India’s history is punctuated by spasms of religious violence. Off late, however, there has been a rise in violence against all factions of society in India and everyone, from big names in Bollywood to simple villagers, are being caught in the crossfire.
First there was the row over the consumption of beef, an age-old controversy that traces itself to the sanctity of cows in Hinduism. Last October, in a village not far from India’s capital, a 56-year-old Muslim man was beaten to death and his son gravely injured by an allegedly Hindu mob. His alleged crime? A rumor that he had slaughtered a cow.
A more recent cacophony of voices has called for the expulsion of Pakistani artists with even the few big names that dared present reasonable views being hauled over the coals.
Just last week, an acclaimed wheelchair-bound poet and sportsman who has campaigned for better access for disabled people in public spaces across India was physically hit and verbally abused by a couple in the aisle behind him because he didn't stand up for the national anthem.
The question to be asked here is “ are we a democracy anymore? Or are we fast becoming victims to unprovoked uber-nationalist frenzy?
All this b******t about patriotism and religion has to stop. We need to worry about where we are headed as a species.
Fritz D'souza, Mapusa
What's even bugging is what were the others doing while he was being beat up? If standing up for a National Anthem is patriotism then the country should have been flourishing by now. The incident was really ridiculous and not expected from peace-loving Goans atleast.
Michelle Natasha D'Souza, Ponda
It is sad, indeed, and a shame to not recognise that the person was differently-abled due to a spinal injury. The sad reality is that people like this are possibly bringing the next generation up and transmitting this nonsensical idiocracy to someone else in the future and so forth. Idiocracy is an endemic condition which will soon become pandemic. People don't have the spine to stand up and defend a person in need of help. And so goes the old Polish maxim, "Ain't my monkey, ain't my circus."
Rohan Fernandes, Porvorim
