As crowds gather to occupy Wall Street in one part of the world, people jubilant at the end of dictatorship in another celebrated their freedom in macabre and bloody images and I wonder if a similar angst is existent in us, and if it can be fueled by injustice to an extent that we too can become like those who dragged and kicked Gaddafi in a celebratory way.
‘Out here we’re stoned…immaculate‘, sang Jim Morrison in a languid bass as he tried to make sense of the world. George Harrison came to India to find himself, and his My Sweet Lord, tried to communicate to the rest of the world, a philosophy, a way of life which we could all lean on.
Today, right from the Arab uprising, to Anna’s fight against corruption and now the heaving waves of humanity at Wall Street, there is something that the millions are trying to say, are desperate to communicate, that economists, advertisers and various power suits are too busy to notice.
It almost seems like we grew up in liberal times. In ‘times that were a changin,‘ to tweak Bob Dylan, when tolerance was the message and Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley filled the air. Everything was going well and life progressed steadily until about a decade and a half ago. It’s only in the last 15 years, that an unknown fear has gripped us enmasse.
It wasn’t a perfect world even then. The Holocaust, Partition, bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a whole lot of other human failures had taken place, but we could protest. We could condemn. We could write songs, bring the whole world together to sing against social and political injustice and stand unitedly to shout our angst. And the powerful feared that. Today there is a shameless display of wealth and power and even if the common man or woman stands up to protest, who notices? And who are the people we are fighting against? Do we know them? Do they know us? Are they amongst us?
Ironic, that in the times of an information and communication revolution, the public, across the globe has lost its voice. Its lyrics, songs and poetry of protest. Who do we sing for? Or who against? Who are the accused and the accusers? For fear of being singled out, nobody dares to stand up for another or to shout, ‘Unfair.” What is unfair? That some are being fed, educated and given shelter? And the others aren’t?
Is poverty fair? Are concentrated riches fair? Is the conformity to the system that calls itself democracy but is absolutely dictatorial, fair? Is war fair when it is fought against terrorists or when it is waged against nations that support terrorism, of one kind or another?
We judge those who have taken to the gun and were left with no choice because they lips were forcefully sealed. But when forced silence erupts into bomb blasts or violence, be it on television sets, or in the neighbourhoods, it cannot be ignored. Those who could not speak out, now cause terror. They kill, they massacre, they plunder, they loot and they are ruthless. It’s time we allowed them to speak and heard them out. Or else we will be heading towards deadlier times. Open dialogue with protesters everywhere in the world before they become violent. Stop talking to yourselves. And just listen.
Vinta Nanda is a film maker, writer and social activist. She has written, directed and/or produced trail blazing TV shows like Tara, Raahat, Kabhie Kabhie, Aur Phir Ek Din and Miilee and also made several documentary films on women’s issues. Her first feature film, White Noise won acclaim at the Kara Film Festival, Pune International Film Festival, Florence and Seattle Indian Film Festivals. Vinta blogs on www.vinatananda.blogspot.com and has written for The Times of India, Tehelka, Indian Express, Mumbai Mirror, Sahara Times and Mid Day. Vinta is also the President of the NGO ‘The Village Project India,’ is producing two TV shows and will be producing and directing her next feature Zindagi Paradiso shortly.