THE DEAD, DUMB US!

That the appointment of Adityanath Yogi as the Chief Minister of India’s largest state, did not evoke even a whimper of protest from India’s youth and other sections that should be concerned, is very, very disturbing, indeed.

This man poured nothing but undiluted venom calculated to promote nothing but hatred against India’s largest minority. His conduct, his language, and his violence were all unbecoming of a Hindu – the Hindu as we understand, or as portrayed by Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, Gandhi, Nehru or even Vajpayee.

The nation should have erupted in an outrage, the offices and factories should have been stalled, traffic jammed, rallies poured out and court-rooms flooded – at least in the well-known secular pockets. Nothing of the kind happened. Where is our pride in the Republic known for its inclusiveness, for its constitutionalism, for its rule of law?

Crackpots and rabid fanatics exist in every community. They perhaps always did. But healthy, sane and fair societies develop mechanisms to express strong resentment against such bigots and thereby isolate them as fringe elements.

No, India is not America. And, although Yogi is way worse than Trump, we are not American democrats.

Is that fringe fast becoming the mainstream?

The deafening silence of the youth from India’s premier institutions, its multitude of universities and colleges; from India’s vast army of educated professionals, its technocrats, its scientists and academics, its culture, professional and trade associations, its cine fraternity and sports bodies, its jurists and cops… simply benumbs me.

• Have we killed all chivalry and sense of fairness?
• Have we destroyed all our sensibilities?
• Are we already immune to barbarism?
• Have we lost all patriotism and pride of nationhood?
• Are we a dead nation?
• Are we becoming ISIS and Taliban?
• Are we heading towards what Pakistan was until some time ago?

Pray, no.

But the evidence supporting this suspicion is alarming, indeed.

Youth of India: I am past my prime. Soon I will fade out. But remember, this is NOT the India your and my forefathers envisioned. Not Subhash Chandra Bose, not Rabindranath Tagore, not Mohandas Gandhi, not Jawaharlal Nehru.

And this is not the India that will actualize your dreams, enhance opportunities for exploring your latent potential, for raising our stock in the comity of nations.

Arise, if you care – for y/our motherland, and for y/ourself. You are a tad too late already. Further delay will make recovery impossible. And we will return to dark ages – just when we are poised to step into bright morrow.

Jai Hind!

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection… INTO THAT HEAVEN OF FREEDOM, MY FATHER, LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE!”