India.
What does this word mean to you? In these times of social media, it is increasingly becoming clear that the circumstances we are passing through as a nation, are bringing out different versions of this out into the open.
As an Indian who grew up in the 80s, my first impression of India was that of an old glorious civilization that had post centuries of foreign rule become poor and decadent. First it was the Muslims who invaded India and then it was the British. And while the British were truly oppressive and never integrated with India (unlike some of the Muslim rulers), finally they left and the modern Indian state came into existence.
This state though was nowhere close to the ancient splendor of "Bharat". It was inefficient, poor and grossly unjust and unfair. And under the great concepts of "unity in diversity" et.al. lay an ugly underbelly - the horrors of partition and a wide Hindu - Muslim divide. This divide erupted from time to time in riots in different parts of what we used to refer as "old" parts of big cities. For the most part, people like me, part of the "educated" class was hardly affected by this rioting.
Today however, this narrative has completely changed. Everyday on social media and 24*7 news media, hatred for Pakistan seems to be boiling over.
Now in this blog my idea is not to get into the rights or wrongs. What is - "is". But as someone who likes to study human history and evolution, I often wonder what got us here.
For the most part in history, Hindus have been the most tolerant and accepting people on this earth. As phrases like "atithi devo bhav" indicate, the Hindu sages understood long ago that ultimately all creation is one. Hence to hate people who practice a different philosophy or faith or come from a different geography did not make sense to them. (How this was conveniently juxtaposed with the evil caste system is another matter though and not relevant for this post).
So how does a group of people who believe in such a philosophy react when they come face to face with a set of invaders who are aggressive, brutal and do not believe in respecting other religions? And on top of that come in and then refuse to leave?
Well I guess what we are seeing today, is the outcome of the clash of these two totally different set of beliefs. As one of my best friends in US who was from Pakistan explained to me, Muslims in India were always used to being the rulers - read dominant (prior to the British rule). Hence post independence, it was not easy for them to live under a majority Hindu rule. And Hindus to a large extent were always considered passive and docile.
But today, India has changed. Fed up with its inefficient and incapable leaders, many Indians today are angry, impatient and restless. They want progress. They want India to be a world power again. And they cannot stomach seeing India suffer in silence against Pakistan - a small alpha Muslim state!
This is a new reality which needs to be understood! By the "liberals", the "Leftists" and by the Muslims whether in India or in Pakistan.
Is this right? Is this wrong? Who are you and me to decide? We live in a democracy and in this system, the majority view is what prevails.
What about self-proclaimed pacifists like me?
I hold on to my belief that this anger is a short term aberration and once the world has seen the "Lion" instead of the "Cow" and gives us our due, our innate tolerance will emerge again.
For now - beware the fury of a once patient nation state!
What does this word mean to you? In these times of social media, it is increasingly becoming clear that the circumstances we are passing through as a nation, are bringing out different versions of this out into the open.
As an Indian who grew up in the 80s, my first impression of India was that of an old glorious civilization that had post centuries of foreign rule become poor and decadent. First it was the Muslims who invaded India and then it was the British. And while the British were truly oppressive and never integrated with India (unlike some of the Muslim rulers), finally they left and the modern Indian state came into existence.
This state though was nowhere close to the ancient splendor of "Bharat". It was inefficient, poor and grossly unjust and unfair. And under the great concepts of "unity in diversity" et.al. lay an ugly underbelly - the horrors of partition and a wide Hindu - Muslim divide. This divide erupted from time to time in riots in different parts of what we used to refer as "old" parts of big cities. For the most part, people like me, part of the "educated" class was hardly affected by this rioting.
Today however, this narrative has completely changed. Everyday on social media and 24*7 news media, hatred for Pakistan seems to be boiling over.
Now in this blog my idea is not to get into the rights or wrongs. What is - "is". But as someone who likes to study human history and evolution, I often wonder what got us here.
For the most part in history, Hindus have been the most tolerant and accepting people on this earth. As phrases like "atithi devo bhav" indicate, the Hindu sages understood long ago that ultimately all creation is one. Hence to hate people who practice a different philosophy or faith or come from a different geography did not make sense to them. (How this was conveniently juxtaposed with the evil caste system is another matter though and not relevant for this post).
So how does a group of people who believe in such a philosophy react when they come face to face with a set of invaders who are aggressive, brutal and do not believe in respecting other religions? And on top of that come in and then refuse to leave?
Well I guess what we are seeing today, is the outcome of the clash of these two totally different set of beliefs. As one of my best friends in US who was from Pakistan explained to me, Muslims in India were always used to being the rulers - read dominant (prior to the British rule). Hence post independence, it was not easy for them to live under a majority Hindu rule. And Hindus to a large extent were always considered passive and docile.
But today, India has changed. Fed up with its inefficient and incapable leaders, many Indians today are angry, impatient and restless. They want progress. They want India to be a world power again. And they cannot stomach seeing India suffer in silence against Pakistan - a small alpha Muslim state!
This is a new reality which needs to be understood! By the "liberals", the "Leftists" and by the Muslims whether in India or in Pakistan.
Is this right? Is this wrong? Who are you and me to decide? We live in a democracy and in this system, the majority view is what prevails.
What about self-proclaimed pacifists like me?
I hold on to my belief that this anger is a short term aberration and once the world has seen the "Lion" instead of the "Cow" and gives us our due, our innate tolerance will emerge again.
For now - beware the fury of a once patient nation state!
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