We often come across children working at a tea shop or women being harassed for dowry. Do we ever bother to raise our voice against such injustice prevalent in our society. We, Indians have submitted/resigned to atrocities of this kind even if it violates a person’s right or is illegal. We choose to be silent spectators at many such instances which do not concern us directly. But when it comes to views/expressions that do not subscribe to our own set of values and norms, we retaliate instantly.
Indians are a crazy lot of people. We get offended by opinions of people but shrug off when it comes to taking a stand against a social evil. For instance, MF Hussain was rebuked by the ‘Hindu’ community for the portrayal of nude Hindu Goddesses in his paintings. Ironically, Hindu mythology and art considers nudity as a symbol of purity and the ancient Khajuraho temples and books like Kamsutra are evidence enough of this ideology. MF Hussain isn’t the only one who suffered the ire of such Indian hypocrisy. Writers like Taslima Nasreen and Salman Rushdie have faced similar intolerant attitudes for their works.
We do not feel outraged when a woman is raped or beaten up but the mere art depiction of nude women offends us! We clamour against anything that does not appeal to our sensibilities. One of the most burning topics of discussion recently was the amendment of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The decriminalization of homosexuality in India resulted in a heated debate all over the country. The conservative Indian society responded in a hostile manner and rebuked the law. The verbal confusion makes us ambivalent in our approach towards an issue which concerns many. Just because most of us cannot identify with the gay community and their way of life, it makes us hostile towards them in the name of ‘Indian culture and tradition’ From the human rights perspective, we ought to understand that this amendment is a precondition in demanding changes to various civil rights. The decision is a massive step towards equality to many.
We openly express our views on anything and everything that catches our attention but fail to address real issues and injustices. This is because we are so engrossed in our day to day affairs that probably we have developed a casual approach towards the bigger issues in life as they do not concern us directly or it may be because we do not want to land up in trouble by raising an alarm against a social evil which may have repercussions. Call it the Indian hypocrisy, double standard or sheer indifference towards real-life atrocities of people. We somehow lag behind in action-oriented work as most of the time we are entangled in debates and discussions triggered by differences in opinion. In such a scenario, our thoughts and ideas take centre-stage while actions involving issues that genuinely matter take a backseat.
We Indians have a tendency to get easily carried away by emotionally charged issues which are deeply embedded in the social fabric of our country. The recent debate over the ban on Prakash Jha’s movie ‘Aarakshan’ created a huge stir and gave another opportunity to trivialize issues. We tend to respond aggressively to forms of expression such as books, paintings or films but are not willing to participate in bringing about a change that will make a difference.
We, as law abiding Indians must ensure that no individual is deprived of the Right to Protection of Life and Personal Liberty as guaranteed in the Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Also, one must respect other people’s right to expression as well and give space to views and opinions which we find unpalatable. Isn’t it our moral obligation to stand up against injustices against people? Voicing one’s opinion is important but mere words and views serve no purpose. Shouldn’t our words be backed by our actions?
