UNITY IN DIVERSITY

  “Hasina Bhag Jayegi” screamed one of the headlines, the other read “Shaken Hasina”, yet another one was “Ek Hasina Thi” and there were countless memes on the social media on the 5th Aug. Isn’t it a strange coincidence that 49 years ago, it was in the month of Aug 15th 1975 to be precise, when Shaikh Mujib’s government was overthrown in a bloody coup with his complete family wiped out except Shaikh Hasina and her sister Rehana. Month of August is just not very august for this nation, or if we look at it from the perspective of the agitators, it is as they have been able to throw out an unpopular government. Ironically she won a two thirds majority in Jan this year itself, but without any opposition as BNP had decided to boycott the elections. This is the most important lesson to take home for us in India.

We need a credible opposition in a healthy democracy, without one the powers that be, can develop a tendency towards authoritarianism. Opposition for the sake of opposition as has been witnessed in the last about two decades is not healthy and for a change the events in Bangladesh have again shown that democratic values are in tact in India, with unanimous support cutting across party lines for Shaikh Hasina being provided shelter. I am sure these events have served a wake up call to both sides of the political divide, nobody wants this kind of anarchy in our country. The so called “Arab Spring” is such a misnomer, as it has failed to usher in any fragrance in any of the countries where it has been unleashed. In fact it ought to be referred to as rather “Turbulent and Ferocious Tsunami” which has not spared anyone in its wake, the country in tatters, economy in doldrums and the masses subjected to total anarchy as against organised governance. Yes there was discontent in all the cases, be it Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, SriLanka, Ukraine or even Bangladesh now, but the so called revolution have been orchestrated by the ‘Deep State’ as it serves their interests not of the host country. The script has been replayed time and again since 2010 when Tunisia was the first to go, the perpetrators learnt its lessons from Iraq, where troops were committed to achieve the objective of overthrowing the government. Now they have perfected this into an art form, they just act as  a catalyst after providing the initial trigger. 

India which boasts of ‘Unity in Diversity’ is an ideal candidate for the inimical forces to play this game, as they have been trying to exploit this diversity by creating a divide. Religion, caste based reservation, economic disparity provide them with just the right material and perception of the masses can be moulded into believing anything at all, the moment, they are convinced they are under threat. The natural defence mechanism of survival kicks in as a reflex action, logic and rational thinking is given a burial and an ugly dangerous mob is born.Fortunately for us despite their best efforts during the protests associated with CAA and Farm Laws, they could not reach criticality. But mind you, they are down but not out and will be at it sooner than later.

Social media and AI have proved to be such an asset in this game being played where the target country just loses the plot as it is overwhelmed by all kinds of lies and fake media are peddled without any qualms. For the nation to address this threat the only panacea is our strong institutions, be they Armed Forces, Judiciary, Media or Bureaucracy. In the current scenario in our neighbourhood, the institutions failed, as these pillars of any democracy have their roles cut out where at times, the pressure needs to be provided a vent for release. Our leaders have also acted with maturity when things seemed to be getting out of hand, like in the Farmer’s agitation, a roll back and an apology did manage to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation.

We must honour our democratic values and not play into the hands of forces inimical to our national interests. Our youth must learn to reject  communalism, religious extremism tread cautiously on social media, read extensively not on what’s app university but history, religious scriptures and engage in healthy debates rather than spew vitriol on your supposed adversaries who are just your brothers and comrades. Here is wishing and praying that sanity will prevail. We have defied all nay sayers in the last seventy five years by nurturing our heterogeneity and actually benefittng from it. We must guard it with all our might as that probably isthe reason why we shall overcome all these challenges. 

कुछ बात है कि हस्ती मिटती नहीं हमारी।

सदियों रहा है दुश्मन दौरे ज़मां हमारा।।