THE PUDDLE AND THE PARTITION

















“It’s not at all hard to understand a person;
It’s only hard to listen without bias.”
Criss Jami

It was late in the night when I happened to read the heated debate on one of the WhatsApp groups. It’s a group of fifteen of us… all friends and all educated. Apparently, one of the group members had showered praises on our Prime Minister and hailed him as the only leader who could deal with the current situation in the country so efficiently.  Immediately, another member mocked at what was being just said and criticized the PM and the central government for, what he called ‘a complete mess’ in the country. Suddenly, the floodgates were thrown open… missiles being fired from either side of the border. I was surprised to see one of our very quiet members, who seldom opened his mouth, firing his missiles from one of the sides…

I stood neutral, a mute spectator, rather… and watched the fun!

Of course, I had a very strong view about the current state of affairs… I, too, could have easily joined one of the two camps. But, I chose to stay out of this late-night battle…

The reason was quite simple…

Essentially all of us – I said ‘all’ – reacted from our preconceived ideas – our prejudices. None of us was interested in comprehending the gravity and magnitude of the situation. We were all desperately, and blindly, either glorifying or condemning the government. To put it in the familiar lingo, we were either doing ‘andh bhakti’ or ‘andh bashing’ of PM and the government. So, when such was the state of debate, I thought, I would rather not open my mouth…

And, good, I didn’t. For, it all turned out very ugly!

Imagine this: We were good friends and we were educated. None of us would ever meet our PM or his political opponents ever in our life, leave alone getting a reward for our ‘bhakti’ or ‘bashing’. On the other hand, we knew, that we and our families would have to interact almost on a daily basis… Yet, we seemed willing to ruin our friendship for an idiotic cause!

That group of fifteen of us, which I have mentioned above, is only symbolic… It’s a metaphor for human bias. At heart of our hearts, we all know that we are all brothers and sisters… we are all neighbors and friends… fellow humans… Inter-dependent and driven by our simple dreams and aspirations… We know, deep down in our bosoms, that hatred and enmity make us monstrous… and still we indulge in them… Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan…

Joseph Stalin, who was either intensely loved or intensely hated, once said: “History shows, that there are no invincible armies.”

Still, we fight!

Just today, I have given a small assignment to two little boys… 






They have to watch this video with their family members, have a discussion over it, and, then, write what is the take away… Not to the members of their families, but to them (kids) personally!

I am curious to listen to my two little boys!



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: www.istockphoto.com

Video: Google India

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