Rejoice and be happy. We live in the largest democracy of the whole goddamned world. We are the unique race to have it all- money (post liberalisation), spirituality and freedom.
Some time back in a village in West Bengal the whole state machinery converged to ensure whatever took place in the early mornings remained lost to the rest of the population. Some 2-3 days later some of my smart friends taunted me on my being a Bengali and Bengal being so hopelessly jobless to prevent the victorious march of modernization and industrialization and overall human development. National media carried out debates on whether what was going on in terms of protest in Nandigram was right or not. Learned intellectuals and communist theoriticians fought over the need for development and the cost of it.
Thank God so much- not a single child from Nandigram was able to see or understand all this. Perhaps thats why all this time she still lives with some hope of a better tomorrow. Quite a few... in fact many perhaps, of her friends were slaughtered like lambs in a slaughter house. So were so many of her aunts and uncles. She would have escaped barely. Perhaps she got lucky. She was too sick to be taken out that day. They were to be used as human shields to prevent police from coming into the village. People thought police will not harm a child. But they did not know that police were not even coming.
I was also talking rationally after the Gujarat riots. I was arguing in favour of the Hindu forces. I was arguing as to how muslims never blend into the mainstream of any society, etc. Thank God I was not a journalist. Thank God i was not doing undercover on the riots. I was not in a position to risk my sanity. I had a musllim friend who had the cheek to go to the state during these times. He actually actually had to undergo treatment. He went on Haj later. That helped him a bit. He used to be a "semi" believer, if you understand what I mean.
When I was a kid, I had a friend in school. Harmeet Singh Khalsa. He was actually quite small for a sardar. I had for the first time heard " Mujhe Rang De Basanti" from him. He had played the tabla while singing. I am still hopelessly in love with that song. It makes me cry. I do not know where Harmeet is today. I had moved out of the school early.
We were in Class IV when one day our school teacher came out and told us that someone had shot Indira Gandhi. We were almost happy. They closed the school early that day and we had more play time. I am not so sure about Harmeet. I never got a chance to talk to him about it. He did not come to school for almost a month. Then he came one day with the teacher walking him down to his seat. He used to sit besides me. I saw a black sash inside his shirt. I was sure he was a Khalisthani. Or his father was. I told my mother. She did not say much. She only said that it was nothing of that sort.
Much later I came to know from others that his house had been attacked by angry Congress workers. The family lived in perpetual fear for a long time. Harmeet used to wear the sash to say that he WAS AGGRIEVED at the death of the great leader. He was luckier than his cousin though. Back in Delhi the whole family of his aunt had been massacred in the bizarre show of grief for Mrs. Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi had aptly drawn the analogy of the tree. Thankfully TN was far away from Delhi when his time came.
We continue to live and thrive in the largest democracy in the world. Only don't get caught on the wrong side of the democrats. Do not be a farmer in Nandigram, or a muslim in Gujarat or a Sikh after death of Indira Gandhi.
Just ensure that much and you will always have all the freedom that you want.
Protest on non-selection of Dravid. Do not try protesting against CPM in West Bengal. Criticize SHahrukh as much as you want. Be careful before criticizing Karunanidhi, or Rahul Gandhi....Speak whatever you want as long as you are politically correct. Take part in the Delhi marathon. But be very careful if you are demonstrating for justice at India Gate.
Yes we have all the freedom we need. Just need to look away when the governments have to get down to do the dirty jobs. All will be fine then. When government does its dirty job then no one- no one can protect you from it. The media, the police, international support.... no one.
Who questions the government?
WE THE PEOPLE..........
