Why India cannot stand united in a revolution?

Why India cannot stand united in a revolution?

I find it hard to believe that when across the world, revolutions have and are taking place against the tyrannical governments, the reactions from the world’s biggest democracy and the most populated country is muted or at its best, just symbolic.

I kind of wonder why with the whole system in tatters, open ridicule of politicians to democracy and people of India, that we are not able to bring a revolution to clean the mess? Why we Indians can never stand in unity in our fight against corruption and corrupt system?

As I think over it, i find many reasons which leave Indians at a disadvantage. Religion has always been a cause of confrontation between the followers of two major religions of India. Any temporary unity, if at all arrived at, can easily be broken by fuelling the emotions of either one of them. We find our identity and pride through our religion. We find our being in religion. It is not just a belief system; we are too emotionally involved in it. Any attack on the religious books, places of worship, religious gurus or leaders, gods/prophet, tradition of either one of them, results in anarchy.

Muslims will doubt the intent of any movement if it is led by Hindu leaders and vice versa. Since the end of the Mughal Empire, Muslims have found themselves to be at the receiving end. It is obvious of them to eye with suspicion any mass movement. We cannot ignore their presence with the thought that Hindus being a majority can achieve the objective without the support of the Muslim community. Any voice of dissent will only work in weakening the movement. The strength of a chain is always measured by the strength of the weakest link. We need to stand, walk and fight together this great battle. So, it is reasonable to call for two simultaneous movements led by leaders of their own community. Both the leaders need to have mutual respect of each other and most of all, stand in unity to the cause.

Christians are another community which, I think, watches in silence, which makes me very uncomfortable. Is it indifference or are we just being cowards? When Christians across the world have actively participated in politics, bringing of good governance through war and revolutions, it is also the prerogative of Indian 

Christians to actively participate in the fight against injustice. Christians can be a force to reckon with if we chose to fight with the rest of the nation. Christians are considered ‘the people of the Book’ and find their strength through prayer to the living God.

Our reliance on caste system is also a major reason for our failure to stand and fight together. Our false sense of pride or shame is a hindrance to the common objective of any movement. As long we source our identity in caste, we will always fight for the benefit of our own community. We will not fight for the common good. The fight will only remain sectarian which can and will be easily crushed.

Astrology and religious god-men are reasons which dent our fight against the system. We cannot afford to be guided by astrologers and god-men, who, for their own personal gain, subvert innocent minds and make their followers mere puppet while they continue to hold the rein. Any dependence on astrology only results in fear, which is the main reason for its survival.

Difference in language is another obstacle in achieving unity. We find comfort among people who speak the same language and find our identity through them. This kind of limitation can be overcome if we have travelled or stayed in different parts of India, among people of different regions, for ex. families of defence forces. Unity can only be realized when we rise to the occasion and dispose our sense of insecurity.

South India has always remained relatively calm in comparison to North India. We need to either get moulding hot or icy cold rather than being lukewarm in our response. We may have our differences, and we may not have been dealt fairly in the past, we may have been discriminated by the North Indians on the basis of color and taunted, mimicked by them, yet, we cannot let these excuses as our refusal to join the fight.  We have a common enemy, so, let’s join together. As we fight together, may be, we may be able to erase the erroneous beliefs of the North Indians towards us.

History is proof that we have never fought in unity. Any unified efforts have only remained sporadic and short lived, ultimately yielding to the demons created due to differences in religions, caste, language, region, and colour. We have not been consistent in our unity. The sad part is that the enemy knows our weakness and our unending desire to play into the hands of the enemy. The British and later, our Indian political leaders have used these weaknesses so often, with sure results. If we are aware of our weakness, we would be conscious of the attack made on that and continue to work on the weakness. Social defects of casteism, astrology and religious god-men are sole domain of the followers of Hinduism. We need to work on these areas to eliminate the devastation that we bring about on ourselves.

I know the dream I dream is not possible but I have always believed in, ‘Nothing is impossible’. A lot depends on the leadership skills displayed by the leader of the movement. We need to fight together to change the course of history.