By Sadho Ram
Naxals Killed 27 CRPF Men With Horrifying Brutality.
76 Troops killed In Dantewada Massacre.
In the year 1958, Sahir Saab penned the hope filled and heart-wrenching lyrics “Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi” to give hope to the then hope-emptied hearts and souls and till today the song continues to fill the “empty” hearts of millions of people all around the world with hope… hope for a better and improved dawn.
But somehow that dawn seems a far distant possibility in today’s time when each soul is corrupted with greed for money and flesh, and each heart has been contaminated with hatred for fellow human being.
Seeing fellow human beings suffer for no apparent fault of theirs fills my heart with unbearable pain and an unknown rage… a rage which I fear might destroy my faith in sanity and humanity completely.
In the song Sahir Saab writes “Jab Ek Anokhi Duniya Ki Buniyad Uthai Jaayegi, Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi” but all this talk of ‘hope’ and ‘dawn of a new world of togetherness’ only makes the unbearable pain of my heart grow by heaps and bounds.
How will that ‘dawn’ come when all we are doing is fighting each other, killing our own brothers, raping the women who lay the foundation of this very society and torturing the future by forcing it to work in factories and chai-shops and disgracing it by snatching away its precious childhood?
…Woh Subah Kaise Aayegi?
Sahir Saab further writes “In Bukhi Pyaasi Roohon Par Ek Din Toh Karam Farmaayegi, Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi” but I wonder what would he write after seeing the condition in which the poor are forced to live (here I am talking about those thousands and lakhs of Adivasi people who live in unimaginable atmosphere and condition). I wonder what his pen would ink if it would have witnessed the misery not of their life but of their death.
I have heard people say that “death is kind” but I have not seen a single poor die whose death was kind to him. In fact it, the death is brutal and it’s worse than the hunger which forced them to succumb to it and it is as frightening as the thought for you and me of living a life a without a drop of water.
You and I can’t even imagine the kind of life these people have to live and deal with, so I guess you and I should also not have the right to decide the kind of death they should be awarded with when faced with system made adversities and greed of upper/middle class mass, they chose that failed path of violence which ultimately leads them to their own destruction.
I know you won’t agree with me here. And I guess I have pretty fair an idea about what would you say to defend your point but for a while forget about YOUR own perfect life and place yourself in their shoes and then think.
Is the way the system has been dealing with them justified in its stand which is nothing but sheer hypocrisy? How a man is supposed to support his family of four when everything that he had was snatched away from him and was given a meagre compensation of few thousand rupees? And even after that when he somehow manages to provide two time of meal to his family, what is he supposed to do in YOUR eye when one fine day he finds his family slaughtered by the same hands for no fault, no crime of them, hands which were supposed to protect them?
Spread peace?
I guess not.
I was born among them, in the dense forest of Jharkhand, surrounded by huge green mountains, near the free flowing river, which now has completely gone out of water (thanks to the land encroachment in the name of development).
I have seen the pain in their eyes and disgusting looks that they get from the so called ‘elite’ class. They live in fear. Not because they are weak but because they are naïve and innocent and happen to have no formal training and exposure to study due to the lack of government interest and lethargy of the babus of these areas, who considers these people of no value to the society.
And when these same people raise their voice they are labelled… labelled as Maoists, Naxals and terrorists of different kinds.
No, no, I am not trying to justify their ways and their views; I am only trying to say that what a man is supposed to do when he finds no door, no window in that system which was supposedly created to protect him and his family but instead became the destroyer?
Tolerance has its limits and when forced it can be as torturous as tolerant it once was!
And in the year 1967, when the tolerance finally broke, a land of “voice-raisers” was born. Today the “voice-raisers” have become “violence-raisers” thanks to the ever continues stand of Indian Government to not give the basic rights to these peoples.
As a result the ink of the news papers have gone red and television media screens are burning with the daily dose of slaughters of CRPF Forces and innocent publics that these poor now execute.
Coming back to Sahir Saab and his lyrics where he further writes “Jab Ambar Jhoom Ke Naachega Jab Dharti Nagme Gayegi, Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi” though no matter how impossible this dream may sound but that flickering ray of hope inside the dark corners of my heart wants to believe that someday that dawn will come when no one will kill a fellow human being because everyone will have what they rightly deserve.
But till that dawn comes… I shall continue to ask –
How will that ‘dawn’ come when all we are doing is fighting each other, killing our own brothers, raping the women who lay the foundation of this very society and torturing the future by forcing it to work in factories and chai-shops and disgracing it by snatching away its precious childhood?
…Woh Subah Kaise Aayegi?
Very powerful post Sadho! While the root cause of all of this can be attributed to social and economic inequalities, violence is surely not the answer of achieving a desired situation.
ReplyDeleteHaving said so, I believe the government does not have the political will to being this problem to it's knees. It needs to focus on education, development, vocational training and community strengthening in affected areas so as to ensure that people and their daily lives are sustained.
And as you said, we can never achieve a desired state so long as we ourselves are engaged in a bitter war against our own people! We need to stop all of that, come together and envision peace! But honestly, that's easier said than done, considering who we are and what we truly want!
And there lies the problem that our want are so self-centered and lacks the social empowerment that we have been continually ignoring the plights of these poor people who are very part of the same society we live in.. and as a result .. they have now gone berserk.. and the situation is so much out of control that now whatever steps that Government take will not be easily possible to bring peace to all.
ReplyDeleteOk gopal - here is the bitter truth - I have gone thro the phase u r into now - ...in fact this is what took me to 'higher seeking... spiritual solace' - u know what i mean.
ReplyDeleteMy conclusion (just mine - may be wrong, might sound like 'haari hui'(having lost to achieve something worthwhile for Mother Earth ie.)
The earth is a Karma Bhoomi. Souls take birth to negate their karmas. Now you know 'forgiveness' is the toughest thing to do - so souls go on taking birth and take revenge - a vicious cycle I know (we all know).
So now what? You see there have been several great people as Administrators, Film Directors,Story Tellers (literary figures ie), Philosophers, saints, seers, social reformers...several - they preached, practiced - did everything - gave huge discourses on 'what can be done for world peace etc.- but what is the end result? - Nothing could ever be implemented - the discourses by great men/ women just became topics of debate in schools and colleges.That's All. Who will motivate people to lead a good , wholesome life? Media? - well they are busy making money by offering 'cheap pleasures' to We, the people!...who wants 'peace' truly...from the core of the heart...hardly anyone - actually everyone - but they do not know where exactly to begin. SO who will tell them where to begin? and what will he tell them to begin btw?
Power game is very vicious Gopal - if people learn to be 'happy' with the basic needs and by seeing others happy - the entire political and power hungry game will be over in few secs!
That dawn will come with a revolution..... against corruption, greed...and other vices - by boycotting the NEGATIVE - within us.
See, you yourself rightly said that "that dawn will come by boycotting the negative within us" .. so it so hard for us to get rid of this negative self of ours for the betterment of whole society?
ReplyDeleteI know its easy asking and saying not doing but with determination and a good heart, i believe we all can do this much for our very own society, right?
Gopal - Do you have any idea what 'Us' means here? Us: top notch fella with a monthly income of more than 30 million and also down trodden fella with an yearly income of less than 3K !
ReplyDeleteInternet is surfed by less than 2% of Indian population.
Radio has the highest circulation - accessible to about 40% Indian population - accessible mind not - does not mean that they are listening.
How many people will become good....try to do good? Our freedom fighters gave up their lives for independence - they just didn't possess a good heart - the had a lion's heart!- result? We call ourselves 'Independent' and celebrate 'Independence day'. Vaise if you really are keen Gopal - make a solid team of 'good hearted' people and get ready to jump into the 'muck' called politics - become a 'neta' to begin with....see if you can survive!
दोस्त पढ़ा मैंने जो तूने लिखा है , पर अब मुझे लगता है , वो आन्दोलन जो इन लोगो ने शुरू किया था , आज वो अपनी सारी बुनियाद खो चुका है , उनका मुख्य मुद्दा था , सरकार का इन आदिवासियों के प्रति सौतेला व्यवहार , इन पिछड़े क्षेत्रों में विकास का नहीं पहुँच पाना , जन सेवा , गरीबो की मदद , ये सब उनके अहम में आज कहीं खो गया है| मैं मानता हूँ उनके साथ बहुत गलत हुआ है, अगर एक रबर बैंड को भी खींच के रखते है तो वो पलट कर वार करता है , और फिर हम तो इंसान है , उनसे ऐसे ही reaction की उम्मीद होनी चाहिए थी | पर आज यही आन्दोलन सिर्फ एक धंधा बन कर रह गया , विकास का विरोध किया जा रहा है , हफ्ता वसूली की जा रही है , और मासूमो की हत्या की जा रही है |
ReplyDeleteपर वो भी अपने ही लोग है , पता नहीं क्या होगा इस लड़ाई का , क्योंकि ये ऐसी लड़ाई है , जीते कोई सा भी पक्ष हार सिर्फ हमारे देश की होने वाली है |
Well, Ma'am, its more than about being keen.. these things affects.. in mental and emotional both way.. seeing fellow human being killed by another human .. does it all not stir you?.. and if others are not good.. so what .. we also shouldn't try to be good or what??..
ReplyDeleteAnd as a matter of fact.. I am really keen.. keen enough to jump into the 'muck'. But show me the way.. is there an way to enter into this muck? waise.. there are 'us' who are trying their bit.. we should not discourage them, instead join them in their fight.. support them.. their ways may not have been fruitful yet.. but everything's take time.. and to clear such an mesh its gonna take whole lot of time.
The idea is to Spread, Educate and Agitate for a better dawn, for a improved tomorrow.
Bahut sahi kaha tune, Dinesh.. yeh ladaai aaj itni bhayawah roop le chooki hai ki.. iska koi waajib torh nahi nazar aata.. aur ye ab aise mahayudh ka roop le chuka ke chaahe jeete koi bhi.. haarega toh mera mulk hi.
ReplyDelete