Oh India!

I happen to be living in Maharashtra these days. In fact, I have lived here on and off over the past 10 years. I was born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh. Until a few years back when Raj Thackeray was sucking candy in his pram, I used to think that Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were part of a single democratic republic - India. Events unfolding over the past few years - especially in Maharashtra but not exclusively so - have led me to question this premise. Is it unfounded? Are outsiders the root of most evils plaguing Maharashtra? And 'outsiders' with respect to what? Just because the Freedom of Speech and Ideas is enshrined in the Constitution vested interests can go about on a free mayhem-spreading spree? What kind of Politics are these people indulging in to garner petty votes?

And mind you, this is not just Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh, which has been the Hiranyagarbha of all kinds of politics, a similar game is being played out albeit with a different undertone. But the underlying idea of polarising the masses on ideological grounds by exploiting the underlying faultlines of age-old vulnerabilities is the same. It is when things such as these happen that we are forced to realize what kind of society and world are we living in?

I briefly want to touch upon the incident that took place in the Maharashtra assembly. The goons took a person to task because he chose the national language over the local one. People have gone to the extent of questioning whether Hindi is the national language or not. If truth be told, even I know it from what I have been told. Commonsense and practical realities alike tell me that except in a few states, Hindi is not spoken in the other states leave alone the question of it being recognized as a National Language. Does the Government or anyone feel obliged to clear the air around it once and for all?

Leaving the question of language aside, it is the fundamental right - and this I hope is not in question - of every individual to choose the language of his liking - no matter what the constraints. Is Maharashtra a Private Property of the Sena where they can do as they please? They can go and break people's necks, break offices, smother public opinion, criticize and chide national icons with impunity? And the Government comes back with a sordid "We will punish them"? Why can't they simply book them and lock them in Jail?


Emotional diatribe aside, this is a grave matter. The foregoing may appear unduly sentimental, but the fact of the matter is that the situation in Maharashtra is going from bad to worse. If this continues, we will not need a British to polarize us and break ur pristine national fabric into a rotten piece of yarn. This rat infested mentality spreading hatred and violence and inciting the animal instincts of a people who have for years lived in a culture of peace and harmony will spread like wild fire and engulf other states in its wake before China or Pakistan can even dream of attacking us. Oh India! what need have you of external enemies when your own sons aren't chary of splitting your soil in the name of being "sons of soil"? What kind of polarized love for motherland is this?

We are surrounded by scheming enemies. We are splintered from within. People commit crimes with impunity and far from feeling sorry justify their actions in the name of short-sighted, narrow and bogus agendas. And those responsible for bringing them to justice look on.

I wish the courts took suo-moto cognizance of the happenings in the recent past and took some action to restore sanity in the minds of people who are getting more and more insecure with every passing minute.