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.
