Nation Of The Dead

image courtesy : indian express

We are dead inside. We react to nothing. Nothing affects us anymore.

Every single day our Constitution is bleeding page by page and dying a slow death and we are not concerned. We didn’t protest against mob lynching or Romeo squads. We were mum about Kashmir and Ayodhya. We are turning a blind eye to Citizenship Amendment Bill and National Register Of Citizens. We silently watched a terror accused get elected to Parliament and then stand on that very floor and hail the murder of the father of the nation as a patriot. We quietly watched peacefully protesting students of JNU get assaulted and now we are again being silent spectators to the atrocities and barbarism being committed on JMI and AMU students.

These are just boys and girls, peacefully protesting against the discriminatory policies of the Government and asking for answers. The police are firing water pellets and tear gas at them. They are breaking into their campuses and lathi charging on students in libraries and canteens. And we are shamelessly watching while this monstrosity continues. Why are we not out on the streets agitating against this wrongdoing of our Government?

The Prime Minister is communalizing the issue by commenting on their clothes, the Finance Minister is calling them Maoists, the Home Minister is promising a Ram Mandir in four months and we, the people of this country are not saying a word against them.

Afraid students are running helter skelter, trying to hide and protect themselves. Some have taken asylum with local guardians, others with friends. Children have been beaten to death. Young boys and girls are lying injured in hospitals, but there is no uproar in the country. Dissent is being squashed by violence and we are not demonstrating against this cruelty on the streets. What are we waiting for? Will we wait till our own kids are beaten up for voicing their opinion or maimed for peacefully protesting against something they disagree with? Will we speak out then, or sit holed up in our homes, too disconnected and unconcerned?

Each time we do nothing about the a wrong being committed against some or the other party, we embolden this administration to go one step further in their brutality. We permit them to further their barbaric intolerant and discriminatory program. If we don’t stop them now, if we don’t collectively protest against their monstrosity, we will lose everything we hold dear. Every violation being committed against any citizen of our country is an offence committed against each and every one of us. We cannot conveniently allow minorities to be persecuted and say it does not affect us. We can’t allow this administration to get away with muscling people to fall in line. Each time we keep quiet, we collectively lose a little of our freedom as a nation.

Things have gone too far. We have been silent for too long. We need to rouse from our deep slumber. Each and every one of us needs to do our bit in upholding our Constitution and fighting for the dream of India. We can no longer permit the poison of Hindutva to destroy our society.

Wake up people. Step out of your sheltered cocoons and ask yourself if this is the nation you grew up in? Is this the future you want for your children? A future filled with fear, inequity, religious bigotry, inhumanity and intolerance.

Instead of sharing pics and birthday wishes on Facebook and Instagram, let us all share to save our democracy. Let’s protest on Twitter and FB. Let’s share stories of the wrongdoings and misdeeds against the people and students of our nation instead of adding posts of our personal lives and holidays. Let’s step out on the streets and demand answers from this unjust and bully Government. 

Because if we don’t act today as one nation, one people, one country, we all will be responsible for the death of democracy in our country.