Irtif Lone
I, all through my life have had this admiration for the evenings. In the place like we live in, life falls silent abruptly after the birds move in to their nest for the night. It is one such beautiful spring evening, when it has rained all day and towards the evening the sky cleared out. The swift breeze brings freshness and makes the leaves clutter, the only sound you can hear. It is soothing. And the moon brightens the ambience of perfect poetry writing evening.
And I wish, I could actually write some verses about the beauty of this night. This silence has an amazing power to soothe your senses and bring joy. But for the past two months this election buzz has slaughtered the tranquillity. From electronic to print media and to make things worse it even made its way to the social media. Starting with live telecast of campaigns, to debates and then opinion polls, it finally has come to exit polls. It has made me miss some of the best innings in IPL. Cricket is far more interesting and far less influential on our day to day work. Except when it is India-Pakistan fighting it out and Kashmiri students in some Indian state cheer for Pakistan and in response, they are rusticated. IPL is different; you can support any team and not be threatened. And you can even like the team just for its owner.
But IPL is not what we want to talk about. It’s the elections. Elections, probably if the exit polls are to be believed for they have failed a couple of times before as well, the Indian nation is all enthusiastic to crown its new guardian. A chowkidaar, as he wishes to call himself. A chowkidaar who for now has made people believe in all-is-well theory, but its only time which shall determine the course of flight. And if it has to be so, let it be. What does it matter even if the minority is terrified? How does it matter if someone belonging to the minority has purchased land or house in a majority community dominated area and is getting sleepless nights that he might have to flee, it has happened and it can happen again?
There is this stupid idea which people have been putting forth. Give him a chance. Yes, of course. Give him a chance, even if it means minority being treated as second class citizens, even if it means the minorities being threatened to leave the nation. Even if it means the minority is not even able to find a rented flat to live in. But, then how much of the blame to be put on a single individual, it’s the people who have wished to crown the king. It has clearly been a religion based voting.
In Kashmir, it anyways makes less sense. One, the idea of abrogating article 370 would mean stirring the pot; you never know what comes out of it. Second, as a friend suggested in a politically heated discussion, “What difference does it make, we so far have been throwing stones at them and would continue to do so, irrespective of who makes it to the power corridors of Delhi.
Even if India as a nation has chosen Hindu nationalism as the new mantra and consideration of economic reforms has come much above the basic human rights, the consequences of the same would have to be waited for. What new India emerges remains to be seen?
