The 'Nuclear' God

                                                   

                  The end of World War 2, with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki stunned the human conscience. The ability of mass destruction gained by the superpowers gave whole new dimension to the idea of violence. 

                 I am reading THE COLD WAR by John Lewis Gaddis and I cannot stop myself from identifying with the terror generated by atomic bombs. But my terror is at the sight of violence by ISIS, the beef ban in different states of India, the idea of Love Jihad and the Dadri incidence near our capital, Delhi. I am terrified by the intolerant and irresponsible statements and behaviour of people who are in responsible positions. I am terrified when a few good people have to return their awards for the intolerance of majority. I am terrified by the murders of rationalists and thus the consequent end of rationalism in India.

                 The theory of basic human inclination for violence paired with this newly acquired nuclear weapon’s ability of destruction gave nightmares to the whole generations. But the wisdom of Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz prevailed. He warned that states resorting to unlimited violence could be consumed by it.

                 The shock of Hiroshima and Nagasaki compelled human beings to go against their basic inclination for violence. It is a paradox that the result of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings was the future avoidance of wars. Still the weapons were upgraded from nuclear to hydrogen bombs with increased capability for destruction. These weapons destroyed targets without any discrimination. In hindsight, even the most destructive weapons known to humans had this positive quality of treating everyone equally and thereby terrifying everyone equally.

                  Whereas Religion as interpreted and spread by the fundamentalists is aiming at specific pin pointed destruction of targets i.e. Infidels, a feature not available even in nuclear bombs. Violence generated in the name of religion has ability to discriminate. Moreover, access to this weapon called religion is unlike the limited access to nuclear bombs.

                  Even during cold war, in between the maddening contest for possessing nuclear arsenal, the wisdom of world leaders to use these weapons only as a deterrent prevailed. President Harry S. Truman, the only individual in the history of mankind who ever ordered the use of nuclear weapons said,” machines are ahead of morals by some centuries.” This thought of Truman compels me to think about religion and what it is doing to our morals. As long as we are deriving our morality from religion, there is no hope for humanity.

                 Today the religions are bigger threat to humanity than the nuclear weapons. What ISIS is doing to the world is worse than what nuclear bombs did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

                 Back home, the minds whose most important source of information is social media are incapable of maintaining any restraint. On the contrary rationality and wisdom are enemies of this new weapon called religion. The recent Dadri incidence in India and the beef eating controversy bears testimony to it. The increasing intolerance and the contest between religions for such intolerance is a real threat to our existence and our future.

                  As the writer points out, nuclear weapons withstood the Clausewitzian standard that military operations must not destroy what they are meant to defend. Can any religion withstand this standard today? The new low ISIS has reached with its barbarity can do the same to religions that Hiroshima and Nagasaki did to nuclear bombs. The terrifying possibilities were exposed and that prohibited its use in future. 

                 I am not talking about being atheist or agnostic. We can just keep our religions to ourselves. It can remain a very intimate, private affair and guide us personally than mindlessly making us a part of herd and providing us with some illogical logic to kill our fellow human being. 

                 The universality of potential destruction by nuclear weapons gave hope for a peaceful future. Today, the fundamentalists are using their weapon discriminately. So is there any hope for restraint and peace? My personal belief is, If we continue thinking on religious lines, NO!

                 At first our God was in every live and dead on the earth. Our God resided even in our enemies. Then came the idea of My God vs. Your God. Subsequently My God became superior to Your God. Violence became inevitable at this point. Everyone opposing My God became my enemy. Then everyone not following My God the way I demand was supposed to die. In this process we have reduced our God from Universal to Nuclear. Alas! This Nuclear God is incompetent to make me a better human being.

                 As long as we don't accept the potential of this weapon called religion to dehumanise the humans, there is little hope for humanity. Let our morality rely on humanity, not religion. The end of world civilisations by nuclear bombs could be avoided because the wisdom of a few good men prevailed. 

                 We are at the crossroads again. Our morals have failed to catch up with technology. We can't afford to be defeated. Humanity needs to rise against all religions with all its might.

THE PUNCHING BAG

                            

                                                               THE PUNCHING BAG

                             Today in India, Police is the favorite punching bag for everyone for everything that goes wrong in society. Recently after clashes between people and police in Gujarat, one message was making rounds on social media. It is a dialogue from one of the Bollywood movies. It says every society gets the police, it deserves. This reminded me of an incidence.

                             Recently i had gone to Europe with my husband. We spent a fortnight in London. we had read so much about the tube and we really loved traveling by it. We started following the trends on Twitter and also were reading newspapers.  There was underground strike on 8^th and 9^th July, 2015. There was lot of talk and discussion going on about its impact, its righteousness and preparations to handle the consequences. At one point we thought they were overreacting to a mere 24 hour strike. More was to come my way.

                              We decided to be on road to experience it firsthand. As we started following the tweets, we came across links for maps of alternate bus routes for the day. The local administration had not only started additional buses but was prompt in informing about it in every possible way. Even the strikers were apologizing for the inconvenience caused. Signage were put at bus stops asking people to bear with bus drivers and cooperate as they were working extra hours and bus drivers were welcoming passengers with a smile. It was all perfectly orchestrated.

                              We decided to go for lunch on Thames and boarded a bus for Oxford circle. It was overcrowded as expected. We both were busy reading the tweets and marveling at the positive involvement of citizens and the healthy tone of discussions. Suddenly the bus came to a standstill at a stop. When it did not move for a long time, we went down to see what happened.

                              There were other passengers surrounding a person and requesting him to get down. What I learn t was the person was drunk and driver was going by the rule book. He told the passengers to board another bus (which was to arrive in 10 min.) He would not drive with the drunkard on board. Passengers were trapped because every bus was already overcrowded. Even in that situation, they knew, they could not argue with the driver because he was doing exactly what he was supposed to do. They were also not threatening the drunkard but only requesting him to get down. One of the ladies who was getting late for work also proposed to pay him the bus fare he had paid. I was stunned by the order and civility of people. The final shock was when the drunkard gave his reason for not getting down in spite of so many requests. He simply said, “now that the driver has already called the cops, I have to wait.” Within few minutes two smartly dressed and well built cops arrived. They requested with a smile to the drunkard ‘gentleman’ to get down. The gentleman got down without uttering a word and our bus started. We both saw the cops talking very softly to the man. They were smiling.

                              I couldn’t stop imagining and reconstructing  in my mind the whole situation back in India and the consequent responses. 

                               First and foremost, the driver wouldn’t care for the rules. He would not get involved with a ‘bad guy’ by asking him to get down. If by any chance he asks, he would definitely not be polite. Most probably, he would physically assault him and throw him out.

                                The passengers who are getting late because of this one drunkard will beat him black and blue and push him out of bus. They would certainly not respect the person who is vulnerable.

The drunkard himself will run away if he comes to know that cops have been called.

                                The cops would come. If they are honest and rule abiding, they will register an offence against the drunkard, against the driver and passengers for rioting and assault. They will be hated by one and all for doing this. Before even reaching the police station, they will start getting phone calls for not registering the FIR, if that is inevitable then for at least not booking the influential passengers. If that is already done, then calls will follow to release them immediately. If that doesn’t work out, then requests will follow for providing facilities in lock up. The cops will be thought of as personal enemies for doing this lawful duty. The vengeance will be sought. When right opportunity shows up in future (as provided by recent agitation), they will be beaten taking advantage of the safety provided by the anonymity of the crowd. 

                                In the second scenario, if the cops are dishonest and with least concern for law, they will try for burking the cognizable offence that has come to their knowledge. In their enthusiasm to give instant justice and to suppress their own guilt, they would beat the drunkard. Our fellow passengers would appreciate them for doing so. (The dishonest cops will also make some money from the drunkard) This appreciation will compel the policemen to repeat the same behavior. In the process nobody will be bothered to talk about the assault by passengers and driver, the injury caused to the body of the drunkard and to his self respect.

                              This short term, quick justice won’t do any good to the image of cops or to the passengers with utter disregard for the law of the land. The main evil, as thought of by this society, the drunkard will never be rehabilitated as he will also lose his faith in any system. 

                              Whatever the cops do, in both the above scenarios, they will be hated. The problem is not just with the cops but equally with our society’s mentality to bypass the law. We don’t want to take responsibility for our behavior. We find safety in anonymity of the crowd. The demons within us surface when we are part of a crowd. We believe in preaching a path, we don’t have ability to walk on. We don’t introspect. We don’t think. We don’t analyze. We only expect others to play their part while we have utter disregard for our part. We expect the behavior of the London Police to deal with the barbarity of the brutal crowd without mind. Is it not too much to expect?

Yes, society gets the cops it deserves.   

THE MORAL RAPE.

                   What is worth preserving? There are numerous philosophies about being “sthitapragya”, about importance of “aparigraha”, about sacrifice on the way of “moksha”, but all these philosophies are basically religious, spiritual and ways to liberate soul from body. But I don’t find some way to liberate both our soul and body from others. Is it because we become selfish when we try to liberate it from others? Is such selfishness not a virtue? Is being liberated and independent a threat to the concept of society. The society has such impact on our minds that we have started feeling guilty for not adhering to the set norms. We forget that it takes strength to let go off anything that chains our spirit.

                   One day a familiar face appeared in my office. I had met this lady in some social function. I had gone there as a guest. This time the lady had come as an applicant. The lady was good looking. From her style of wearing saree one could easily guess her caste. She belonged to a business community. Even without asking, she mentioned her caste. It was with great pride she mentioned that usually women are treated well in that particular caste. She took a promise from me about her anonymity. I got annoyed. I thought I was a police officer and not a counselor. But anyways assured her that she need not worry about her anonymity and the secrecy of the information she might share with me. Her problem was her husband. He was HIV positive and was raping her every day without any protection. There was complete disgust on her face. She shuddered even at the memory of the last intercourse. He wanted to infect her and had become violent recently. He had a grudge against the world. His insecurity had conquered all his senses. She had only one son who hated both his mother and father equally. The father with the vicious behavior he had acquired recently was financing his son to go to prostitutes in Mumbai. Whenever this lady objected, both father and son beat her black and blue. All the neighbors could witness the drama, but because it was a family affair, no one wanted to disturb the privacy of this heinous crime.

                  
                I asked the lady about her parents or other close relatives. She started crying. She said such kind of incidences were very rare in her community. Her parents were financially not sound. Her brother and sister in law told her that she is no more their responsibility after her marriage. They had their own set of problems. There were also limitations to the narration, her mind allowed her, of the trauma she was facing day in and day out. Based on my professional experience, I enquired whether she wanted to continue in the present relation or get out of it. She was just shocked by my question. She said she was more than sure, about this one thing…her hatred for her husband and her urge to go away from all this. In fact she wanted to commit suicide to end all the problems and also to save herself and her family from “badnaami”. But thankfully she also thought it was a sin to commit suicide.

                
               The mental condition of this lady was awfully bad. I could not understand whether she was smiling or crying. I told her she could cry freely in my office. I offered her a glass of water. Her answer disturbs me till date. “Madam,hamare yahan aisi baatein kisiko nahi batate.samaaj me naam kharab hota hai aur badnami hoti hai.”(Madam, we don’t tell such things openly in our society. It brings bad name to the family). I didn’t know what to say. I asked her about her educational qualification. She was a graduate. I tried to convince her to register FIR in the women’s police station. She was confused. I told her to take her own time, gave her my mobile no. in case she decides to take some action. She still looked confused. The next big question, disturbing her was the expenses she would need to incur for the legal remedy. It was a genuine problem considering the long period between registration of FIR and court’s final judgment. I didn’t want to discourage her, considering her grave problem. I called one lady advocate, who had met me recently and who was felicitated publically for providing free legal aid to women in distress. I requested her to help this woman. She readily asked me to send her to her office the next day. I gave the contact number and the address of the advocate to this lady. I felt relieved. I was proud of my actions.

               

                      Next day, this woman called me. For a moment, I thought, she might have gathered her strength by now. I thought, she was calling to thank me. Alas, things are not so simple. The advocate told her that she would give some concession in her fees. I was aghast. This advocate was publically felicitated for the deeds she never did. For the moment, I told this lady to at least stay in touch with the women police station, so that, if her husband or son beats her again, police can immediately take action. In the meantime, I contacted the Government Pleader. I told him about the problem. He immediately gave me contact number of his advocate niece. He also promised that she won’t charge anything, as she had just started her career. I spoke to the advocate. She sounded keen on helping this needy woman. I told the lady, to go and meet this advocate next day. Unfortunately, on the same day, her husband raped and beat her. She ran to police for help. I instructed my officer to immediately register FIR and arrest this guy. Within some time, my officer called me from police station. The husband was brought to police station immediately. But now, this lady was not ready to give the FIR. All her morals were advising her not to go against her husband. She herself started crying. When I spoke to her, she just wanted police, to counsel her husband not to beat her. I inquired, how she would avoid the forceful intercourse, she was subjected to, everyday. She said, it was her FATE. My heart was weeping. I told her, she didn’t need to go through this entire trauma. I told her about the “Nari Sanrakshan Griha”(women safety centre), run by government, for women and, she could stay there. She was a graduate and she could any day sustain herself. But she could not gather the courage. I tried to convince her, about the need to get out of this hell and that she could not live in such situation for long. She was silent.

                           The counseling was just not of any use, for the man who had turned violent, in the face of death. She called me once but couldn’t speak, just wept. As my profession has taught me, I insisted again to take the legal course. I tried to convince her, that the process would definitely be a cake walk, compared to her present pain. Her answer was “madam,samaaj me merihi badnaami hogi.jaisa bhi hai,HUSBAND hai.”(Madam, only I will be blamed by society. However he is, he is HUSBAND.)

                       
                            Are some institutions so pious, that no matter what, they should not be touched? Was her marriage worth saving? Was her life so worthless? I believe, she could change her destiny, if only, she could gather some courage. I remember this lady coming to me in the initial days with a file. It had local newspaper cuttings, referring me with my photographs. According to her, she was inspired by courageous women. Truly speaking, I felt flattered then. Now, I just wish, she could gather some courage to fight for her own life, for her own sake. Virtues, which we know are virtues, are as good as vices, if we don’t imbibe them in our lives, for some positive change.

                      We need to change the concepts of virtues. We need to remember, that one size doesn’t fit all. Will we ever be able to stop being hypocrites? Will we ever liberate our souls, from unseen chains of the concepts of morality, taught to us since childhood, without any reasoning?

                      Rather than saving the dead relations, isn’t it worth to fight till death? So that, one’s soul and spirit are not killed.

 - Shobha.