Sunday, February 15, 2009

India: State of War


"Even if we are spared destruction by war, our lives will have to change if we want to save life from self-destruction."
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn


India is at War. No question about it. This may not be a war in what we generally take war to be: two nation-states facing-off each other, soldiers and machines of war on the battle-field, planes flying through the skies - raining munitions and destruction, warships facing each other at sea, missiles flying off to destroy civilian and military installations, et al.


But it still is war - lives are lost, blood flows, weapons are used, tempers exist, warmongers rule the roost, innocents are harassed, truth is subverted, accusations fly thick and fact, gruesome images haunt and there is a rule of chaos.


Consider these:
  • Kashmir primarily and the rest of India sporadically faces bombings, shootings, hijackings, murders, pillaging by proponents of a extreme form of hatred, under the guise of a religion, which like other religions, never sanctioned or condoned such wanton violence under any pretext
  • North-East states of India being devastated by self-styled groups under the pretext of liberation of the people there
  • Areas of West-Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, etc being degraded under the Naxalites, claiming to follow the principles of equality and self-rule for the people, but actually have suppressed and looted the people, maimed the economy and destroyed the will of the people they claim to serve
  • Self-styled armed groups who resort to periodic violence under any pretext of religious and casteist slights and injustices
  • Political groups who do not mind resorting to divide-and-rule policies on regionalism, language, caste, culture
  • The new players on the scene - self-styled 'moral police' who claim to protect a culture which they know nothing about and care even less

This is the war by fundamentalists, people who have no other agenda but to subvert entire groups of free-spirited people, impose regressive agendas on them and use unwarranted and unpardonable violence to keep the people enslaved. Under guises of protecting and benefiting people, all they want is: Power and Money.


Let us not kid ourselves that they are benefiting us. Lots of comments in the media indicate that groups of people support the activities or the ideals professed by these groups. That is sad. What we, the people, don't realize is that all the causes are elaborate facade for power-hungry money-grabbers. If they were really concerned, they would put themselves through the rigors of proving their point, instead of planting bombs, wielding guns or beating up innocent women and men.


The end-result of all this will be, without doubt, dead or suffering innocents, psychologically scarred individuals, economic losses, an atmosphere of rage and fear, and - more importantly - a weak and divided nation.


About time we woke up to the reality.


Make no mistake - India is at War.