When young lead violent processions!
I quote a few lines from the Eid greetings sent by one of our readers Dr Mustafa Kamal Sherwani while wondering why there is this palpable tension across the country.
‘The mind that fastens human bonds,
The heart which bleeds for the love of man,
I pray! This crescent of Eid may bring to you.
The soul that buries all its ills,
The world which aspires for the lasting peace,
I pray! This crescent of Eid may bring to you.’
I can read Dr Mustafa’s agony over the disturbing developments in Lucknow after Alvida namaaz. And as I pen this blog I see MNS leader Raj Thackeray’s show of strength in Mumbai. The cops have asked him not to deliver any inflammatory speeches but knowing the Thackerays temper, one wonders if peace would prevail. He started with a warning, ‘Stop me and see the consequences.’
I am told a volatile message of RSS leaders is also in circulation.
It’s time the saner elements in the society took control of the situations before they turn explosive. And these saner elements could be from any walk of life– professionals, ulemas and shankaracharyas who claim large followings, social activists, journos, housewives, anyone who doesn’t want the history to repeat itself.
Politicians will only further divide us. The Lok Sabha elections are not far off and it’s time to mobilise vote banks.
I am a bit disturbed and disheartened. I always thought that youth of the country has moved beyond caste and communal feelings. But what I saw in Ayodhya in early 1990’s, I again saw on Lucknow streets in 2012 (crowds vandalising a park and the idols there).
Even after a decade nothing seems to have changed. I once again saw boys in the vulnerable age of 14 to 20 years in the forefront of a violent procession. Perhaps people use the in-built and irrepressible aggression of this age to their advantage.
One can bereave the killings, one can even protest. But why take lives when you are bereaving the loss of life. Think Over It!
Salman Khan had once said, ‘I am human’ when he was asked about his religiosity. Shouldn’t he and others of his ilk stand up and show their human side. After all it’s the humankind which is in danger.
Hindustan Times



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Anonymous Reply:
October 3rd, 2011 at 2:32 pm
“Team Anna ain’t seen anything yet”.
Good one.
[Reply]