On Hate, Violence & Aggression

India has turned 59. Yet, the burning issue in 1947 continues to divide our people. So deep rooted are communalism and religion based hatred even half a century of democracy has not been able to palliate it. In fact, the years in between have been a witness to innumerable communal riots. Deep mistrust seems to have seeped into out psychologies. And politicians haven’t helped the cause at all. Vote bank politics seems to have, in fact, aggravated the animosity and differences.

The famous Mohammed Iqbal song goes like

"Saare Jahaan se achha Hindustan hamara ..
Mazhab nahi sikhaata aapas mein bair rakhna,
Hindi hain hum, vatan hai Hindustan hamara"

How many of us actually think in terms of country and not religion? How many Hindus do not have an inherent mistrust for the Muslims? How many Muslims do not inherently doubt the Hindus? Why such an attitude? Why have we allowed ourselves to be divided along religious lines? Is religion our only identity? Hard core Hindus tend to be critical of the rigid religious practices of Muslims. They pride themselves with the fact that Hinduism is flexible and open, and doesn’t require them to be so hard and fast with practices. What a farce! As soon as they are intolerant of other religions/communities, they stop being true Hindus! And, I’m sure even Islam doesn’t promote hatred between religions.

Now is the time for India to realize its destiny. The prerogative is on us to make the best out of this opportunity. Infighting, inherent suspicion, terror will not take us anywhere, as a country, and as individuals. Ok, people contend that Pakistan is the root cause of all our troubles! And that is reason enough to take tough military action and destroy terror camps in that country, thus, emulating Israel.

Well, my question to all the proponents of such a theory – Have we been able to sort out all problems in our own backyard that we attack another country? Are our goals & ambitions same as that of Israel? Israel is not a defender but an aggressor. History is witness to the way it arm-twisted Egypt and other Arab countries by illegally occupying Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank etc. And now trying to do the same in Lebanon on the pretext of destroying Hizbollah. Israel is a part of a bigger game for controlling energy at the world level. We’re clearly not on the same frequency as Israel in this regard, to the best of my knowledge!

Further, by constantly targeting a particular community for all acts of terror, we have not only succeeded in alienating that community but also have divided the whole nation along communal lines. When we do that, don’t we fall right into the trap that had been laid for us so beautifully by the people planning such acts! Is it so difficult to understand that sending Muslims specifically for the proxy war(s) is a part of a well thought out strategy! Why do we then add oil to an already raging fire, and burn the entire country?! People will now point out that globally Muslims have been found guilty of such acts. Well, do we ever try to find out the reason behind the same? Don’t we understand that it has been the Islamic community worldwide that has borne the brunt of imperialism?

Why, in India, do we develop a sense of dislike for Muslim traditions and culture, right from our childhood? Why is it that our education system is silently training us to develop distaste for that community? Who designed the whole education system? Wasn’t it the British? Lord Macaulay, didn’t someone mention? Who did they overthrow to take over India? Mughals? Who were Mughals? Muslims? Which was the most likely community to try and overtly fight the British rule? The ruling families – the Muslims? Why is it that Muslims did not receive modern education? Imperialistic dominance. World over, what was the case? Who lost because of the western imperialism? Weren’t most of the rulers Islamic? Wasn’t it the Islamic rule throughout that was challenged and eventually overwhelmed?

Why is it that we are so intolerant of others’ views and perspectives? Even at a personal level, we try and push our point of view. We try and impose our perspective on others. Why such aggression? What is it that we want to achieve by dominating others?

At this point of time, I really appreciate the way Mahatma Gandhi led our freedom struggle. Violence is not a tool for winning freedom! Freedom is not independence from foreign rule only. It has a wider meaning – we are free, when we become capable of managing ourselves as individuals, and as a nation. After 59 years of gaining independence from foreign rule, I seriously doubt whether we’ve really achieved freedom! Do we know how to manage ourselves? Are we capable enough to be tolerant of others’ views, understand them, and live in harmony?

Isn't it high time already for us to learn the virtue of tolerance?!