He is around 30, hails from a city in western Maharashtra.
He carries multiple identities, puts on a different face for different
situations. His identities are vulnerable, each identity exposes a different facet
that is easy to inflate, ignite and exploit.
His identities are very elastic, they can be easily broken,
swollen or contracted at different times, different situations and influenced
easily by different people.
The martyrdom of our brave soldiers had recently made him an
‘’Indian’’. He joined the march with a candle in a hand, and tricolour in another,
his “Indian” identity was stronger than others at that moment.
Rewind few months, and he was seen on roads with a flag and
light. It wasn’t a tricolor, but a saffron flag in one hand; and, not a candle,
but a flambeau in another. His “Hindu” identity had eclipsed all others and
called for his divine duty of protecting his religion.
Step back few more months, he joined his fellow identities
in thrashing non-Maharashtrians out of the state. Left hand held a party flag,
while right hand swung a stick (lathi). He was all but following his duty
towards defending his third identity- that of being a “Marathi” this time.
A day further back in time, he was seen arguing on a public
forum, openly voicing the injustice on his side of Maharashtra. His identity of
belonging to the relatively upscale “Western Maharashtra” demanded a voracious
outcry.
Today he has joined another rally, he again holds a saffron
flag in a hand, but this time he is not just a Hindu, but is wearing a more
galvanized identity of a “Maratha”, and demanding justice from the present
government led by a non-Maratha.
It was just yesterday that members of his family rejected a
marriage proposal from a girl belonging to Maratha community. His identity of
belonging the elite “96 Kuli” Maratha didn’t allow a relation with a lower rank
“Kunbi” Maratha.
Well, his time to become an “Indian” is not far, its 15th
August next week.
So, who is he? A person with fragile identities? A confused
mortal blindly responding to every spark on main stream and social media? A capricious
soul instigated by every social outcry? A permanent victim of social
oppressions? A rebel by character and vigilante by action? A savior of every
cause that upholds the doctrine he subscribes to? Or a prisoner of self-induced
indecisiveness?
Well, very succinctly (and sadly), he is just an average
Indian of today.
