Dec 6: Day 1 of my fast, day 651 of our chain.
Today, Dec 6, marks 29 years since the farcical demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, by mobs led by key RSS/BJP/VHP leaders. It was the day we lost the aspirations of a progressive, secular nation to political jingoism, hate and violence.
Of course, we can only reap what we sow. Nobel economist Abhijit Banerjee had the following words for the Indian economy today: “The stories you hear about, you know, all the aspirations that have been a little bit dashed are very real. Small aspirations which became smaller now. I think we are in a moment of great pain. The economy is still well below what it was in 2019. We don’t know how much below, but it is substantially below.”
https://asiatimes.com/2021/12/indians-are-in-extreme-pain-says-nobel-laureate/
In other news today, a Mumbai bench of the insolvency court initiated a resolution process against Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL), the financial services holding company promoted by the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, under the bankruptcy law. The same guy, whose zero-experience Reliance Defence Limited was personally chosen by Modi over oour top-class state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to enter into a contract with Dassault Aviation for the procurement of Rafale aircraft. https://www.vccircle.com/muthoot-microfin-raises-50-mn-from-pe-firm-greater-pacific-capital
And speaking of defence, mum is the word. Our rulers seem too busy with internal communal aggressions and the unrestrained use of force against religious and ethnic minorities, almost as if this were our new national policy. Underlining this, 13 civilians were killed today in Nagaland by Indian Security forces in a botched ambush, deepening the destructive spiral of fear, hate and retribution within the country. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-59531445
Have we seen enough destruction yet to whet our collective national appetite for revenge? Or have we degenerated as a society to rabid animals who will stop at nothing in our all-consuming madness?
If we don’t find a way to change course, time and pain will make us…
ChainFastingForPeace
FastingAgainstFascism
FreeSanjivBhatt
ResignAmitShah
ResignModi
Dec 7: Day 2 of my fast, day 652 of our chain.
I wish for everyone to be born to parents who are capable of loving without restraint, nurturing without expectations, who (to quote a popular African proverb) provide strong roots to their growing children, and strong wings to fly away on when they are grown.
I wish for everyone to have neighbors who make them feel safe and cherished through friendship and an extended sense of familiar connectedness.
I wish for every youngster to have teachers who can enrich and empower young and growing minds by tapping into their own unique strengths and talents, who equip the young to navigate the vagaries of life with the calm confidence that stems from being able to distinguish what truly matters from momentary distractions.
I wish for experts who can express their ideas humbly, honestly and clearly, without pressure to embellish their truth, and without fear of offending angry mobs or irate bearers of power.
I wish for public servants who know their job is to serve, and not to rule. Who educate themselves constantly to deal satisfactorily with complexities of their times. Who are competent enough to serve without resorting to tyranny.
I wish for a society made up of individuals who try to make the most of this brief adventure we call life, while making sure their actions do not obstruct others’ right to do the same.
I wish for a world that pauses every now and then to appreciate the profoundness of nature and the bounty of our Earth, and that we are all here to love and understand her, not fight and destroy her.
I wish for us to recognize that even though most of the above may not have been true for us, we still have it in us to forgive those who fell short. And to strive to find within us the fount that lets us do better for those that follow us. Because the magical act of giving makes a rich person out of one who received nothing.
I wish for us to learn to forgive, so that we can unchain ourselves from our oppressors, see them for the hapless, needy souls they really are, and embark on a wholesome journey of healing and growth.
I wish for all of us, the oppressed and the oppressors alike, the strength and courage to forgive, love, forgive, trust, forgive, and grow together – in spite of the madness and chaos that makes us want not to. Because that is probably the most and only effective counter to all the madness and chaos that surrounds us. That, to me, would be the ultimate resistance to the tyranny of evil.
ChainFastingForPeace
FastingAgainstFascism
FreeSanjivBhatt
ResignAmitShah
ResignModi
Dec 8: Day 3 of my fast, day 653 of our chain.
The last few decades have been a time to stay alert and take due note of vested interests subverting our civic system, especially the religious subversion that took an unprecedented scale since the BJP came to power in 1980.
The last 7 years since Modi came to power have been a time to take notice and speak out, not only for ourselves but also for the multitudes rendered voiceless by the BJP’s evil machinations: Muslims, the poor, oppressed castes, Christians, members of the opposition, dissidents, scholars – the list is long.
Now, however, may be the time not only to speak out in wanton rage, but to smarten up to see through their tricks, call them out where it hurts, and expose their culpability. Because there is no doubt about their culpability anymore.
My thoughts today were partly provoked by the death of Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, today. How does one react to tragedy befalling a person who has wilfully steered India on a tragic course? Things happening in India today tear at one’s soul, rip apart one’s sense of balance, leave one gasping for some semblance of normalcy.
Bipin Rawat said as recently as November this year that it was “a very positive sign” that Kashmiris were offering to “lynch terrorists themselves,” while offering to “make arrangements that they get lynched.” Ajit Doval, while addressing IPS probationers at a graduation parade of the Police Academy in Hyderabad on November 11, reportedly said that “the new frontier of war was civil society”, equating it with “fourth generation warfare” (Sources: https://thewire.in/government/constitutional-rights-ajit-doval-bipin-rawat-arun-mishra, https://scroll.in/article/1010798/bipin-rawats-comments-about-lynching-terrorists-in-kashmir-go-against-the-rule-of-law, https://theprint.in/india/civil-society-is-new-frontier-of-war-can-be-subverted-to-harm-nation-ajit-doval-says/765748/).
Can we come through this unofficial war on us as Indians by those who rule us without getting smart, sober and serious about what we’re really up against? Can we afford to be good people with bad thinking anymore?
I don’t think smart resistance can be powered by the raw emotional power of anger and indignation alone. We need to study our adversary without becoming their disciples. Respect their arguments without compromising on ours. Understand them well enough to call out their tricks without falling prey to those tricks. Be grounded enough to lead by example even when we hold no power and they do. And dedicated enough to not give up on the darkest days.
A few parallels spring to my mind:
- We cannot give up on the connections provided by social media like Facebook just because Zuckerberg made mistakes – we are each stakeholders who have it in us to affect meaningful change in the way such media function.
- We cannot give up on life saving medications and vaccines, just because big pharma is infiltrated by the corrupt. We need to install oversight procedures to weed out the corrupt effectively without destroying the collective legacy of thousands of dedicated doctors and scientists.
- We cannot lose hope in the idea of India, just because it is going through the growing pains almost every advanced nation has been prey to. We are – relatively speaking – a young, newly independent, newly self-reliant nation that makes up 18% of the world’s population, and that 18% of humanity has to pass through the convulsions of adolescence before it reaches maturity! But we are also an ancient syncretic civilization that knows better than to allow greed and selfishness to destroy our basic human decency.
ChainFastingForPeace
FastingAgainstFascism
FreeSanjivBhatt
ResignAmitShah
ResignModi
Dec 9: Day 4 of my fast, day 654 of our chain.
It is so heartening to see this picture of Sudha Bharadwaj finally out of jail, and reunited with her daughter. I was – naively – hoping she’d receive an apology for baselessly having been kept imprisoned for three years, but instead had to find the following terms of her release:
- She shall reside within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai court and shall not leave without the court’s permission.
- She shall inform the court and the NIA immediately about her place of residence within Mumbai and her contact numbers. Bhardwaj would also have to give the contact numbers of her relatives residing with her.
- She shall submit a list of at least three blood relatives with their detailed residential and work addresses, with documentary proof.
- She must inform the NIA and the court if there is any change of her residential address while she is on bail.
- She has been directed to submit copies of at least two identity proofs —passport, Aadhar card, PAN card, ration card, electricity bill, voter identity card.
- After these documents are submitted, the NIA shall conduct physical or virtual verification of her residential address and place a report before the court.
- She shall attend the proceedings of trial and shall see that the trial is not protracted due to her absence.
- She shall report to the nearest police station through WhatsApp video call fortnightly.
- She shall not make any statement regarding the proceedings pending before the court before any form of media — print, electronic or social.
- She shall not indulge in any activity similar to the activities on the basis of which the present FIR was registered against her for offences under the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
- She shall not try to establish communication with co-accused or any other person involved directly or indirectly in similar activities or make any international call to any person indulging in similar activities.
- She shall not undertake any action which is prejudicial to the proceedings pending before the court.
- She shall not personally, or through anyone, make any attempt to influence prosecution witnesses or tamper with the evidence.
- There shall not be any gathering of visitors, other than near relatives, where the accused shall reside within the jurisdiction of the court.
- She shall surrender her passport and not misuse the liberty.
Isn’t this New India a truly dystopian upside down world? With the best qualified humanitarian workers treated so shabbily, while true criminals roam free and enjoy perks of power.
ChainFastingForPeace
FastingAgainstFascism
FreeSanjivBhatt
ResignAmitShah
ResignModi
Dec 10: Day 5 of my fast, day 655 of our chain.
I started my fast this time with the Oting massacre in Nagaland, and I’ll end with it. The BJP’s own ally in Nagaland has has to call out Amit Shah for twisting the facts, making up a story about villagers straying into (an actually nonexistent) security checkpoint. He claimed they were fleeing from security forces, when actually there are bullet marks on the windshield of the vehicle that brought them (innocent mine workers) home. (Source: https://scroll.in/latest/1012489/nagaland-killings-amit-shah-twisted-facts-civilians-were-not-trying-to-flee-says-bjp-ally?fbclid=IwAR3EEPG6qnjnaCgE74Pp95HDKmf61DhP7elehGU7QAv2H_nARGEPsFcgHmg)
Did anyone expect a different outcome from allowing a certified killer to be our home minister? When killers are rulers, good people protecting others go to jail and innocent people die like cannon fodder.
How much longer before we stop expecting these serial killers to be our saviors?
ChainFastingForPeace
FastingAgainstFascism
FreeSanjivBhatt
ResignAmitShah
ResignModi
Chain Fasting For Peace 