FEAR

FEAR : (noun ) 1. A feeling of disquiet or apprehension.

2. Extreme reverence or awe , as toward a supreme power .

3. A reason for dread or apprehension .

“ The only thing we have to fear is fear itself –nameless , unreasoning ,unjustified , terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance .” – F .D . Roosevelt (President of U.S.A ,during his Ist inaugural address , March 4 ,1933.)

Obviously , the Indian political leadership and the Indian bureaucracy has never heard about President Roosevelt or his famous speech , judging from its recent and the not so recent approach towards the problems staring the country in its face . Ironically Roosevelt was a paralytic person who brought in the policy of New Deal to counter the Great Depression in the 1930’s and stood up against the Japanese and the rampaging German’s in the IInd World War .

Compare this with the recent approach of the country towards Chinese transgressions in the ‘ Finger Tip’ area . This area lies north of the Sikkimese capital of Gangtok and is known so because of its appearance . The Chinese army has warned to demolish structures built for its convenience by the Indian Army , apparently because it refuses to acknowledge the fact that the area belongs to India . Indian response has been typical : “We will resolve the dispute through discussion” , “ minor dispute” , “ we have the longest peaceful border with China” . Even the usually upright ( A rarity these days) Defence minister A. K. Antony , has been silenced by his advisors on this issue .

The FEAR FACTOR which comes into play while dealing with the Chinese is nothing new . Innumerable encroachments into the state of Arunachal Pradesh during the past few years , have gone unresisted . Incidentally , China refuses to acknowledge Arunachal being a part of India , and claims its right over it. And my response to India and China having the longest ‘ peaceful’ border in the world is “ What crap”. Anybody having a semblance of knowledge over the affairs will point out the 90,000 sq. miles of Indian land handed over to Pakistan by the Chinese after grabbing the same in the ill fated 1962 war . Peaceful border indeed !! You have to seek Chinese permission to visit Kailash Mansarovar , the abode of Lord Shiva ( although I admit I cannot prove the existence of Lord Shiva to Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Kalaingar Karunanidhi ) , as the area was also occupied by the Chinese in 1962 . As recent reports suggest , China has postponed the first two phases of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra this year , ostensibly because of the recent earthquake in China . Pertinent to mention that the earthquake hit areas are thousands of miles away from Kailash Mansarovar . Think a bit deeper , and you will realise that the stated reason is a sham , the real reason lies in trying to browbeat India to suppress the Tibetan activists residing in India , who are determined to oppose the Beijing Olympics , slated for the month of August . Does our leadership have the courage to ask the Chinese leadership to postpone the Olympics , on humanitarian grounds , because of the Earthquake .

FEAR , itself has no logic and is almost like the ubiquitous ghost who your mind feels is hiding in some corner and will come out to spook you in the night.

The best way to overcome fear is to Face it ! Let me narrate an incident to make my point. Legendary revolutionary Bagha Jatin was being chased by a dog during his childhood . The young child ran , terrified and could find no place to hide . Finally his mother noticing his rather helpless position , asked him to turn around and face the dog . The Boy did exactly that , and lo and behold , the dog took to his heels immediately . Incidentally , Bagha Jatin was named so because he once killed a tiger bare handed , in his youth , so much so for fear and its remedy .

Although we blame the Govt. and the policy makers for all the ills surrounding us , do we for a moment ponder as to our responsibility towards the fate surrounding us . The Goonda of the area gradually becomes the corporator , then the M.L.A and if luck and the weakness of the other goondas favour him , the M.P. And what does the common man do ………..Just watch !! we simply watch without uttering a word , because we are too afraid to raise our voice . Let alone a voice in front of the Goonda , we refuse to talk about Reservation in education and Govt. service , terrorism , communal politics being played out for the sake of votes . If you do not believe me , raise the issue of communal politics in front of a mixed gathering and watch the reaction of the people . Most of the ‘intellectuals’ remain absolutely silent over the topic whereas the ‘secularists’ go to war in favour of it .

As Martin Luther King once said –“ The ultimate tragedy of mankind is not the brutality of the few , but the silence of the many .”

Talking of communal politics , one of the recommendations of the Sachar committee with regard to Muslim teachers to be put in position in educational institutions located in areas of Muslim concentration of population .As per the sample survey presumably carried out by the committee , only one in twenty five students enrolled in higher education at the undergraduate is a Muslim ; and one in fifty students enrolled at the post graduate level is a Muslim . Therefore as a remedial measure to improve the percentage of Muslim students , the committee has recommended to post muslim teachers in areas of high muslim population .

What next , my dear countrymen , opening of Madrasas instead of I.I.T !! The painful part is that the ‘intellectuals’ of the country prefer to remain silent because of the FEAR of being branded ‘communal’. This step is at par with the MORLEY MINTO reforms , which introduced the separate electorate system in 1909 . The separate electorate system meant that Muslims could vote for Muslim candidates in constituencies which were earmarked for Muslims only . Herein lay the seeds of a future Pakistan . The Congress which initially opposed the step to divide the country on communal lines , acceded to it after the Lucknow pact of 1916 . The results are there for all to see . Similarly, our leaders simply wilted before Jinnah and the Muslim League after the mayhem of Direct Action day . No body had the courage to stand up for the sake of the nation .

The regressive recommendations of the Sachar committee will only increase the ghettoisation of the Muslims in the country , and instead of bringing them into the mainstream , will further alienate them , as such ideas of Muslims teaching Muslims flies in the face of concept of a Secular society . And by a Secular society , I mean a truly secular society and not the one being propagated by our politicians , which is nothing else but Appeasement for the sake of votes . Tomorrow , the demand might be raised for separate teachers for Muslims in I.I.T , I.I.M etc. ,Muslim officers to report to Muslim superior , separate Muslim banks …………. The country can ill afford the fear over speaking out against this regressive and patently obnoxious idea . Acceding to such recommendations is akin to laying the seeds of another Partition . Is the country willing to stand up ?

The FEAR factor comes out openly in our relations with Pakistan . A country which was brought into existence by dividing the motherland , with which we have fought four bloody wars , which believes in ‘bleeding us through a thousand cuts’ and which continues to remain hostile to our existence , and pray tell me what our response is . The foreign minister is now embarking on a peace mission and as a confidence building measure India has released thousands of Pakistani fishermen incarcerated in Indian jails . Confidence building measure , Mr. Foreign Minister !! How about bringing thousands of Indians killed in bombings by you know who , back to their families , how about bringing back the dead Lance Naik of the Indian army whose wife openly broke down while accepting the gallantry award , before the President recently. How about bringing back the youth , who gave up their lives at the heights of Tiger Hill, Drass , Kargil.

This lack of confidence and the increased Fear factor coming from a nation of warriors is perplexing . Remember Hari Singh Nalwa , the general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh , who , though mortally wounded , stood on the ramparts of his fort , to convince the invading Afghans that he indeed was alive . The Afghan reaction : They took to their heels at his sight . Or for that matter Guru Teg Bahadur , who preferred to be cut into two by a saw , rather than change his faith . I will not comment on the identity of the perpetrator of the crime as the idea is to talk about valour and not cowardice .

Maybe the education introduced by Macualy has a very big role to play in the country loosing its self confidence . The idea of the British was to take away all aspects of the glory of the country in order to propagate the myth of the “ white man’s burdren”. This was later on accentuated by the likes of Nurul Hasan , who under the due patronage of the Government of India gave a slant to the History of the country which suited the ruling Govt. Only a few personalities were given their due ( or more than their due , in certain cases) , whereas the inconvenient personalities were conveniently weeded out . For instance let us share our knowledge about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose , Sardar Patel or for that matter Chandra Shekhar Azad .. I bet most of us have no idea who Bagha Jatin was and what was his contribution to the freedom movement . Master da Surya Sen anybody ??? Resultantly , The youth of the country has limited role models . Half of them have left their country to seek their fortune abroad , the remaining are either apathetic or have joined hands with the bounty seekers in the country .

The hope of any country lies in its youth and the common man . The fear gnawing amongst them against speaking the truth , standing up for their Fundamental Rights , fear of the Goonda next door or the politician far away ( who incidentally was once his neighbour ), is sapping away the country of its energy , and working like White Ants on the foundation of the country .

Who better to turn around to for encouragement at this hour other than Swami Vivekanand , Who said:

“ HAVE NO FEAR , FEAR IS DEATH , FEAR IS SIN , FEAR IS HELL , FEAR IS UNRIGHTEOUSNESS , FEAR IS WRONG LIFE .”

The common man and the youth has to arise . Let the conch of Lord Krishna and its sound against Injustice , Fear , Falsehood , reverberate throughout this nation of ours. Like the Arjuna of Mahabharata , the Arjuna of today ( the Youth ) has to overcome his fear and stand up for the sake of Truth and Justice .

DO WE HAVE IT IN US ?