The year 2013 would be remembered as a landmark year in Indian history. Beginning this year, public discourse was completely hijacked by the propaganda of the far-right, which soon overturned the voting patterns. The coming election would be fought on two fronts—Gujarat Model and ‘Hindu Khatre Mein hai (Hindus are in danger)’— and the next, only on a single one. Voting is an intellectual process, but when people turn to emotional responses for making crucial choices, the consequences have to be borne.
The hamfisted lockdown by the Modi government led to a migrant exodus crisis.
On March 25th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared on national television requesting everyone to draw ‘Lakshman Rekha (protection symbol)’ in front of their doors. Without any prior warnings, India had enforced a complete lockdown. Trains, buses, and flights suspended. All state borders are sealed.
This unplanned move left millions of migrant laborers stranded amidst nowhere with no earnings, temporary shelters, and not enough food to survive. Their only hope was home.
Lockdown: The Master Stroke
On April 28th, 32-year-old Dharamveer undertook an epic journey back home with a group of migrants. He would cycle for 1200 kilometers before reaching Khagaria. On Labour’s Day, this group halted in Shahjahanpur. Dharamveer had cycled for around 400 kilometers from Delhi without proper food. As the night progressed, he started feeling sick. The fellow travelers rushed him to a medical college when his condition deteriorated. He was declared brought dead, three days after he had begun his journey.
Dharamveer failed to cross the halfway mark, but 12-year-old Jamlo Kalam reached much closer. She was on a 150-kilometer-long trip home from Chhattisgarh, where she was employed at a chili farm. On the fourth day into the journey, her body gave up only 50 Kilometers from home. Insaf Ali did reach his village, but not home.
In the meanwhile, India erupted in celebrations twice. On their balconies, both the times.
Demonetization: The Real Master Stroke
Arti’s wedding was planned for December 9. As a driver, her father earned ten thousand rupees a month. He began shopping early. In October he had purchased a Sari and gold ornaments on credit. The jeweler was to be paid in November. Maheshbhai Surma had applied for a personal loan, a few relatives were also supposed to help him out.
After demonetization, the relatives pulled back, and rightly so, the future was now uncertain. Since he couldn’t produce any proof of a source of income, his loan too was denied. On November the 21st his son saw him weeping, and then the next morning, hanging from the ceiling.
Earlier that week Gobinda Sarkar hung himself in Malda after failing to provide for his children. He had returned home with little cash as job opportunities had dwindled post demonetization. Gobinda used to queue up outside the bank, which would daily run out of cash. He even tried to get money from the others but since larger denominations were rendered useless, no one had enough left now. On November the 19th, humiliation became intolerable. Sarkar too was found hanging from the ceiling.
This Demonetization too was celebrated as a masterstroke, with over a hundred dead bodies and millions of miseries.
International Shame: The Exclusive Gateway to Fame
The April of the Pandemic has pushed the poor to starvation, May end would spill dead bodies soon. The poor, if they survive the virus, would eventually be claimed by poverty. The rich may just run short of instruments to escape the virus. Desperation brings out the true character of people.
Demonetization has led to the death of over 100 people.
The greater the danger, the stronger the revelation. We are living through the historic period when a simple touch can be contagious, and a handshake, the reason behind death. Not generations have seen such a danger, and for its failure, India unanimously chose to dump the blame on the Muslims.
In the middle east, a Princess, a Lawyer, and few Parliamentarians notice the appalling crimes against Indian Muslims. The outrage reverberates throughout the Muslim world and people indulging in Islamophobia face the tune of music. The lawyer decides to take the case to ICJ, support pours in from Europe and Western World.
In the meanwhile, municipalities in Toronto grant local mosques permission to broadcast Azan over speakers. An Indian expatriate mistakes this equal treatment as Muslim appeasement. In frustration, he sends demeaning tweets, leading to his suspension. The message from Canada is crystal clear. In December 2019, newspapers around the world announced the return of Hitler, this pandemic has further shaken awake Islamophobia in India. For the ex-pats, the shame may become intolerable, soon.
Gray Zones: The Cloudy Benefits
They said, “Demonetization will break the backbone of militancy and terrorism“. Three years and a complete integration later, militancy is flourishing in Kashmir. The writing on the walls is evidently clearer—India has lost Kashmir. It is a matter of merely holding on to it. But India rejoices over the number of militants killed, less bothered by the increasing number of coffins returning. These decorated coffins never make the loss any less painful.
Similarly, CAA was said to be a humanitarian bill for helping the minorities stuck in Muslim Majority countries of South Asia—a historic move to compensate the historically wronged. But with another attempt to subjugate the Muslims, BJP has stoked a fire in Assam. Assamese had voted to put Bangladeshis in detention centers, who were later redefined as Indians through CAA, except the Muslims. Assam has a history of violence; it has just been thrown into turmoil again.
Of all the political parties in the world, BJP may be the only one that promises grand failures and never fails to deliver. Their voter’s commitment to compromising on everything for the sake of poison they spit is paramount to their success. Only last Friday, at least 16 migrant laborers were mowed down by a freight train. They were on their way to Aurangabad Station and to avoid the police patrolling the Highways they chose to walk by the rails
. They had fallen asleep while resting on the tracks before a freight train ran them over. “How could they sleep on the tracks?”, rather than demanding accountability from the government these supporters are brazenly questioning the motive and intellect of the migrants. I say they got tired and decided to rest for the final time before boarding the train to a better place.
“This was planned to defame the government in the center”, someone would soon come up with another angle that would be broadcasted through WhatsApp channels. The rich and the poor would then conveniently wash the blood off their consciousness, convincing themselves that their vote didn’t lead to this while knowing otherwise.
Kerala: The Anti-Thesis
Kerala has been an eyesore for Sangh and the Hindutva Brigade. It has never embraced anti-Muslim discrimination as a societal policy. In this part of India hatred is not a norm. The equal treatment given to Muslims, within India, has ripped the inner peace of many prominent contemporary figures. Arnab and Sudhir go to lengths to defame the state. They have portrayed it as a hub of radicalization, ISIS recruitment, Love-Jihad, and whatnot. And who can forget our Prime Minister’s infamous remark, a comparison with Somalia?
But what happens when this state treats all the subjects equally? People live together, happily. Peace and Prosperity prevail. Life standard and expectancy, both are on the higher side. And the resources that are elsewhere wasted in poisoning and splitting the society, are stocked up for immediate utilization in case of any emergency.
Kerala was the first state to report COVID—19. On March 24th when Prime Minister Modi announced the nationwide lockdown, every fifth reported case was from Kerala. Six weeks later, as India descends into an era of grief and loss, Kerala has flattened the curve with only four casualties. No new cases were reported for two days. A new spike has emerged and this too would soon subside. In a few weeks, it may emerge corona-free. Much unlike the rest of India, Kerala benefits from a long-lasting legacy of investment in Public Health, rather than in hatred and propaganda.
But what makes Kerala Different? The elected are just a reflection of the society that votes for them. In Kerala people vote for efficiency, consequently, the government can never escape accountability.
The list of casualties of demonetization and lockdown is long and overwhelmingly Hindu. So would be the one when prepared for Corona. Dharamveer, Jamlo Kalam, Govinda, and Surma arise from the compromises that people make, in voting hatred into power. It is a double-edged sword that hurts the wielder as the one slashed, only just lesser.
Corruption and joblessness are just trivial issues. The cost of hating others has been excruciatingly higher. Many have paid up with their lives.