WHERE DOES 'TERROR-DEBATE' TAKE US ?

Just now, when striking of terror on the fragile-looking peace of the civil society of Mumbai by the Jeans-clad, gun-totting and evil-indoctrinated gang of thugs, was said to be over, war of semantics along with proclaimed war on terror has taken centre stage in the Indian sub-continent. Intellectuals (?) to illiterates are under the spell of new found love for choicest vocabularies to some how express their views on the terror issue and patriotism in any available medium of expression.
Even before the soil in the grave yard where the slain were laid to rest dried, endless and unimaginative ideas are being spewed by anyone and every one to add to the already stinking debris of ideas, as if to show that these so called ideas are the ultimate and final voice of the people of India. War of words is being waged in every available print and visual media. In driving home their ideas, people like to take rigid and extreme postures. Though free speech is the hall mark of the concept of democracy, such freedom, one hopes, shall not go to the extent of shaking its very foundation. No doubt, civilization itself has evolved based on ideas. But constructive ideas are different from ideas of retardation. In the war of words, People tend to become intolerant to the extent of spitting vomit-springing bile on the opponents, thereby digging their own grave yard; Coffins are cut to lay bare those thoughts that have at least the semblance of ideas.

This Blogger had the occasion to browse in the last one week through certain leading blogs emanating from India. Writings emanating from intellectuals occupying the status of ‘God of Big Things’ to prattling of plagiarists seem to suck the search engine oil in steering home their views. The moment an article appears in a noted blog, comrades of commentators wield their pen scythes to tear apart the views of the writer. Comments from the level of moderation through comments of vituperation and carping to meaningless verbal diarrhoea are vomited to lay siege on the writer(s).

Intellectuals and opinion-makers seem to be more interested in recording their views in indelible ink and blow their own trumpets about their existence more than suggesting solution for the on going problems the country faces. In the process, they seem to be adding bundles of chaff as fodder to the gossip mill than to find the kernel to help heal the deep wounds of those laid their life, be it Commandos or Commissioners of Police to the commoners who were gullible to become prey in the cruel hands of terrorism.

All the sound and fury that enrage and follow ceaselessly and seamlessly, seem to be not interested in knowing the voice of the lay men of the country who form the very basis of the fabric of the country, that is India. This Blogger upon an informal chat with a number of ordinary people in the past one week, has been made to reach logical inference that they are very up set over what had happened in Mumbai. Visual-media whipped-up anger still linger in them. No doubt, visual media trigged heightened sense of patriotism in them. At the same time, with all the sundry and news volleys being injected into their heads by media, common laymen in India seem to be unaware of the basic problems haunting the country. For instance, a few questions posed on issues like Kashmir, probable reasons they think for the causes of terrorism in the country, plausible and probable solutions they think fit to be tested, Pakistan’s interest in Kashmir and such other related issues did not evoke simple answers from them. In matters of suggesting solutions for the problems besetting the country, intellectuals are none better than the illiterates. They fall on the same line.

The following questions were posed to these ordinary people:

1. Why do our brethren in Kashmir endlessly engage in fighting with India ?
2. What business Pakistan has got do with Kashmir, which is an integral part of India ?
3. Why does India have to enter into dialogue with Pakistan about a problem concerning a state (read Kashmir) of India
4. Why the laws of India generally do not apply to Kashmir, even though Kashmir is an integral part of India ?
5. Are they aware that lakhs of Hindus have been displaced from Kashmir and are living away from their places of birth and nativity ?
6. Has the accession of Kashmir to India at the advent of Independence gone in accordance with the standards of international law?
7. Despite Kashmir being an integral part of India, the reason for giving special status to it under the Indian Constitution ?
8. Do they know what exactly ‘secularism’ ?
9 . Do they know that there is no common civil code for the whole country

10. What is their opinion about according freedom struggle status by some to the fight by the Sri Lankan Tamil militants against the Sri Lankan government and not giving the same status to the militants in Kashmir ?

Other than bursting with anger over the terrorists acts, none was interested in the intricacies and plausible answer to the above questions. This is how our rulers have kept the country in ignorance, more specifically the common man. On second thought, why alone common man ? A big chunk of the population in the country has been wrapped in ignorance and is highly confused over many national issues. Either the successive rulers were inclined to keep the mass in perennial and perpetual ignorance or that the intellectuals are living in ivory towers, bothering nothing about the common man’s ignorance. Eventually, healthy discussion becomes the first casualty on national issues. Will the intellectuals come out of their cocoons and help enlighten the common man about the problems laying siege in the country, instead of taking perverse pleasures in word play and in showing off their understandably most un-understandable pseudo intellectual culture. The day is not far that the anger being displayed by the gullible mass against the politicians will also turn against the intellectuals in the country.