As we segue into a new year, there is talk of war in the air. In a perfect world, we would be talking of peace instead. Wishing each other joy and prosperity, celebrating a season of peace and brotherhood. Ringing in the new. Ringing out the old with ease. In a not-so-perfect world riddled with fissures, such bonhomie sounds like a fairytale. India is still recovering from the brutal terror strike of November 26. Mumbai’s wounds fester. The fear that gripped us during the city’s siege smolders in our collective memory. Anger and unease still overwhelm us. So like a recurring chorus, war crops up in conversations at street corners and dhabas and college campuses. It resonates within the cocoon of five star hotels; makes it to the table at black tux dinners and socialite lunches. Is war the answer to our anxieties? Millions of Indians are mulling over the question as a new year dawns.
Those who make a case for waging war on Pakistan dredge up many reasons. War will send a strong message. War will scar the enemy in indelible ways. War can prove India’s might and salvage national pride. Peace is a twilight zone; war is the clear light of day. If war is all this, then this is the perfect hour for introspection. Let’s take a good look at the wars we have declared within our country. These wars are not waged on enemy territory. They are being fought with chilling regularity in our cities and small towns. They are ugly. They cause untold damage. They deny people fundamental freedoms and gloat over their misery. These wars are as ruthless as massacres engineered by machine guns and cluster bombs. They march ahead and sow the seeds of xenophobia to happily reap the bloody harvest.
These battles are staged every day. They corrode the plural, secular ethos of our country like a deadly poison. They are happening everywhere, everyday. A friend who recently shifted base from Kolkata to Delhi had the most harrowing house hunt of her life. Her story is not an isolated instance. People living in other cities and towns have similar experiences to share. Hina moved to the capital three months ago. She trawled all of south Delhi in search of rented accommodation. Weeks went by. Meetings with prospective landlords and ladies went on. Her interactions with them were always pleasant. They showed a great deal of interest in her job (television producer), her car (a brand new Chevrolet), her future plans (marriage, children). Everybody was courteous. Everybody promised to get in touch soon. Most of them never bothered to call back. The ones who did spat out the real reason behind their reluctance. She had the right credentials and the right credit cards. But her Muslim surname stuck out like a sore thumb in their faces. Landlords were not ashamed to say that they were keen on finding Hindu tenants to occupy their territory. Indian citizens of other faiths were clearly not welcome to their homes.
Why are our metros and burgeoning small towns turning to ghettos? Why do we allow such blind prejudice to flourish? Instead of baying for the enemies’ blood and asking Indian soldiers to charge across the border, we should be channeling all our energies into battling this tide of prejudice. This is a war worth fighting. A war we need to win before the tide sweeps us off our feet and drowns us for good. How can a divided house hope to stand up against external aggression? How can we waste our time and energy in drawing battle lines among ourselves?
The new year is a good time to wage constructive wars. It is the perfect season to take up arms against divisive forces. The time to fight politicians who make inflammatory speeches. Boycott leaders who demonise people belonging to any particular community. Battle politicos of all hues and affiliations who divide the electorate on the basis of faith. Wage a war on anyone who discriminates between Hindu and Muslim, Christian and Sikh. Challenge their false claims of exclusivity. Find loopholes in their dubious arguments. Stop them, by any means necessary, from polluting the air with conspiracy theories. Instead of crying hoarse about the enemy at our gates, we could resolve to take on the demons who engage in demented divide and rule politics. Declare a war against the politics of hatred. Welcome leaders who preach and practice tolerance towards all differences.
We could declare a war against inequity. Against the growing gap between the super rich and the starving man, between high rise and shanty town, the land mafia and the tribal cheated of forest rights, the money lender and the suicidal farmer. Against child labor and crippling poverty, female feticide and gender discrimination. Against malnutrition and maternal mortality. Against bonded labor and sweatshop enslavement. There is so much to fight, so much to set right in our own backyard. Are we going to continue to turn a blind eye to this mess and insist on dispatching our army to vanquish enemies across the border? Are we going to take cover behind another trumped up war and ignore the real battles we must fight? A new year, no matter how imperfect, is a time for new beginnings. A time for hope. A time for change. Whether the Indian government will decide to aggressively act against terrorist groups on Pakistani territory is still a matter of speculation. Governments will come and go, enacting draconian laws that promise to deliver us from all evil. No matter which way the pendulum swings, no matter how many dead laws are resurrected, let’s hope this new year sees the Indian citizen spearheading movements of change. Let’s hope to see an awakening of public consciousness that builds a lasting peace this year.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Thursday, November 6, 2008
R.I.P
(After eight years of unprecedented foreign policy disasters and serious manhandling of the English language, it is time for George W Bush to vanish from the world’s radar. This letter goes out to him; a frank farewell note, a huge sigh of relief, a final goodbye…call it what you will. But do not, in the words of the man himself, ‘misunderestimate’ this note.)
Dear Mr Bush: I use the word dear as a figure of speech, not as a term of endearment. In India, we are very fond of figures of speech. I’m sure you remember our prime minister’s recent visit to your country to sign the civilian nuclear deal and dance the bhangra afterwards. (Just to jog your memory: he wears a turban and looks apologetic at all times. His name happens to be Dr Manmohan Singh. I hope you are not confusing him with the other leader from the subcontinent who visited America around the same time and pawed Sarah Palin in public. He is Pakistani. Not Indian. India and Pakistan are two different countries. Have been that way since 1947, actually). So when our euphoric prime minister declared that Indians love you, he was just putting on display our fondness for figures of speech. Let me not drown my message in subtlety, coz I know that’s not your thing.
What I’m tryin’ to say is, not all Indians feel that way about you. No sir. Actually, a whole lot of Americans don’t either. Civilians who have managed to stay alive in Afghanistan and Iraq also swear that they are not in love with you. Why? We must go back in time to answer that logical question. On September 20, 2001, during an address to a joint session of congress and the American people, you formally declared war. On terror. You said, "Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”
You forgot to tell the people who were listening to you that under cover of this war, your government would launch military offensives that would annihilate innocent people in all corners of the globe. In the name of this righteous war, terror suspects would be jailed and tortured, detained indefinitely without explanation. After the twin towers fell, you took up a lot of air time to emphasise that America was the heart of the free world. You wouldn’t stop calling it the repository of all civilised values. A country that boasted of a way of life that promised freedom, equality and opportunity to all. After these rousing speeches were done, after the television cameras stopped blinking, you gave orders to carpet bomb entire civilisations. Eight years of your rule have made people all over the world hate America in the most visceral of ways. I pity the man who will have to clean up the mess you made.
You gave democracy a really bad name. Even though UN weapons inspectors did not find the mythical weapons of mass destruction that your government claimed Saddam was hiding, you drummed up a ‘coalition of the willing’ to march into Iraq. United under this theatrical banner, brute force delivered democracy to Iraq. Saddam’s regime was toppled in 2003, but the fires still rage in Iraq. Many members of your coalition withdrew after they realised the enormity of their mistake. But you, Mr President, parachuted from the sky into the midst of your tired soldiers and declared victory at inopportune times. May be your generals forgot to tell you that nobody won. May be they are still waiting for a good time to let you tune into the news.
I’d be lying if I said your presidency was all bad news. There were times when it was more entertaining than the best Hollywood can offer. How can I forget to thank you for the unforgettable quotes that you sprung on us? I treasure all of them. Always will. Let me mention a few favourites:
“The folks who conducted to act on our country on September 11th made a big mistake. They underestimated America. They underestimated our resolve, our determination, our love for freedom. They misunderestimated the fact that we love a neighbor in need. They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the Commander-in-Chief, too." -- Washington, D.C, Sept. 26, 2001
“I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe… I believe what I believe is right." -- Rome, July 22, 2001
"Russia is no longer our enemy and therefore we shouldn't be locked into a Cold War mentality that says we keep the peace by blowing each other up. In my attitude, that's old, that's tired, that's stale." -- Des Moines, Iowa, June 8, 2001
Most of the time, people didn’t really get what you said. Nobody understood you. Neither the cabal of neo-conservatives who surrounded you, nor the hapless millions who listened to your televised speeches. The sentences were so long and complicated, the policy decisions so warped, words misspelt, mispronounced. But, hey, I hate to bring up trifles…Rest assured Mr President. Your quotes will be enshrined in the memory of generations to come.
We will also remember your endearing habit of mixing up the names of countries and heads of states. We will never forget the many creative expressions your team of experts coined (Axis of Evil, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Extraordinary Rendition….)
You leave behind such a rich legacy. Your impact on the world at large and the English language in particular has been spectacular.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end. And yours, mercifully, is here. Au revoir Mr President. Or as the French say, good riddance.
Sincerely,
XXX
Dear Mr Bush: I use the word dear as a figure of speech, not as a term of endearment. In India, we are very fond of figures of speech. I’m sure you remember our prime minister’s recent visit to your country to sign the civilian nuclear deal and dance the bhangra afterwards. (Just to jog your memory: he wears a turban and looks apologetic at all times. His name happens to be Dr Manmohan Singh. I hope you are not confusing him with the other leader from the subcontinent who visited America around the same time and pawed Sarah Palin in public. He is Pakistani. Not Indian. India and Pakistan are two different countries. Have been that way since 1947, actually). So when our euphoric prime minister declared that Indians love you, he was just putting on display our fondness for figures of speech. Let me not drown my message in subtlety, coz I know that’s not your thing.
What I’m tryin’ to say is, not all Indians feel that way about you. No sir. Actually, a whole lot of Americans don’t either. Civilians who have managed to stay alive in Afghanistan and Iraq also swear that they are not in love with you. Why? We must go back in time to answer that logical question. On September 20, 2001, during an address to a joint session of congress and the American people, you formally declared war. On terror. You said, "Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”
You forgot to tell the people who were listening to you that under cover of this war, your government would launch military offensives that would annihilate innocent people in all corners of the globe. In the name of this righteous war, terror suspects would be jailed and tortured, detained indefinitely without explanation. After the twin towers fell, you took up a lot of air time to emphasise that America was the heart of the free world. You wouldn’t stop calling it the repository of all civilised values. A country that boasted of a way of life that promised freedom, equality and opportunity to all. After these rousing speeches were done, after the television cameras stopped blinking, you gave orders to carpet bomb entire civilisations. Eight years of your rule have made people all over the world hate America in the most visceral of ways. I pity the man who will have to clean up the mess you made.
You gave democracy a really bad name. Even though UN weapons inspectors did not find the mythical weapons of mass destruction that your government claimed Saddam was hiding, you drummed up a ‘coalition of the willing’ to march into Iraq. United under this theatrical banner, brute force delivered democracy to Iraq. Saddam’s regime was toppled in 2003, but the fires still rage in Iraq. Many members of your coalition withdrew after they realised the enormity of their mistake. But you, Mr President, parachuted from the sky into the midst of your tired soldiers and declared victory at inopportune times. May be your generals forgot to tell you that nobody won. May be they are still waiting for a good time to let you tune into the news.
I’d be lying if I said your presidency was all bad news. There were times when it was more entertaining than the best Hollywood can offer. How can I forget to thank you for the unforgettable quotes that you sprung on us? I treasure all of them. Always will. Let me mention a few favourites:
“The folks who conducted to act on our country on September 11th made a big mistake. They underestimated America. They underestimated our resolve, our determination, our love for freedom. They misunderestimated the fact that we love a neighbor in need. They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the Commander-in-Chief, too." -- Washington, D.C, Sept. 26, 2001
“I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe… I believe what I believe is right." -- Rome, July 22, 2001
"Russia is no longer our enemy and therefore we shouldn't be locked into a Cold War mentality that says we keep the peace by blowing each other up. In my attitude, that's old, that's tired, that's stale." -- Des Moines, Iowa, June 8, 2001
Most of the time, people didn’t really get what you said. Nobody understood you. Neither the cabal of neo-conservatives who surrounded you, nor the hapless millions who listened to your televised speeches. The sentences were so long and complicated, the policy decisions so warped, words misspelt, mispronounced. But, hey, I hate to bring up trifles…Rest assured Mr President. Your quotes will be enshrined in the memory of generations to come.
We will also remember your endearing habit of mixing up the names of countries and heads of states. We will never forget the many creative expressions your team of experts coined (Axis of Evil, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Extraordinary Rendition….)
You leave behind such a rich legacy. Your impact on the world at large and the English language in particular has been spectacular.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end. And yours, mercifully, is here. Au revoir Mr President. Or as the French say, good riddance.
Sincerely,
XXX
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
WHITE TIGER, BLACK DAY
Juvenile, gimmicky, corny...Many adjectives come to mind when I think of Aravind Adiga's White Tiger. But the Man Booker judges came up with a surprising one. 'Perfect!'Apparently the novel is a perfect book in many ways. A book brimming with schoolboy sarcasm. A novel that makes you want to run for cover after the first few pages overloaded with the most obvious and sloppy conceits. Granted that Adiga's book is backed by a powerhouse publishing house. But if that is the sole criterion of perfection, this is just proof that we live in pathetic times. White Tiger's win marks a sad day for good writing. Tragic, really.
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