knowledgeable people in India. They choose
silence because that is expedient. In a system that arrests honest people and
throws them into jails, it is understandable that the intellectuals choose to
be silent. Is it cowardice? Is it selfishness? Or is it expediency?
If only the honest and
intelligent people of India come out of their safe nests, this country would be
what the Father of the nation dreamt of: a nation of free citizens. Citizens
who are free from cowardice, primarily. And then, free from the other vices. A
nation of happy citizens, honest citizens, cooperative citizens.
“Silence is not always a
virtue. When there are serious wrongs happening, it is our duty to speak up.
Otherwise we become part of the wrongdoing.” This is the theme of In[di]spire’s
latest edition. This post is dedicated to that edition. India is passing
through a dangerous phase when honest and intelligent people have chosen
silence out of cowardice or selfishness. Hence we have the reign of bullies.
Lynching has become a national pastime. Other crimes are even more vocal. Your
silence may be adding to the spreading venality. Come on, come out, and speak
up. Refuse to support evil by speaking the good word. Speak up. Speak up.
Very thought provoking, sir. I admit. It is expediency on our part.
ReplyDeleteExpediency and lies rule the world. People fight for imaginary truths like gods.
DeleteA very thought provoking read. It is important to speak up against injustice. This post reminded me of a poem of Tagore.
ReplyDeleteWhere the mind is without fear...
DeleteHow we've betrayed those lines!
Sir In hindi they sat hamaam may sab nange hai. Your bold blog has unmasked all. Let us at least try to retrieve modesty
ReplyDeleteHumility, not modesty.
Delete