Last night as I watched the horrifying and brutal violence that broke out in Goa between locals and a mob of Nigerians, I found myself thinking about the nature of violence and its assaults on our psyche.
Why do human beings lose their human qualities and turn into beasts? Why do they attack the weakest and most vulnerable amongst them with a fury that defies words?
In the run up to what is easily going to be the most violent national elections ever witnessed in our country, deep introspection and a healthy dialogue on the subject is called for. Because everywhere I look, the levels of anger, rage intolerance and aggravation appear to be on the rise.
Switch on the TV and the irascibility is visible on the news debates which have degenerated into slanging matches. Switch to Bigg Boss and there are physical fights and hysterics like never before. Communal violence in Muzaffarnagar continues to simmer. Violence against women has taken its most alarming turn. Rape is only one of the arsenals used against women, as the Delhi rape case and the Mumbai assault on the photo-journalist have demonstrated. Friday morning's papers in Mumbai report about an assailant who broke into some one's home and threw acid on a sleeping victim!
Is there nothing left to the human imagination as far as wretchedness and inhumanity is concerned? Those of us who watch in horror and dismay find very little to restore our faith on humanity.
And yet we try because that's all we have-this belief that along with abject evil, its opposite also exists. And towards this end I present two recent incidents, not much I admit - but in these dark times - they have to suffice:
A ragpicker's son goes missing in a posh south Mumbai locality and the residents of the area gather and approach the police station to petition the cops for action. Few of them have known the boy or his family, but they do so because of a community spirit and responsibility. Till date the boy has not been found, but it's not for want of trying. And what's more the residents have worked anonymously and with complete altruistic intentions.
The second incident is even slimmer - but as I said in these tough times we hang on to what we've got: two successful and busy individuals, both powerful in their own right, spend a considerable amount of time and energy ensuring that the wounded birds that they come across are rescued and nurtured. Again, they do not do this for any thing else than a natural concern for all living creatures big or small.
Thinking about these incidents I find that a bias might emerge: both have been carried out by members of the upper crust educated in an urban area. Could a conclusion be drawn that it is easier to be humane when one is educated and materially comfortable?
I think not. Our papers are full of stories not only of violence and base deeds of the uneducated and disfranchised, but also as demonstrated so gloriously these days by the wealthiest and most educated.
Ignorance and poverty are not the cause of cruelty and barbarity - the darkness lies elsewhere. Which is why before it is too late, civil society must gather together to discuss these most disturbing trends that have emerged in recent times.
Brother against brother. Caste against caste. Communities set asunder.
The horror, the horror…
Why do human beings lose their human qualities and turn into beasts? Why do they attack the weakest and most vulnerable amongst them with a fury that defies words?
In the run up to what is easily going to be the most violent national elections ever witnessed in our country, deep introspection and a healthy dialogue on the subject is called for. Because everywhere I look, the levels of anger, rage intolerance and aggravation appear to be on the rise.
Switch on the TV and the irascibility is visible on the news debates which have degenerated into slanging matches. Switch to Bigg Boss and there are physical fights and hysterics like never before. Communal violence in Muzaffarnagar continues to simmer. Violence against women has taken its most alarming turn. Rape is only one of the arsenals used against women, as the Delhi rape case and the Mumbai assault on the photo-journalist have demonstrated. Friday morning's papers in Mumbai report about an assailant who broke into some one's home and threw acid on a sleeping victim!
Is there nothing left to the human imagination as far as wretchedness and inhumanity is concerned? Those of us who watch in horror and dismay find very little to restore our faith on humanity.
And yet we try because that's all we have-this belief that along with abject evil, its opposite also exists. And towards this end I present two recent incidents, not much I admit - but in these dark times - they have to suffice:
A ragpicker's son goes missing in a posh south Mumbai locality and the residents of the area gather and approach the police station to petition the cops for action. Few of them have known the boy or his family, but they do so because of a community spirit and responsibility. Till date the boy has not been found, but it's not for want of trying. And what's more the residents have worked anonymously and with complete altruistic intentions.
The second incident is even slimmer - but as I said in these tough times we hang on to what we've got: two successful and busy individuals, both powerful in their own right, spend a considerable amount of time and energy ensuring that the wounded birds that they come across are rescued and nurtured. Again, they do not do this for any thing else than a natural concern for all living creatures big or small.
Thinking about these incidents I find that a bias might emerge: both have been carried out by members of the upper crust educated in an urban area. Could a conclusion be drawn that it is easier to be humane when one is educated and materially comfortable?
I think not. Our papers are full of stories not only of violence and base deeds of the uneducated and disfranchised, but also as demonstrated so gloriously these days by the wealthiest and most educated.
Ignorance and poverty are not the cause of cruelty and barbarity - the darkness lies elsewhere. Which is why before it is too late, civil society must gather together to discuss these most disturbing trends that have emerged in recent times.
Brother against brother. Caste against caste. Communities set asunder.
The horror, the horror…
Malavika Sangghvi is a Mumbai-based writer malavikasangghvi@hotmail.com