That thing called "Intolerance"

A lot is being said and heard about India being “Intolerant” these days. One may wonder and keep digging through different sources to find what exactly does “Intoleance” mean and what has painted India to be one lately?

An unfortunate incident happens which shouldn’t have; but not very different from what happens worldwide, especially rampant in underdeveloped nations like India, and the entire intellectual layer starts whispering about India getting intolerant. I wonder what it was when thousands of innocents were massacred in Maharashtra as a backlash of Gandhiji’s murder, just because the killer belonged to “their” community? Did this incident not raise questions, rather affirmations on the endurance of the very principle of non-violence that Gandhiji lived for, principles which sadly could not even live for 24 hours after his death :-(.

And why were lakhs of Sikhs brutally killed in retaliation to 2 Sikh bodyguards who killed Mrs. Indira Gandhi? Basically, this mental state of generalizing and targeting communities, dislike towards everything that differs from us and not gracefully considering or accepting other points of view had always been there in Indian society. It’s like a disease which has always been there and has killed many, but hasn’t got a medical name yet. This social disease just got its name in India- “Intolerance”.

Indira declaring emergency to curb opposition or religious uprising in Ayodhya was not termed “Intolerance” then. What painted our faith, rather egos saffron and green was intolerance.

Intolerant had we been when we abused and cursed Yuvraj Singh over the length and breadth of social media for not being in form in the 2014 T20 cricket world cup final, comfortably forgetting his lion’s share in making India win the 2011 ICC World cup. Intolerant were we when we left no stone unturned to even term Maria Sharapova a whore on Facebook, for she just could not recognize Sachin Tendulkar.

I wonder why did none of the intellectuals and thinkers not return awards in retaliation to the moral bankruptcy and judicial impotency in cases where the Nirbhaya murderer wasn’t harshly punished being a juvenile, or when Jayalalitha and Salman Khan were scot-free by the honourable courts, or when lakhs and crores of exchequer money was being shamelessly sucked by the politicians?

Why didn’t they raise their voice against the scores of time, money, energy and judicial synergy literally wasted on deciding if Ayodhya should have a temple or mosque? Could they not through their writing influence masses to have both reside alongside, keeping aside the religious intolerance to create an icon of true national integration that India could boast of?

And then we have our responsible media who responsibly spits venom and keeps the masses engaged (and enraged) with loose talk and gossips. Don’t they only add fuel to the already ignited matter, just to have their breads baked?

We will remain intolerant in this manner till the time we do not cleanse ourselves morally and have better things to think about and being engaged with. A society addicted to hatred and paralyzed by the negativity around is hardly bound to help itself. Hope stays alive though.

The "connected" life

I briefly wake up, somewhere in the darks of night. I see my mobile lying silently by my pillow, synchronously flashing a tiny white light every alternate second. I catch hold of it and punch the button, its 3:02 am, my phone tells me. What it also tells me, is few messages from Wats app that are lined up for me to read. Those may not need my immediate attention; however, my urge to check the messages comfortably defeats my mind which keeps yelling at my eyes- “There are 3 long cozy hours of sleep ahead, shut down”.

This happens almost regularly, each night a different time from late night gets captured as my “last seen”. Sometimes I also see my Wifi router LEDs blinking, whoa- its still broadcasting whatever the world has to offer me, even at midnight. I close wats app to open MoneyControl, and check how Americans are fishing in Dow Jones today. Occasional alerts from Facebook keep the phone buzzing thereafter, now that’s what my generation calls a “sound” sleep.

Come morning, I wake up, unwinding myself and rubbing my eyes, eager to check if the latest pictures I shared of my kid yesterday have received more likes throughout the night; after all, why under estimate the friendship I share with my distant friends in the USA? And also with few nocturnal ones in India, again, I may not be the only one shrugging off some sleep at 3:02 am?

Friendship, kinship, bonding, relationships, are all polymorphous terms with defined measures and intensities these days. “You click a really bad photograph and share it on FB, which still receives hundreds of likes, it doesn't make your photo good; it only proves you have lot of friends” said an eminent photographer in a recent seminar. Likes and comments on FB, and group memberships in Wats app actually “measure” your engagement in relationships.

With waning tolerance, lack of patience, brittle egos, brevity in conversation and swift mood swings, are we being vexed by this “over connection”? A famous life column in TOI once discussed about the socially coy lot as being most vulnerable to this feeling of “being left out”. The more the internet penetrates into our lives, the more it leaves us feeling left out (FLO). At times boredom and depression starts mounting, making us feel deprived of all the good things that our online friends do, and more importantly, flash on the internet. People broadcasting their covert feelings loudly are making themselves vulnerable to either a collective mockery or jealousy of these FLOs. Many times however, this loudness is in itself a way to shun the silence caused by the boredom and dullness in our own life. Every single like cheers us up momentarily.

Responding to the warning bells, some people have actually started implementing "No mobile Saturdays" or similar initiatives, just an attempt to momentarily disconnect from gadgets and connect with life. Some bonds actually require us to untangle from the web and let ourselves free from the callous and overly-clung world of internet. Personal meet ups are claiming space and hobby enthusiasts are actually collaborating to craft out a life outside the web. Well, life still breathes more comfortably outside the mobile phones and tablets.

Doesn't a mug of coffee with an interesting book in hand and classic track around entice you as much as a group of old friends laughing their heart out on a fun filled evening? There actually is much more to life than what meets the eye on the gadgets.

Just as James Bond says in Skyfall, sometimes the old methods are most effective. You bet!

P.S: If you feel this blog reads your heart out, please share. I'll be counting my blessings every time I wake up tonight ;)