A beacon of hope

The pernicious tentacles of blind hate seem to have been engulfing all of Indian society.The dream of Nehruvian democracy stands shattered. The pillars of secularism and humanism that characterise the modern Indian state are on the verge of crumbling and it seems that the philosophy of obscurantism is the master of the land. An India that was known for its open-mindedness, ancient wisdom and pacifism seem to have descended into the abyss of retrogression, bigotry and religious intolerance.

The extremist forces that used to be on the periphery of Indian politics in the 1960s and 1970s are definitely ascendant today, marching triumphantly through the streets of the largest democracy. The march is a message that dark forces are ready to do anything to implement their obnoxious designs of hate and divisiveness.

Such marches of modern day fascists – the goons of RSS – have sent a shiver down the spine of India’s beleaguered minorities that have witnessed a number of pogroms in the last few decades. Such scenes have appalled millions of other hapless masses of the ancient society that have witnessed the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, the brutal killings of the Sikhs in New Delhi in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the murders of Christian priests and the lynching of Dalits.

Amidst this ocean of hopelessness and dejection lie islands of hope and life that have challenged the narrative of divisiveness and communalism, taking to the streets of the largest democracy in the world to fight the saffron warriors and their ideology of hate and bigotry. Thousands of Indian students and conscientious citizens have rejected the obnoxious laws that have relegated more than 200 million Muslims to the status of second-class citizens.

It is not a matter of one piece of legislation but the future of India that is at stake. It is a battle between those who want to impose the dark shadows of obscurantism on the Indian people by pushing them towards a medieval system of government and those who want to turn India into a true secular democracy where caste, creed and religion do not allow any discrimination and all citizens are considered equal in the eyes of the law.

The valiant students of UP, New Delhi and several other parts of the giant country have put up a strong wall against the ruthless rule of majoritarianism that has been attempting to tear the social fabric of their society. Despite the killing of over 20 people and a brutal state crackdown, the movement against the discriminatory law has not waned yet. Threats by state officials did not work. The march of saffron warriors may have shocked sections of society but failed to snuff out the defiant mood that seems to be spreading to various parts of the country. A few hate-mongers like Tariq Fateh have been hurling fatwas against these energetic students, declaring them traitors and Pakistani agents but such frivolous allegations have not dampened their spirits.

What is the message of these students? Are they just a bunch of unemployed youth who are venting their anger against the state for no valid reason or are they highly charged and intellectually rich young Indians who have been dreaming of ridding their society of bigotry, religious extremism, grinding poverty and an economic unbridled system that has produced a few billionaires but pushed more than 600 million Indians into the lap of miseries and economic hardship?

Was this law a spark that rekindled the simmering desire to change this exploitative system? At least the poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib that these young Indians have been singing for weeks suggest that they are up to battle a system that has divided people along religious, communal and class lines – and not just a law. They seem to be revolting against an economic order that has enriched a few Indians leaving millions bereft of pure drinking water, a decent housing and even the basic amenities of life like health and sanitation.

Their comrades in Pakistan demonstrated some pacifist resistance in Lahore a few weeks ago when they thronged the area around Mall Road chanting revolutionary slogans that stunned those who want to divide Pakistani society along religious and sectarian lines. Like their Indian counterparts, these battalions of revolutionaries were also brimming with enthusiasm and revolutionary fervour. They also categorically rejected those who want to subjugate minorities in this country, relegating them to the status of second-class citizens.

The Pakistani students also wish to stand with the peasants, the labourers and the marginalised sections of their society who have been ignored by the corporate elite, political junta and powerful elements of the state. If such students make it to the apparatus of the state, they might prevent injustices being committed against members of marginalised communities. They might act as a bulwark against the tide of vigilante justice that has claimed so many innocent lives in the land of the pure during the last seven decades. They might put up a human wall around people who may be targeted by religious bigots on account of different sects or religions.

It is time that students of Pakistan and India rid their societies of obscurantist forces and retrogressive elements. The statements of Pakistani politicians, Indian generals and many others from various sections of life indicate that bigotry and intolerance is deeply embedded in our societies.

One of the factors could be the hateful syllabus that was imparted in this part of the world during the time of Zia, and is being distorted across the border now. It is heartening to see that, despite being indoctrinated with the ideology of hate and bigotry, students in the two countries carried out their own research, reading a myriad of authors, intellectuals and philosophers whose writings helped them rise above petty nationalistic and chauvinistic thinking. It is encouraging that they believe in common human values that do not divide people along sectarian and communal lines.

But a few demonstrations and movements cannot help stamp out the remnants of a rotten system that has plagued the two states. The agents of hate have been working on multiple fronts. In India they have set up thousands of orphanages across the country where they fill the minds of young and innocent children with the ideology of hate. The RSS is the largest NGO in the world with around six million membership. Its members, in the garb of welfare, have been propagating the ideology of Hindutva which has pushed India towards a conflagration. Their preaching has transformed Indian society in the last few decades, lifting the BJP from the periphery of Indian politics and turning it into the largest political party of the country.

The statements of some retired Indian army officers and current cops indicate that the influence of the RSS is not confined to the rank and file of the political party but has also reached the Indian military and civil bureaucracy. A student movement with humanistic ideas may help purge Indian society of these elements to some extent by producing good future cops, army generals and even politicians. Such people could pull Indian society out of the bigotry it finds itself in.

The obscurantist forces are also working on an institutional basis in Pakistan where thousands of religious seminaries have not only been spitting venom against people of other religions but other sects as well. A number of incidents have demonstrated that the ideology of bigotry is embedded everywhere.

A students’ movement that believes in human values could help society get rid of these elements because today’s students will make it to various upper layers of society in tomorrow’s Pakistan. If their minds are not contaminated with the ideology of hate, bigotry and obscurantism, they could turn out to be a beacon of hope for the country.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Email: egalitarianism444@gmail.com