Skip to main content

Total disconnect? It's as if Emperor Nero 'isn't aware' his Rome is burning to ashes

By Prem Verma* 
We are living in very challenging times. There are problems galore and new ones keep mounting. We have experts in creating situations which spawn fresh problems to face and solve. We are sliding down into an abyss from where escape will become increasingly impossible. The value of human life is of no consequence as long as individually the fortunate few at the top of the pyramid can continue to enjoy a lifestyle as if nothing has happened. 
Isolating yourself from what is happening around you makes you blind to the injustice and misery that the unfortunate have to suffer. It is as if God has ordained misery for the majority for the happiness of the minority and that is what it is. All our values of life taught over centuries by sages and benevolent leaders (Gandhi, Tagore, etc.) have been buried under the shroud of self survival no matter what. If people die they need to so that we can survive and enjoy.
Renowned historian Ramchandra Guha has very aptly described today’s situation in India of 2020 to Mussolini’s Italy of 1920. The similarities are astounding and they point to the same direction that Italy took under Mussolini. The future is frightening and stark violence stares us in the face. Is this what we bargained for when we got our independence from the British in 1947? 
The situation is worse under our own present Indian leadership and despair comes easily. There is total disconnect between the reality on the ground and the comfort enjoyed by the top leadership. It is as if Emperor Nero is not aware that his Rome is burning to ashes.
Well-meaning voices across the country are warning us of the disaster ahead. Instead of listening to their sane advice, the top leadership governing the country is bent on silencing them through false charges and arrests under Sedition laws, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other draconian measures.
There is no appeal, no bail and prisons are filling up. Dissent, constructive criticism is not tolerated and any opposition is crushed through hatred and violence under the false garb of patriotism. Free speech is banned if it is against the Government and truth takes a beating if it hurts those in power.
The future is frightening and stark violence stares us in the face. Is this what we bargained for when we got our independence from the British?
In this dark scenario what shall we do? Our Father of the Nation taught us to speak the truth and this we shall at the cost of our own physical existence. India has too many good souls and physical elimination will not silence the voices of protest. Majority still have a fighting spirit not to condone the evil deeds. There is enough sympathy and empathy in the Indian population that will not allow the dangerous path we are trekking under the present leadership.
We need to speak out, protest, write, organise and oppose the divisive methods of the Government and thus protect our holy Constitution that once promised equality, freedom, equity and brotherhood.
Today we are suffering a pandemic. On the top of this we have gaping unemployment, economic collapse, astounding inequality, rural neglect, etc. Let us shout from our roof tops that enough is enough. An insensitive Government has brought us to this dismal situation and has no clue as to how we can get out of this pit of darkness. When will we awaken and save ourselves from being eliminated?
We need a people sympathetic Government not a Government that sells this nation to the few rich hoping that the rest will disappear. This nation is as much ours as anyone else’s and therefore the majority must take back its rightful place instead of a handful of Hindutva minority speaking on behalf of this great nation.
The light at the end of the tunnel beckons us to proceed full speed ahead in dismantling the ropes that bind us and speak out calling the kettle black. Our nation is far superior to any leader or party and it is incumbent on us to save our country from ruins so soon after independence in 1947.
God helps those who help themselves and we know that our nation deserves better. The vast majority of Indians have waited too long for their cup of gold and we need to take concerted action for our deprived brethren.
To sum up, the Government should:
  • Free all those arrested under draconian laws
  • Listen to voices of dissent and promote democratic spirit 
  • Stop selling country’s treasures and corporations 
  • Create massive opportunities in rural employment through small and medium units in rural areas 
  • Promote communal harmony with strict punishment for those disturbing it 
  • Empathetic of all Indians and not only of their party members 
---
*Convenor, Jharkhand Nagrik Prayas

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.