Callousness

One of those old wells in Kerala [Pic from Mathrubhumi weekly, 7 Jan 2024]

The Bombay Samachar dated 19 Dec 1936 reported a tragic event from Kalady [birthplace of Adi Sankara], Kerala. The report was about the child of a young mother that fell into a well. The hapless mother cried for help but no one rendered any assistance. Wells were not very common in those days especially because Kerala had a large number of natural water bodies such as rivers and lakes. The few wells that did exist were not accessible to everyone. Most of the wells belonged to the high caste people. The low caste people were not even allowed to go anywhere near the wells, even the public ones. If they did, the water would become polluted. Then there would be a whole lot of rituals to cleanse the well.

The Bombay Samachar reported that a stranger happened to pass by and he readily got down into the well and saved the child. The man was appreciated and congratulated for his goodness and courage. But soon his caste identity became clear. In no time, the man was beaten up brutally.

The other day, I wrote a fictional anecdote titled Tenderness. That showed the tender side of religion which is not quite common. Callousness is more of an integral part of religions. Even today.

One example has been in the news for two decades now. Bilkis Bano’s gangrape. Bilkis Bano was one of the many Muslim women gangraped by Hindu men during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The rapists were eventually arrested and sent to prison. But in Aug 2022, none other than the Gujarat government ordered their release from prison. On their release, these hardcore criminals were given heroic reception by some people of Gujarat belonging to the Sangh Parivar. And today the Supreme Court has cancelled their release by the government. The rapists have to return to prison.

There is some kind of justice still left in India!

Some questions that come up in my mind are:

·      Will the Central government intervene to supersede the apex court’s verdict?

·      Will the judges who passed this new verdict be transferred or punished or even done away with? Will their houses be raided and false cases be fabricated against them?

·      Will some elements of the Sangh Parivar take out a protest march tomorrow against the Supreme Court’s decision?

·      Will there be demands to alter the laws pertaining to gangrapes of women belonging to certain communities?

·      Will some riots be orchestrated in order to erase this verdict from people’s memories since the parliament elections are around the corner?

India’s Prime Minister will soon consecrate the most ostentatious temple in the country at the putative birthplace of god Rama, thereby making it explicitly clear that religion is going to be the real ruler of India hereafter. No wonder, India ranks as one of the least happy nations in the world: 126 out of 136 [World Happiness Index 2023]

But India should actually be happy because we are in the celestial regions with a lot of gods constantly in touch with us. As one Malayalam weekly puts it in a cartoon, when Modi goes to consecrate the Ayodhya temple, it will be the first time in celestial history that one god is going to consecrate another god’s temple. India, under Modi, will keep on ushering in many such firsts.

"One god going to set up another god" - Madhyamam, 1-15 Jan 2024

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