NOT SEPARATED IN INTEREST OR DIVIDED IN PURPOSE – Seizing the Fevicol Moment: Building a Harmonious New India
NOT SEPARATED IN INTEREST OR DIVIDED IN PURPOSE – Seizing the Fevicol Moment: Building a Harmonious New India
The first Home Minister of independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, on whose birth anniversary the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or the National Unity Day is celebrated, had aptly remarked that, ‘by common endeavour, we can raise the country to a new greatness, while a lack of unity will expose us to fresh calamities’. The sense of national unison post Pahalgam and the ensuing Operation SINDOOR aka ‘limited reprisal operation’ by India, may have gladdened the heart of the ‘Iron Man’!
The aim of terrorist action at Baisaran was not just to massacre 26 tourists, but to spread communal animus amongst the Indian populace. In every weakness lies an opportunity…….evidently, the perpetrators sought to exploit the noticeable chinks in the Indian ‘fabric’…often times conveniently disregarded at the altar of an inexplicable stirring! It is indeed paradoxical that the ‘H Card’ was harnessed by the enemy, unscrupulously disregarding the sentiments of its own 2.17 percent minority population…the second largest in Pakistan. Be that as it would, it is equally ironic that the black and white lesson had to be driven home by a vile neighbour, reinforcing the truism that, ‘when there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you’. As events unfolded, it became painfully evident, that the lesson had not been learnt!
The ghastly event of 22 April expectedly upped the patriotic and nationalistic fervor of the Indian masses. However, while the Armed Forces responded in a resolute and fine tuned manner across the borders, a domestically constructed second front opened up within, along with its imperious foot soldiers! The media, which had a bull run during the conflict, played a high pitched role to enflame passions, embracing an almost theatrical hyper nationalism, where the line between informing and inciting became dangerously blurred….a weaponised echo chamber! This seemingly made it difficult to discern whether a narrative is driving events or events are being exploited to create a narrative!
Dr B.R. Ambedkar had stated that ‘nationalism is an irrational instinct’. At its tipping point, it can lead to negative consequences……reason trumped by emotion! The swift change from sympathy to hateful trolling of the spouse of the slain naval officer, for urging fellow countrymen not to target a particular community, underlines the fragile facade of emotions and a gross insensitivity to the raw wounds of a young widow. The sordid fact is that her calls for peace were at odds with the jingoistic demands of revenge for the sindoor……the same vermillion which merely a week earlier had rallied the country together. That the Foreign Secretary and the Army Lady Officer, who were presenting India’s response to the world, were also not spared the bullying, is reflective of a ‘nano mindset’ which has gained traction over some years! Much like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, some elected representatives led the way, playing their flute to ‘everlasting infamy’! Surely this isn’t patriotism!
It is an apt reflection that. ‘peace and concord within is a courageous aspiration; it is neither cowardice nor treachery. Pushing all proponents of harmony and sanity into the enemy camp’ and profiled targeting is a progressively growing fault line. However, regrettably like several such manifestations in the past, obnoxious behavior is merely ‘noted’ and the persons ‘warned’! No wonder, such episodes continue unabashedly both inside and outside of Parliament. Sometimes the silence is too loud!
The worldwide media hasn’t been really gung-ho about the Indian story of Operation SINDOOR. In the cold hard reality of geo-politics, the success of India may not exactly excite many, however, it is equally true that any incident in the diversity of the country becomes news worthy. In that sense, both the media and the ultra-nationalists seem to have secured more bytes, somewhat blurring the remarkable performance of the Indian Armed Forces. Amidst the ‘kinetic and non kinetic’ vocalisations of every Timothy, Danish and Harish, terrorism seemed to be taken off the shelf…the centre stage dominated by an ‘anti-ism’ which has done the country more harm than good! The road to Viksit Bharat demands that Bharat rises above creed, caste, colour and politics. Oddly enough, some people don’t seem to learn from history and continue to spin their tyres in the sand, digging the country deeper into a rut!
There is a need to consolidate the unity arising out of the recent incident, ephemeral as it may seem! Pahalgam is our ‘fevicol moment’ and must not become a site of renewed siege, to ‘derail the possibility of transformation, both in the mainland of India as well as Kashmir’. Eight decades back, we united for self rule, today we must stay united for Viksit Bharat. With ‘concord as our strength and compassion as our guide, we need to script a story of Bharat that shines as a beacon of progress, prosperity and forbearance’. Ceasefire must prevail in the hearts and minds of the diversity of the country. As true patriots of the motherland, we cannot simply reinforce the perceptions of the enemy and give it hope!
‘The destiny of man is to unite, not to divide. If you keep on dividing, you end up as a collection of monkeys throwing nuts at each other out of separate trees’. It is hoped that the sense of ‘we’ displayed amongst the rank and file of the country during ‘Pahalgam’, will be the ‘new normal’ in the ‘new India’! The Prime Minister’s statement that ‘we remain committed to taking strong steps to safeguard India and its people…..’, should also hold good for those within, who seek to disturb and destroy internal peace and harmony!
(Major General Rajiv Edwards, VSM** (retd) is a historical researcher and commentator on societal issues. He is apolitical. Views expressed are personal)
