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| The relative of the Hathras victim gather her ashes Watch the video here |
Let us go then, you and I. We’ll walk through certain half-deserted streets where some neglected truths lie awaiting redemption. We are not redeemers, you and I. We’re just observers. Observers of so-called redeemers.
You and I have endured these
redeemers for the past six years. We have endured their deafening, hollow
slogans. We have endured the poison they spewed into our air in the name of
gods and holy cows. We have endured hatred, lynching, raping, and flagrant fraudulence
that masquerades as nationalism.
We have endured endless, tedious
arguments of a billion insidious intents. Isn’t it time now to take a break and
ask the overwhelming question? Oh, do not ask what that question is. Let us go
and make our visit.
Men in saffron come and go
talking about Ram Lalla’s palatial abode coming up in Ayodhya. Yonder in
Hathras is a young girl being raped by god’s defenders, the yogi’s men by
caste. You know who the yogi is and what caste means in this land which they’re
supposedly turning into Ram Raj. Here the hapless cries of a gangraped girl
have a caste. They call it Dalit.
Everyone has a caste here, you
know. And the caste determines the worth of the individual. Just to hoodwink
the naïve rank and file the so-called redeemers will raise one Dalit to the
President’s chair which has nothing but blinding glitter to offer. Empty
glitter for one Dalit. Rape for all others.
Rape is a metaphor, you know.
It is the saffron flame that rubs its back upon history’s window-panes. It is
the same flame that licks our courts of justice and halls of learning making
them blush in saffron shade. The same flame that rubs its back upon bills in
the Parliament as if bills were toilet tissues torn off the roll on the wall.
As the flame mellows into autumn
yellow, let us walk on, you and I, with faces prepared to meet the slogans that
we will pass by. Sabka Saath. Beti Bhachao. Jab tak dawai nahi, tab tak dhilai
nahi.
The autumn yellow turns into a
burning saffron in the field yonder. You can see khaki men and a dancing flame.
You can smell petrol. Women wail in the distance. The women were not even
allowed to have a look at the face of their daughter raped and killed by defenders
of the country’s glorious ancient civilisation.
I don’t know whether they know
that women never had a place in that civilisation. Except to wail. Or to wait
and serve. Or be raped and burnt.
Our sacred texts hold the
formulas for everything. Formulas for plundering from others in the name of
castes. Formulas to enslave the men. To rape the women. And a formula for
burning the dead.
You are a formulated phrase,
my friend, in this civilisation whose history goes back to millennia. We are
proud of its ancestry which knew quantum mechanics and plastic surgery. We
always knew how to pin you onto a wall in the form of a sprawling, wriggling
formula.
The saffron flame has stopped
dancing. The khaki has disappeared. There is only ash left in the field. Black
ashes of a burning civilisation.
Wait. There are some boys
searching for something among those ashes. Let us go, you and I, beyond smug presumptions
and vain assumptions, beyond the grandeur of our ancient history, into that
field where the body of a young girl was made to vanish like our redeemers do
with wretchedness using financial statistics.
The boys are collecting the
bones of the girl’s soul.
Don’t worry, our ancient
scriptures have formulas to put those bones to eternal rest.
The yellow evening is turning
dark. The saffron passion will turn darker. Let us turn back.
Now I’m sure you know what the
overwhelming question is. Ask the question, my friend. Now is the time.
Don’t let dark silence fall
like a shadowy spectrum between your dream and the reality, between the emotion
and the response… between those neglected truths and you.
PS. This blog is taking part in Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa
campaign.
The above
post is founded on T S Eliot’s classical poem, The
Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock.
When do you think, will this puppet game end?
ReplyDeleteChances are dim for near future. Even if a large majority turn against the dispensation, the elections will be rigged. There may not be any election at all, perhaps. Modi has already taken over the armed forces implicitly. The future is dark. My prediction. Quite many of my predictions have come true.
DeleteI won't prefer to attach any colour to the flame of hatred, cruelty and gross injustice because in India, it is saffron whereas in our neighbouring country, it is green. All things said and done, our country is badly suffering from the dearth of those rational and kind people who support virtues like truth, justice, love and benevolence. Now the hate-mongers are freely roaming around as Bhakts of one (or more) individual(s), truth is invisible and getting justice has become akin to getting the Moon. What happened in Hathras is heart-tearing and exceedingly shameful. If this is Ram Rajya, then may Ram (himself) be kind enough to save the Indians from it. As as far as offering a Dalit the blinding glitter in the form of the President's chair is concerned, now that also is offered to a Dalit who is ready to pass five years as a yesman of the PM and not some Dalit having the calibre, competence and wisdom as possessed by Late K.R. Narayanan. When even the courts (including the SC) have become subservient to those holding the strings of political and executive power, there is indeed no hope for an ordinary person in Mera Bhaarat Mahaan.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, hatred and other evils have no particular colour. It so happened that saffron and flame have the same colour and that suited the metaphor here. You being a person familiar with literature won't need further explanation on that, I know.
DeleteThe whole post is modelled on Eliot's poem that I've mentioned at the end of the post. Hence a few lines may remain abstruse for those who are not familiar with Eliot.
The ultimate tragedy of present India is that hate is being misunderstood as nationalism and real love [of people as well as nation - what is nation without its people, anyway?] is perceived as treason. I can feel the bhakts' blood boiling as they read this post.
The next tragedy is that if and when we will have created that utopia called Ram Rajya we will show our real colours better by doing to the Dalits what we did to Muslims and other perceived religious enemies so far. The present treatment meted out to Dalits is just a foreshadow of what's to come.
Extremism in any religion is its hubris. That my race is the best is false pride. And yes, Hinduism is fast approaching that stage. Having said that I feel sad that just as the verdant green of nature is often ignored as the colour has become synonymous with hatred, I do pray that an orange sunset or a rich fruit may not meet the same fate as the meadows. For as they say in Hindi, gehun ke saath ghun bhi pis jaata hai. We will then have another race of people shouting for their rights and claiming innocence, with nobody to trust them.
ReplyDeleteYes, so many good colours have acquired sinister connotations because of religious terrorism. The world has become a worse place for lots of people because of this. Sadly India has joined that gang of terrorists.
DeleteWhat's happening in this country is heartbreaking. Pluralism and secularism have fallen by the wayside, evil is being perpetuated in the name of God, and people have put on blinders and sing only praises to a man who is dividing, selling, and ruining this country. I hope we awake from our slumber before it is too late.
ReplyDeleteToo many people seem to believe that something good is happening. Hatred has its own charms. I too hope with you for a better India.
DeleteWhen I first read George Orwells dystopian novel,1984, I had felt very scared. But now we are living in the dystopia. And things are getting worse every day. What we are living through is beyond sad. But I believe like a dark night always gives way to daylight, even we will survive these dark days and be greeted by the bright sunlight of love, tolerance and inclusiveness.
ReplyDeleteThe present Indian dystopia is a conscious creation of certain vested interests.
DeleteSo true, very thought provoking
ReplyDeleteGlad you visited.
DeleteSuch a thought provoking post in such a literary way. Yet, those who need to realize won't even acknowledge this. We are the rare breed left who think of a real secular India. Ruchi Nasa https://thevagabond.me
ReplyDeleteMore and more criminals enter politics and make it irredeemable.
DeleteA well-written, thought provoking post! Hope soon we could have more and more educated, liberal Indians take sabbatical or a break and work in the interior areas to bring a difference.
ReplyDeleteHow did this post lead you to this conclusion, Ninu? Happy to have you here.
DeleteSuch a amazing post,with lots of deep words,felt it .
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear this. Making someone feel it is the real achievement.
DeleteThats a beautiful narration of the truth in such a poetic form. There is so much that needs to be questioned, so much that needs to be set right.
ReplyDeleteThis post provokes thinking with an expectation of a better future for humans and the country as a whole.
ReplyDelete