“Mumbai under siege”, “Mumbai at war” and many such headlines have been flashing on our tv screens since the past 28 hours or so. The attacks have shaken the entire country. Many of us are glued to our television screens keeping a track of the situation, following it perhaps for its “breaking news” value or simply concerned by the sheer audacity of the attack and the implications it brings along with it on the security situation of the country. I, being someone who makes it a point not to be a part of the 24 hour news channel culture, had managed to maintain a fair distance from the tv set during all the other blasts that took place a few weeks back but not this time. I have tried my best to gather every ounce of willpower in me to turn off the tv but with no success. The sight of the Taj burning has probably clogged my brain and disrupted normal functioning of my limbs for it has become almost impossible not to revert back to the news channel just a minute after every attempt made to move away from it. Sleepless in Chandigarh, I am bound to Mumbai – the city where I have spent probably the most memorable years or my life.
In God’s Debris, Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame), cooks up an interesting alternate theory of the universe. A rather interesting argument that comes up in the book is related to our understanding of what is real and what is imaginary. What we may consider real and what we may consider imaginary are both impressions in our memory and are, thus, equal. In the present context, I started thinking about the Mumbai that existed in my memory, the one I rooted for and felt for with all my heart. That will be the Mumbai for me no matter how many blasts or riots take place there. If tomorrow someone bans me from entering it on account of my North-Indian background, my caste, my religion or the language I speak I shall be hurt but that will not be the Mumbai that exists in my memory. It will be another city that simply happens to occupy the same geographical position as Mumbai.
The gunshots continue to reverberate in my mind. “What is happening to Mumbai?” was all that I could manage as a first reaction to the initial reports pouring out of the tv. Those for whom Taj was a synonym for Mumbai or probably the first visual that formed in their minds when they thought of Mumbai, it is probably the memory that has been scarred.
There is, however, another thought that is keeping me from getting any sleep. Why? Why would a bunch of people be so highly motivated to commit the horrendous sin of killing hundreds of people? We obviously need to look for solutions to deal with the immediate security threat but from where is this hatred emanating? What is the root cause? Is there no solution to plug that hole? When shall this civilization emerge above defending borders?
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Messiah is coming
Faiths across the globe believe in the concept of a Messiah whose arrival shall re-establish righteousness and extirpate all evil. Of course, the allusion varies in detail from faith to faith, however, the idea of a Messiah who shall bring salvation seems to be universal (barring atheists and agnostics).
For the last few days I have been struggling to comprehend another universal phenomenon - the widespread appeal of Barack Hussein Obama, the newly elected President of the United States of America. No doubt there are many reasons for the world to cheer. The foremost being that he is not Bush. Besides that there are the obvious other reasons including him being an Afro-American; having a Muslim middle name and promising a radical change of policies on burning issues like the global financial meltdown, the situation in Iraq and the war against Taliban in Afghanistan. But watching people in Kenya, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Senegal, Australia, France and the UK cheer for him the way they did was unusual and incredible. The newsreader on CNN-IBN kept on repeating that had Indians voted for the election, Barack Obama would have won with a landslide majority.
As a 22-year old, distraught with politics and political leaders, their often-repeated platitudes and insensitive, self-centered politics, I was surprised at my own fascination with the man. Just when I had almost rejected democracy as a failure, following the violence in Mumbai and Orissa and the response of our so-called representatives aka leaders, there came along a leader who captured my imagination and perhaps even restored a little faith. And I was not the only one captivated by this man. The US elections witnessed the largest turnout in many decades with a record number of newly registered voters in the ‘Under 30’ category. People from across the globe rooted for him as well. The way in which one man has captured the imagination of millions (perhaps billions) is extraordinary. One may attribute this extensive outreach and the interest generated consequently to the mass media spanning different continents, races and languages and a scintillating and far-reaching election campaign. Also the fact that the chief executive of arguably the strongest nation in the world is bound to impact the destiny of even those sitting in ‘the remotest corners of the world holding onto a radio’ gave this event its due stature and profoundness (‘our stories are singular but our destinies shared’ as he stated in his acceptance speech). Nevertheless, it was a wave of unprecedented goodwill and support for Barack Hussein Obama that had gripped the world and united not just the United States of America but also the entire world in this singular, most extraordinary event.
However, my intent is neither to glorify the man nor the event. As stated before, I have been trying hard to extricate the psyche behind this seemingly universal appeal. And Eureka! I found it! I found it! It was the ‘Messiah is coming’ syndrome. It is the reaction of a generation of distraught men and women who have lost faith in the men and women who have led them; led them to war, poverty, hunger, disparity, unprecedented greed and sectionalist violence. I am not saying that the plight of the current generation is entirely blamable on its leaders, for a leader is as good as his subjects, but I do feel that the current leaders have, in a way, failed to set a good example. In this scenario of fallible heroes emerged a man who was able to stand upright and above others and talk without indulging in petty politics focusing objectively on the task of leading a flailing nation to financial security and the world to a safer, saner place. His claims were high yet made with conviction and determination and his manner confident and reassuring. He did not indulge in platitudes, and offered practical solutions. He was a black in the land of the white yet did not fit the stereotype of an oppressed, under-educated and frustrated man. He emerged above stereotypes and circumstances and defied several boundaries to become the man that he is. The first Afro-American to become the editor of the Harvard Law Review, the third Afro-American to become a Senator and go on to get the ticket for Presidency of a major political party and then the 44th President of the United States of America can be the credentials only of a man of extraordinary character and fortitude. He became the beacon of hope of not just a country but of people across the world transcending barriers of nationality, race, language and religion. For probably these last few days he has been nothing less than the elusive Messiah. And if every spectacle of the last few days be blurred and every sound stripped down to its essence then what one may see is a dark Messiah clad in a chaste white robe of righteousness and people of all possible backgrounds chanting in all possible languages that the “The Messiah has come”.
History, unlike mythology, however, reveals a far grimmer reality and righteousness and truth do not always triumph in the end. Therefore, only time shall tell how this Messiah fares on the extraordinary expectations of billions.
For the last few days I have been struggling to comprehend another universal phenomenon - the widespread appeal of Barack Hussein Obama, the newly elected President of the United States of America. No doubt there are many reasons for the world to cheer. The foremost being that he is not Bush. Besides that there are the obvious other reasons including him being an Afro-American; having a Muslim middle name and promising a radical change of policies on burning issues like the global financial meltdown, the situation in Iraq and the war against Taliban in Afghanistan. But watching people in Kenya, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Senegal, Australia, France and the UK cheer for him the way they did was unusual and incredible. The newsreader on CNN-IBN kept on repeating that had Indians voted for the election, Barack Obama would have won with a landslide majority.
As a 22-year old, distraught with politics and political leaders, their often-repeated platitudes and insensitive, self-centered politics, I was surprised at my own fascination with the man. Just when I had almost rejected democracy as a failure, following the violence in Mumbai and Orissa and the response of our so-called representatives aka leaders, there came along a leader who captured my imagination and perhaps even restored a little faith. And I was not the only one captivated by this man. The US elections witnessed the largest turnout in many decades with a record number of newly registered voters in the ‘Under 30’ category. People from across the globe rooted for him as well. The way in which one man has captured the imagination of millions (perhaps billions) is extraordinary. One may attribute this extensive outreach and the interest generated consequently to the mass media spanning different continents, races and languages and a scintillating and far-reaching election campaign. Also the fact that the chief executive of arguably the strongest nation in the world is bound to impact the destiny of even those sitting in ‘the remotest corners of the world holding onto a radio’ gave this event its due stature and profoundness (‘our stories are singular but our destinies shared’ as he stated in his acceptance speech). Nevertheless, it was a wave of unprecedented goodwill and support for Barack Hussein Obama that had gripped the world and united not just the United States of America but also the entire world in this singular, most extraordinary event.
However, my intent is neither to glorify the man nor the event. As stated before, I have been trying hard to extricate the psyche behind this seemingly universal appeal. And Eureka! I found it! I found it! It was the ‘Messiah is coming’ syndrome. It is the reaction of a generation of distraught men and women who have lost faith in the men and women who have led them; led them to war, poverty, hunger, disparity, unprecedented greed and sectionalist violence. I am not saying that the plight of the current generation is entirely blamable on its leaders, for a leader is as good as his subjects, but I do feel that the current leaders have, in a way, failed to set a good example. In this scenario of fallible heroes emerged a man who was able to stand upright and above others and talk without indulging in petty politics focusing objectively on the task of leading a flailing nation to financial security and the world to a safer, saner place. His claims were high yet made with conviction and determination and his manner confident and reassuring. He did not indulge in platitudes, and offered practical solutions. He was a black in the land of the white yet did not fit the stereotype of an oppressed, under-educated and frustrated man. He emerged above stereotypes and circumstances and defied several boundaries to become the man that he is. The first Afro-American to become the editor of the Harvard Law Review, the third Afro-American to become a Senator and go on to get the ticket for Presidency of a major political party and then the 44th President of the United States of America can be the credentials only of a man of extraordinary character and fortitude. He became the beacon of hope of not just a country but of people across the world transcending barriers of nationality, race, language and religion. For probably these last few days he has been nothing less than the elusive Messiah. And if every spectacle of the last few days be blurred and every sound stripped down to its essence then what one may see is a dark Messiah clad in a chaste white robe of righteousness and people of all possible backgrounds chanting in all possible languages that the “The Messiah has come”.
History, unlike mythology, however, reveals a far grimmer reality and righteousness and truth do not always triumph in the end. Therefore, only time shall tell how this Messiah fares on the extraordinary expectations of billions.
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