We, the people

               

Well, this is not a promotion of the movie Swades; although it contains somewhat same theme that the movie had. And if you are a great Bhakt, blindly following he who mustn't be named, abuses and death threats are welcome. Let me begin without boring you any further, because you have taken some time off from your hasty schedule to read this.

In the early 1600s, Britishers arrived in India to do business here. Slowly, the East India Company, as it was called, spread it's estate all over the country. And slowly, the company started to rule over the Indians, until 1857, when India became a British colony officially. Not only Britishers, but the Mughals, the Khiljis and other foreign empires had also ruled over India in the past. Ever wondered how so many Indians allowed themselves to be ruled over by the foreigners, who were lesser in number than them? Why didn't we fight and claim our rights? There's one answer to that. We, the people, were, are and, if we don't change our mentality, will be fools forever. We, the people are so divided that even today also politicians make fools out of us by dividing us on basis of gender, caste, community and religion. And that's what has been in play, right from the very beginning. The Britishers used the famous Divide and Rule policy to make us fight with one another and rule over us. We were such naiive beings, that we easily believed them, over the people with whom we had lived for generations.

There was that time, and then there was the first half of 20th century. The Muslim League was formed, in 1906, for giving rights to the Muslims; who feared that they were not getting their rights, and were 'being looked down on'. And if you were not sleeping in your history class, you must be knowing what followed and finally that led to the infamous partition of the country. What if I tell you that partition of the country was done for politics and for gaining power, not for the rights of Muslims! Yes you read it right. I'm not going to make any politicians, but we can name them A, B and C. A wanted power in his hands, while B wanted power in his hands. C was the counselor of A and B. The Britishers also added fuel to the fire and by promising that they would get rights 'only if they form a new country', divided India. And yes, as it's said in the movie Mulk, "A country doesn't get divided when a line is drawn on the map, but it's divided when we mentally decide so." If there had been even a pinch of unity among us, we still would be one. Divisions and fears are something that the politicians have been using for years to rule over us.

"Hindutva khatre mein hai. Hindu khatre mein hai.", "Hum Musalmanon ko koi rights nahi diaa jaa raha hai.", "Hum auraton ke liye Lok Sabha mein reservation chahiye.", "Daliton ko unka haq nahi mil raha hai." :I'm damn sure you all must have heard all these things either in public meetings, on prime time debates or in many YouTube commentaries or tweets. And you all must have been brainwashed and believed exactly what they wanted you to believe, that your religion, caste, gender was in trouble. India is one of those countries, where even in the 21st century, we have strong faith in caste system and religions. Like it has no other work, Supreme Court is expected to solve the Ram Mandir issue and the Sabrimala issue; although we know that any decision will lead to a major riot. According to reports, there are 55,259 cases still pending in the Supreme Court, as of November 2017. Who the hell cares about other cases, solve the 'most important' matters first. News channel will report love when such hearings take place and some 'religious groups' will be called in to give their views. And we will judge the cases according to their religions, calling the opposite religion non-tolerant and violent and telling that they(the people who are giving the statement) have been tolerating everything since days and now they will rise. Who gets into these traps? We fools! We think that if we will support the building of Ram Mandir, then maybe Lord Ram will focus on the real issues. Or maybe building a Ram Statue will solve all the problems. Kill me if you want, but this Ram Mandir controversy looks really childish to me. If you are willing to spend money, then better spend money on making houses and giving those to homeless people, who are in a large number in the nearby area, rather than making a mandir or a masjid there. Then again, you will call me a "Non-Hindu", sinner, etc. But well, these too look very childish to me.

If you are born in a "general caste" family in India, then you are the most unlucky guy in the world. You'll not get opportunities, and the opportunities, you may have had got, will be snatched away from you. I'm not completely against the reservation system, but what I'm telling is that, it should be implemented properly. Because the people for whom this system has been introduced are not getting their rights! On the other hand, the people who shouldn't get reservation are getting reserved seats everywhere. Let's take an example. A is a 'general' Indian guy whereas B is a reserved caste Indian guy. X's father yearly income is Rs.6 lakhs, whereas Y's father yearly income is Rs.12 lakh. A doesn't go to the coaching class where B goes, because A's father cannot afford the high fees of the coaching center. A scores 80 in the exam(without coaching), while B scores 60 in the exam(with top class coaching). Still A gets admission in an average college, while B gets admission in a top class college. Everyone talks about how B went to such a top class college, while no one appreciates A for his own efforts. So, in this case, do you think reservation is justified? What did B's father or B not have which A had? How do you expect a country to progress where the seats of deserving students are taken away by the reserved students? And the saddest part, we will vote a politician who promises 'separate rights and reservations for the "minorities"'. In case you are wondering, Hardik Patel, a man who fought for the Patel Quota in Gujarat, has become so famous that, he us likely to be the next CM candidate.

The way the government makes us fools, by dividing us on the basis of religion, caste and even region, it deserves an award. The political parties promise us more statues, more religious places and more reservation and bag the votes. It's now entirely upto the youth to decide what do we want. Do we need proper pothole free roads, or do we need Ram Mandir? Is providing farmers' loans and giving them necessary things important or is building a statue important? The Central Government gave Rs.500 Cr. to Kerela during Kerela floods. But, on the other hand, it spent Rs.3000 Cr on building the so-called Statue of Unity, which we know is not going to bring any unity. Yes, it will be a good tourist destination, but was it really necessary, in a country where poverty is plenty and farmers commit suicide everyday? Do we need more rifts and divisions or do we need peace? India is on the verge of Civil War (not the Marvel one). Of you don't believe me, just look around you. People of different societies, different castes, religions, cities and states, ready to pick arms and kill one another at any chance. India ranks 136 out of 163 countries in Global Peace Index; it speaks for itself. Political parties incite people by telling that their religion is in danger and by promising them reservations; which is nothing but a vote bank trick. But we, the naiive people, easily get fooled by it and fight among ourselves, while they go on doing whatever they like; for example, changing names of places; when the real issues lie unattended, and they don't even care to speak about those issues too.

It's been long. Maybe it's time for revolution. Maybe it's time that we get up and protest against the Government. Enough of the tax money has been wasted in doing shits, which have got no value. We need to tell the Government not to build Ram Statue or Shivaji Statue, instead provide loans to farmers and fill the potholes on the roads first. Maybe it's time that we speak up and make those real anti-nationalists, who divide us, focus on the real issues instead. Maybe it's time that we should do what the Preamble of the Constitution says us, "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY."

And I would like to end it with a quote by Manto, in the story Sahay:"Don’t say that a hundred thousand Hindus and a hundred thousand Muslims died. Say two hundred thousand people died. Muslims might have thought that by killing a hundred thousand Hindus, the Hindu faith would be wiped out. But it’s alive and will continue to live. Similarly, after killing a hundred thousand Muslims, Hindus might have gloated over the extinction of Islam. But the reality is before you. Islam did not suffer the faintest scratch.Only fools think that religions can be hunted down with guns. Religion, the sacred, faith, dharma, conviction, belief – all the things which exist not in our body but in our soul: how can they be destroyed with daggers, knives and bullets?” What we need to realize is that, we are Indians first, and no one should be able to divide and fool us. There's enough to learn from the history; there's still time, let's not get trapped by their vote politics, before the country breaks down completely.