Indians not a chance breeze
Shaadaab S. Bakht
Shaadaab S. Bakht, who worked for famous Indian dailies The Telegraph, The Pioneer, The Sentinel and wrote political commentaries for Tehelka.com, is Gulf Today’s Executive Editor.
- 05 Mar 2020
ON CITIZENSHIP LAW
A man can be beaten to death. In fact, he has been. But what can’t be beaten to death is his belief. He was buried, but what wasn’t buried was his belief.
That is because the faith of the above Delhi victim is not a civilisational chance breeze. It made history bend its ways and rewrote humanity’s tale.
Centuries ago when man was still nibbling at pagan roots, it burst out with a typhonic gust from a sand-washed coastal settlement sweeping everything in its wake.
The all-conquering faith appeared in the form of a Messenger, who gave reality a dimension reality was unaware of
The all-conquering faith appeared in the form of a Messenger, who gave reality a dimension reality was unaware of. The success of the Messenger’s message, confirmed by written history, reinforces the assertion. The world hasn’t been the same after the message.
Therefore, the tormentors of the deceased would do well to remember, and in all seriousness, that violence would not be able to silence members of an aggregate that has had such a rich and proven history of dominance and for centuries and all over the known universe. They should negotiate and not torment.
The minorities should also make an effort to avoid confrontation. Agreed, “This world doesn’t allow hermits,” but in any clash between the less and the more, the more always wins. Battles aren’t won with disgust and sheer venom. They call for numbers and a system unstilted with votes. They lag behind on both counts. Therefore, the need of the hour is tolerance. They should patiently play out the very difficult days because it is not in the nature of truth to lose and they have truth on their side, which is why tens of thousands of unbiased Indians are protesting against the new Indian citizenship law. They are also condemning the attacks on the minorities.
Again, the minorities — whether they like it or not — have to make allowances for political compulsions. They can’t be a part of an elected system and not subscribe to it. The power-wielding politicians, who are supposed to look after the well-being of the people, were voted to power. And they can’t let their voters down. They can’t compromise on that. The minorities have to appreciate that.
All this talk of politics being a branch of morality died with Aristotle.
You raise your head in the world of realpolitik and all you can see is celebrations to mark the coronation of perverse politics. The whole blooming game is about negative capability.
