By Ananya s Guha
Beating up college teachers as in the bizarre incident in Ram Jaas College, is once again a proof of how dissent and liberty of expression are being viciously suppressed in the country. A college of repute in our country is severely assailed simply because it invited some speakers to share the podium, and express views on something which did not suit their palate. Young ‘ political ‘ activists ravaged the campus, and desecrated the sanctity of a college campus. We are witness now to a scenario of happenings in our college and university campuses. Those who do not adhere to a monolithic structure of the country are under attack, and physically lambasted. They are under attack for distorting history, playing on negatives of the country, highlighting them, westernising models of Indian thought and philosophy, etc. Any Western ideology is wrong or tainted, though the present molly cuddling with the US is ignored or, glibly overlooked. Debunking western ideals is fine, but debunking them only to perceive Indian connections is something that is preconceived. Hence a monolithic structure of the country is thought of from ancient times onward. There is a gross mix of history, mythology and religion. Such singularity obviously precludes the diversity within the country. Shivaji is glorified as a national hero, for reasons best understood, although the connection with Shiv Sena is tenuous, bordering on silly love hate games.
No one denies the great ancient tradition and culture of the country. The left ideology of sub- nationalism is taken to task .A nationalism that is rightist, egregiously religious and fundamentalist must be the order of the day. There can be no talk of Aryan and Dravidian, and blinkers on history must be applied if the country is to survive. But will it survive? Will it survive this onslaught against people who hold differing world views, who have civilian codes, and protect minority rights? Calling people ‘ terrorists’ who opposed British rule is a sin, because terrorists did not fight for nationalism. No, the national movement cannot be shown piecemeal; the argument of moderates and extremists do not hold. Indian history is researched, dug out, anatomised minutely, exhumed to study its dirty, mortal remains. Indian mathematics has been sullied by Western orientation and thinking, its numerology was imported by Arab traders for business, and it fell a prey to European ethnocentric and rational views, upheld by church dogma. But what were Indians doing then? Similarly the Muslim invasion has to be blacked out, as a dark, if not the darkest period of Indian history. There cannot be glorification of Akbar, for after all, wasn’t he using Muslim laws for marriage, picking and choosing?
When teachers, professors are beaten up in campuses they taught for years, campuses will go into revolt, as has always been the case. But will the teachers as community, and the intelligentsia revolt? If so what is this insurrection going to be like; silent and passive? How is Indian history, and its forces within going to react, to see a design flagellated and torn?
It is left now to the Indian voter, unbiased, the tiller of the soil, the puller of carts, the struggling vendor or farmer to make the choice, not the people who believe in instant culture therapy and histrionics. In the last time they outvoted those whom they thought had brought into the country the quagmire of corruption, ethical distress and worst convolution of power. They were disgusted, helpless and hapless. They wanted change at any cost. They wanted to breathe freely, and speak freely. They were tired of suicides, and discovered that the farmer community was schizophrenic, one wealthy, the other the true tiller of the soil. Political nature and nature were the biggest dents in their ideologies. They hoped that the fresh breath of change would extirpate the spate of money corruption. However they discovered painfully that in the name of technology and demonetisation, they not only were cashless, but did not have money to pay rents, debts or organise their children’s marriage. Then they also found that issues such as gau raksha, lynching so called outcastes were in vogue. In Bihar they revolted openly, and proved both the internal and external dynamism of the country. It was silent, but true, so true that the rabid icons were dumbfounded. Once again the electoral masses showed their intelligence and no nonsense attitudes. This was a big reproof to people who deployed arma and muscle power tactics coupled with rabid ideology, playing with vote banks on religion, caste and even language.
So what is this monolith that they are building? It is imagined, totally based on one language, one religion and one upper caste. That is the rashtra they dream, imagine, eat and sleep. They forget all other shapes and sizes, the multitudes, the heterogeneous strands that make up this vast country with grandiosity. However, the perceived monolith cannot stand alone, subsumed as it will be by other dominant thinking or forces which will only strangulate such piecemeal grandeur, fomenting imbecile imagination. Culture in India is enormity, it is too vast to have therapeutic notions, too diverse to be tailored. Such instant culture therapy must go, if the nation is to survive historical rumblings.