Lunancy and Intolerant Sanskruti- Soter

 

 

The violence unleashed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir or globally is far easier to talk about and debate than the violence and abuse we encounter against us almost every day from our governments, in our homes and on the streets. 

 By BY Soter D'Souza | 14 Aug, 2016, 06:04AM IST

Fear, hurt, pain, insecurity and other feelings resulting from violence are known to have a paralyzing effect on a person to the extent that after long periods of exposure to such abuse and violence one even stops feeling. Violence against oneself begins to be considered as normal and accepting it becomes the way of coping. Becoming aware and admitting violence and abuse against oneself is not only scary but may also be ridiculed by others in society. Governments drive us into denial and a cover up of our violent personal realities by engaging us in discussing the distant threat of violence from beyond our country’s borders and feeling for other victims of violence. Protecting our families, society and State from shame by denying problems and feelings is considered a noble and supreme sacrifice. We are taught to keep our problems and feelings under wraps no matter how devastating an impact they may have on our lives, even till death does us apart. Hypocrisy is the hallmark of our Bharatiya sanskruti.

The right-wing assault on freedom of expression needs to be viewed in this background. The recent uncalled for remark of the Union Defence Minister against a one year old statement from Amir Khan about his wife’s fears on growing intolerance in the country needs to be viewed as part of this transgressive, oppressive and suppressive Bharatiya sanskruti. This is exactly why despite such glaring signs of intolerance the right-wing fan club is convinced that India is an extremely tolerant country, even better than any other nation on this planet. The problem is that we are an extremely tolerant country to any violence and abuse against us not only from near and dear ones but also from politicians and the State. Just as shaming one’s family by speaking about the abuse, violence and associated feelings is taboo, exposing injustice and violence by the State is shouted down as unpatriotic and anti-national by sanskrutised lunatics. Any public expression to get free from what burdens us deep within our chest or to assert our rights is a threat to this violent and abusive sanskruti which has got a boost after the ascension of the right-wing forces to power. The nation is being driven into accepting that transgression, oppression, suppression and violence inflicted on the dalits, minorities and women by the big brotherly acting majority is a divinely ordained social order and not submitting oneself to this order deserves punishment, which is probably what the Union Defence Minister and his ideological parivar are hinting. 

The tolerance to abuse and violence in our society is so deep-rooted that we silently submit ourselves to the criminal negligence of the State even though it costs our health, our lives and our limbs. Even though 10k people lost their lives on the roads in 2015 and from which 3, 416 deaths were due to pot holes, yet we demand wider roads and more expressways. Our numbness to our feelings from repeated abuse and violence leading to the breaking of our spirit drives us to grudgingly adjust to the pathetic and dangerous road conditions, poor sanitation, hazardous water and food quality, neglected health care systems, lack of affordable housing, corrupt law enforcing agencies, destruction of our environment, communal attacks and the other devastating activities which get classified as progress and development. This culture of hypocrisy resulting in unquestioned tolerance to violence and abuse by citizens is what encourages Governments to shamelessly claim that ‘Goa or India is Shinning’ while the reality on the ground reveals a different story. It is this numbness to feelings which makes citizens to cheer destruction and devastation claiming them to be development and progress. 

This is why ‘Gav Raksha’ over rides ‘Insaniyat’. We may curse and resent the abuse and violence inflicted on us by our politicians and governments but at the end of it all we simply submit ourselves to oppression and exploitation calling it nationalism and patriotism. Just as an external threat to our family would unite us, similar is the case with the bogey about external threat to our nation which gets manufactured by the State to distract us from the internal mess and put on our costume of pretense to portray a content and united nation to the world. The nation needs Azadi from hypocrisy if it is to rid itself from such lunatic and corrupt cultural fundamentalists who are a hindrance to healthy progress and peace in this country.

 http://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Voice-Of-Opinion/Lunacy-and-Intolerant-Sanskruti/105149.html