We live in interesting time, to
borrow a phrase from yesteryears, and to put it in today's context, very, very mildly. We, the
confused humanity as a whole are standing at a historic diversion. The path
that we take will define where we go from here. I am not a doomsday prophet and
therefore am not predicting the end of human race, but I do feel that decisions
we take today will definitely form the shape human race and human thought will
take in the times to come. I am worried to the point of disgust when I look at
the sad turn we took some twenty-five years back as the global sensitivity,
tolerance and thought took steps on what I would consider, precipice of
fanaticism and intolerance.
The fanatics, the unbending,
unyielding intolerants without any intent and seemingly, capacity to debate
with the counter-thought, occupied the space ceded by the liberals out of fear
or sloth, with a sense of urgency. As a Salman Rushdie rushed to his small,
corner in a fatwa-ridden world, living a
largely regulated life and rationed , thrown at him like alms to the beggar on
the street corner, clouds of despair loomed large over the globe, with only
thin light reaching down to the earth. The landscape, devoid of sunlight
quickly changed. A nobody’s world quickly changed into everybody’s battleground.

Their rule extends through the
mob, and the mob feeds on ignorance of people which constitute it. The
ignorance allows their commands to be carried out, without questions, even at
the cost of the individual well-being of the people who constitute the mob.
They will rise to make a mosque, because a local politician in Delhi leads them
to believe it is their solemn religious duty. The politician in question
derives his power from this unthinking mob, which does not deliberate; it does
not pause to think if they can come together to make a mosque why not come
together to make a school or primary health center in areas where their fellow
faith followers live, something which will make their individual lives better.
Their lives will went as before, even when the mosque was not there. The same
argument can equally apply to a temple or any other place of worship. People like
Malala scare those leaders and demi-Gods, for they talk about logic, about
deliberating before the action.

We cannot let this go as a
unrelated world event unfolding in some faraway land. We as Indians did it
earlier, when we bowed to the self-proclaimed representatives of faith in
earlier instances of Taslima Nasreen and Salman Rushdie, and we as liberals of
the world allowed the sun set so to the edge that the world was suddenly a
cold, dark place. We cannot do it now, Malala should be cheered at every TV
channel, each editorial in the news magazine, we need to form a sacred ring
around her. She is the Prometheus who has brought light to Afganistan, and she
is today fighting for life. After the attack on her, I had hoped that people
who attacked on her will disown the act out of shame if nothing else. They have
turned out to be too thick-skinned, not only did they claim the act , also vowed
to repeat it. They are so intellectually bankrupt that they did not for once
think, that their reign is based on fear and they are killing their own case,
by admitting to be so scared of a fourteen year old girl, simply because she
decided to fight for education in the society where men are not supposed to
think, simply because she attempted to write about what was happening around
her without fear. This is a line of argument we find close home also, when we
do not want to change the scenario, but rather than apologizing for letting it
rot to the state it is, complain about people who merely report on it. Let us stand by Malala
Yousafzai, the fourteen year old girl, who is the only Man around in that
dangerous valley, for in her rests the hope of the world, where free breeze of
thought will blow and flowers of liberty will bloom. Hope looking at her, our
politicians, always worried of votes and cautious of taking on the mob, in form
of religious groups, making mosques and breaking temples, or Khaps passing
diktats for individuals to live by, will someway learn to walk straight. Freedom comes at a price, she paid it for us,
we need to huddle around her, and rally behind her. She is a child of liberty,
who needs to protected, and loved and nourished, for she represents something
much bigger than her physical frame. She represents human intellect limping out of the debilitating
and crushing Yoke of religion, we need to help her walk and run so that our
children will not think of that swagger of rational ideas as an impossible
dream.
Write on it, cover it, light the candle (though it seems too symbolic to
me), send envoy to meet her in London, pass a resolution (US women senators, 14
of them have already written to the Pakistan Prime Minster, seeking action on
attackers who shot on 9th of October, 2012 in the head and left the
child to die and even reiterated the threat), do something, anything, but don't be silent. As Malala recuperates in the United
Kingdom, in my feeble voice, I would urge ourselves as Indians to turn some of
our grandiose eloquence regarding freedom of expression, liberty and democracy
into visible action. It will not impact your votes; instead, it will show the rubble
raiser their place, and you will find fathers of all children who in their
being carry the hope of a future world, rally behind you, outnumbering all the
fanatics.
Comments