not sure if this is the right spot to pen a few words about the concept of history, and how those who do not learn from it, are condemned to repeat it.
i see a lot of angst among the posters here, about a lost inhertance. i respect that. to be frank, in my earlier years, i have been through that process. just as vehemently. perhaps more.
at that time of my impending influence, into the concept of investigating history, during the 60s & 70s, there were no internet. we, teenagers, fed on the raw print, of the likes of organizer and rss meetings.
the residual feeling, which i still get invoked, is one of indignant anger. at my neighbours, muslim friends etc., who overnight, transformed in my mind, from chumminess and conviviality, to become destroyers of the hindu civilization.
i believed. but i was keenly unhappy. or very disturbed, because, the more i attend those meetings, the more anger i felt, and the i was incited to violence.
thankfully, life circumstances, separated me from further participation. it is on reflection, of this types of accidents, that i am thankful to my God, for saving me, from a certain path to self destruction.
after 40 years later, all i feel, for those lost years, is a sense of betrayal. how lucky i was, in a way, from being a cannon fodder, to some extreme crazy, who in the comfort of his fortress, could influence the not-so-safe ventures, which his followers would do, all for his greater glory.
it is not in germany alone, that a fuehrer is made. there are little fuehrers and fuehrers wannabe all over. more so in india.
history is past. we do not have any control over it.
what we read, is a view of an observer. there are umpteen blogspots invoking hatred. hatred agains God to against the amoeba, and every creature inbetween.
it is upto each of us to believe, to our comfort, or discomfort levels. we hope this is a birthright. but i think, it is wrong to use this forum, to invoke hatred. to invoke any activity or thought, which goes against the spirit of the indian constitution.
the architects of our constitution were wise men. ambedkar, always insulted, scorned and beaten, but always a vaNangamudi, could see through the hypocracy and good sounding words of many of the anti british groups, to envision an india of ideals.
nehru, for all his faults, guaranteed an india for the next generation. it is an india of democracy and free expression. free elections. a sympathetic nation towards the dalits, and the disenfranchised.
the execution of the ideals may be faulty. but the very fact, that we acknowledged our imperfect past, and went on record, to strive for perfection, speaks volumes of the best of our endeavours.
when i see some of the hindutva agenda, i am reminded of the republican party of the u.s.a. it is predominantly white, protestant, very strongly ethnocentric, not willing open up its tent to the reality of multi diverse culture and above all, its sense of entitlement to rule.
as tamil brahmins, we are now persona non grata in our own land. i think, we should do more, to step in line, with our fellow tamil tribes. think less as brahmin. think more as tamils.
you may ask 'why'?
the recent fascination with the true north, came with the increased communication, our own disenfranchisement in tamil nadu, and above all, i think, we are better than our fellow tamil tribes.
mildly stating, it could be termed as 'ignorance'. a stronger word would be 'arrogance'. the truth is probably somewhere in between.
those whom we hurt, i believe, are the poorest of our lot. those comfortabale perched in the u.s.a., canada, europe, singapore, australia, etc. can from the comfort of their climate controlled household, pen inflammatory postings to exhort the youth to unleash their passions into violent thought and deed.
after all, once if a few dollars is spared, it is considered as doing enough for the 'cause'.
but at what cost to those at the bottom end of the totem pole.
blindly believing the 'sage' words from the mutt heads (pun deliberately intended), these poor miserables, become misfits in their own environment.
violence begets violence. it destroys the perpetrators. how many of us are willing to see our sons, brothers, fathers killed, daughters, sisters, mothers violated? then why should we invoke this type of thought into our youths..
folks, who want to do research to revise history, must first be willing, to sacrifice themselves, their children, siblings, parents.. for these are the cannon fodders for those with hidden agendas.
yes, anyone can do 'research' to prove anything. the world can still be flat. but, it takes a lot of courage, and honesty, to go beyond our immediate prejudices, and understand our strengths, and above all our weaknesses, to fight, for a gentler and kinder world.
thank you.
ainkiller:
