So Mumbai burns.. A bandh was hastily announced in several parts of Mumbai. Bus services came to a halt. the flaming of a private bus raged the T.V. screens. Thousands of Shiv sainiks forming an irate mob ran amuck in several suburbs as the news of the alleged desecration of statue of ‘Meena Tai’, deceased wife of S.S.Supremo Bal Thackeray spread like wild fire in the city and the country.
Help from the Centre was sought to curb what seemed an inflagration that could turn ugly. The Sainiks in unison, appeared to point fingers at Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi. B.J.P. which had so far been at loggerheads with the Sena over ideological and political differences has joined hands with them in this fast growing protest against the disrespect shown to ‘Maa saheb’.
So Mumbai, falteringly ganing control and effort at normalcy after the onslaught of Natures fury, had to contend with the that of the Shiv Sena. While one can empathise with the reason for outrage, what seems unreasonable is the adoption of violence and mayhem and ruination of Public property and public life as the target.
Guilty need to be punished, and brought to book. But vandalism is hardly the manner to be condoned for the fructification towards the end. It sends the wrong signals to gullible Sainiks that wrong MAY be rectified by a larger wrong, as also that giving vent to the extent of becoming a menace, will gain backing from the Shiv Sena leaders. This is a dangerous and highly deplorable stand and one which makes the average citizen view the Sena with doubt and disregard.
What this incident has proven once again is the power that Shiv sena holds over the masses and the sway over emotions that can be incited in a matter of hours. If the ‘bite’ of Bal Thackeray had been under debate in recent times, then this incident , if anything has eliminated any points on that score.
We live in times where safety and security are elusive illusions and normal life under constant threat.
Makes it imperative to therefore make the most of PEACE, if and when it reigns! A day at a time.
Sachiniti 
i agree that the reason for what happened can be empathised with but Bhiwandi first and this incident now seems like a bit of coincidence…
Comment by silbil — July 9, 2006 @ 9:44 pm |
That seems to be what the sainiks are averring as well.. and therefore the mention of Abu Azmi in my post..
Its not a coincidence..but this not the solution. It can aggravate instead of dilute.
Refer..http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200607091225.htm
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — July 9, 2006 @ 9:49 pm |
we have more than the shades of a rainbow:) it was ‘raining (woe-)Men’ few dayz bac n now it take the religious touch.. elementary my dear watson! like mr.Holmes, i wud say its just a ploy to pull back the entire community! we don worry about the graver probs facing us! ravaging eye-for-an-eye we turn blind to natural disasters, financial n social upliftments tat are needed!
n who wud punish the guilty again? the entire system is like diseased, well orchestrated like sum movie flick! really hope takes a beating, with the bruises all around.. whatever happened to the nuances of life n sentimentz?!
we had a hymn in school… ‘peace on earth n joy in heaven..’, maybe even the gods are troubled upstairs:) we can only leave it to their gud faith…
Comment by der Bergwind — July 9, 2006 @ 10:22 pm |
though no riots will be caused or radio stations taken over or ministers shot dead but sometimes it seems relevant to reflect on the way we vent our anger at the system among other things in the light of hugely successful RDB..
a friend of mine who was livid with the violence shown in the film had written an article and he had reiterated the fact that india in 2006 is different from india in 1937 so we cannot assume that the same type of protest makes any sense , also had pointed out a very pertinent point,that the freedom fighters (chandrashekhar azad, bhagat singh etc) had an indepth knowledge of colonialism,capitalism etc before they worked out their mthodology and wasn’t just ‘khoon ka ubaal’
also as another person i know pointed out,the film attempted to magnify what seems like an elitist cause to fight about, an insult to the memory of martyr (i don’t completely agree with this person as in the death of a soldier also die many more things, it does lower the self esteem of people!!!)
but as she pointed out what we are ignoring is the villagers dying in vidarbha ,priyadrshinis and jessica lals and many many more people and issues that are EQUALLY if not more important…
the same way ,sure it will hurt the sentiments of the shiv sainiks if a person who they rever as maasaheb, her memory is insulted in any way (i won’t even ask her contribution to the society , that is not important, though some minister kept on saying hinduon ke devi devta ka apmaan like a chant in the interview)
but is that all that their anger comes out for?
despite all the technological advancement,we becoming global citizens we still waste our breaths on immidiate concerns?
in that light the both the means of protest and the reson behind it seem wrong…
i might be asking a stupid question
but would there be a riot like situation if it were still raining cats and dogs like 3 days back?
is the choice of sunday suspect?
uddhav has not stopped saying provocative stuff since morning…
strangely there seems to be a bit of silver lining (correct me if i am wrong) , raj thackrey, the fiery leader who could have still salvaged the dying shiv sena ,and who was as vocally (and rather effectively) rightist and violence supporting till a few years back, is now since is against the SS, is forced(?!) to condemn the act of SS.
so now if he does manage to come with a bang at least there will be someone who will be speaking against the ills of the sena with passion…
Comment by silbil — July 9, 2006 @ 10:55 pm |
der,
lets look at it this way..there was no peace even when Jesus walked the earth…Feel better?:) I guess we have to lump it n do our bestest in whatever manner possible individually.
silbil,
About Rdb..I had written a post expressing my reservations on the insidupus suggestions and the aftermath of such irresponsible dramatisations.
http://sachiniti.blogspot.com/2006/02/aftermath.html
The sena ofcourse is a different kettle of fish altogether. Affiliation to a political party has a unique set pattern of behaviour that is expected.It has little or nothing to do with social awareness or responsibility. The only other time that s.s. has spoken up is for valentines day or the screening of fire and such like ‘cultural’ contentions.
The fact is that they have been provoked and reacted in exactly the manner expected. Being a sunday in fact helped in areas where the shutters are downed in any case. It was a pre meditated act. Who has gained the most from it? The sena and its dying image which seems to have been resurrected. It seemed also a signal sent out to raj and rane that the fire is yet simmering in the sainiks.
not to forget that elections are around the corner and ss has manged to make a comeback of sorts after the serious blow of raj and rane deserting it. All in all in the cross war betwen parties, hidden agendas and powerplay, it is the common man who despite being a mere spectator pays a heavy price.
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — July 10, 2006 @ 11:42 am |
“while nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him” (says dostoyevsky)
n this whirlwind of logic snaps up the threads of peace:)
u know.. a blind boy from the suburbz in calcutta had come to the city to buy sumbooks… had 150 bucks in his pocket n a walking stick… he had just dosed off in the local train on waking up found himself robbed off the money n even the walking stick!!
a student he is of class 11!!
in the ‘blacks’ of life there wud be peace? we can never fathom.. n even tat poor boy.. ha!
as an individual, i dunno if therez light at the end of the tunnel.. but am looking:))
Comment by der Bergwind — July 10, 2006 @ 6:45 pm |