Ranjona Banerji | Kolkata, Haryana cooking; but hate is not the answer

There is a certain smugness in us Indians in the way we present ourselves as a culture that prides itself on the concept of “non-violence”, ahimsa. A beacon of peace that sets us apart from other people. For some, this is how we won our independence from British colonial rule. We can be proud, smug and self-righteous about this, depending on what we hope to achieve. For example, some of us can become apoplectic when it comes to preventing violence against cows. To protect this idea, we condone any amount of violence against any potential threat to our cattle. There is non-violence and then there is non-violence.

It depends on where you are at that moment.

From my point of view, it is now all about violence. More and more, incessantly.

Is it because next to Smug stands his twin brother, Shame? Shame that we are not violent. Shame that we have not conquered the world violently as some other great cultures have done. Shame that history will judge us harshly when it comes to the stakes of conquest. And for which we must make amends. Keep ahimsa for the cows. And let go of himsa for the rest.

The Kolkata case that has angered all Indians and really excited the BJP? If the rumours are true, then the doctor was brutally raped and murdered to silence her and send a message to others who might want to scream about the dark activities of the hospital. The response to the crime has been as brutal as what was done to her: killing them, hanging them from trees. A silent protest where women wanted to ‘reclaim the night’ turned into violence and vandalism.

Since August 9, when the young doctor was murdered, the news has been filled with stomach-churning stories of violence and sexual brutality. Against women of all ages. And against Muslims. The Muslims were violently attacked because of unfounded suspicions of violence against cows. The women were attacked as messages of social domination. Violence as a threat that without compliance there would be more violence. The imperative for nonviolence against cows is so strong that a young Hindu boy was murdered on suspicion of being a Muslim.

The reaction to this death was also mixed. How could the “non-violence for cows” brigade kill a Hindu, who by definition is also non-violent towards cows? As if being violent towards Muslims – and often also towards Dalits – is somehow more understandable. After all, Muslims and Dalits deal with cows and may not be as ahimsa as caste Hindus. But a Brahmin boy?

It was the boy’s parents who upset the balance of violence: why is it okay to kill Muslims, the grieving mother wondered.

Is the current wave of violence just election-related? The BJP wants to rule Bengal at all costs. It has tried and failed many times before. But this time, the usually shrewd and streetwise Mamata Banerjee blinked. Bengal has never really belonged to the ‘ahimsa’ camp. Violence is an integral part of Bengali politics. All the bhadraloks may curl their lips at street vulgarity in their civilized sanctuaries, but they too prefer the ideology of Netaji Subhas Bose to the non-violent political genius of Mahatma Gandhi.

Hot-headed mobs are the norm. Don’t let the soft beauty of Ranbindrasangeet fool you. The BJP is trying to bring out Bengal, bomb-throwing, nihilistic Bengal. Even if they don’t understand the intellectual thought processes that underlie this. The Left does. Mamata Banerjee does. But if the street fights are winning, why don’t they throw more stones and cause more damage?

As for violence against Muslims and women in North India, well, that is expected of them in the popular discourse. We know that ahimsa groups have been given a free hand. That the police stand back and do not interfere with vigilantes, thugs, hooligans and the like as long as they are part of the ruling power. We know that there are elections in several states where an outright victory for the BJP is likely. Why not a new series of attacks to keep the population under control and in constant fear? After all, it has been over a year since Manipur descended into anarchy, with bloodthirsty and rapacious attacks and no attempt has been made to mediate peace by those in power.

What a one-sided, simplistic and alarmist theory, you might say to yourself. Are we any better than that? This is where you can turn to song or theatre or cinema or even books, for all I know, all from the higher reaches of the human imagination. Or you can retreat into sentimental sentimentality to reduce the noise of shouting and unpleasant ideas. While doing so, do not forget to ignore the pleas of women in various film industries against sexual exploitation and molestation. Just as the BJP government at the Centre ignored the pleas of women wrestlers. Crimes against women matter only when they are heinous and disgusting and deadly and politically useful.

Or you might consider that while violence is a given in our society, it is mostly limited and sporadic. This decades-long onslaught of mass insanity and terrorizing of minorities, lower castes, and women has only gotten worse over the years. Perhaps there are other factors at play, beyond political cynicism.

Perhaps 10 years of massive misrule, of gross incompetence, of desperation to stay alive and find work have started to play their part. Social frustration and discontent. Crumbling infrastructure, crumbling lives lead to broken sections of society and law and order in jeopardy.

Do not dream of revolutions as solutions. Remember these immortal words: “But if you want money for people with a mind that hates, then I can only say, brother, that you must wait.”

Maybe we just need to do better and give in to hate less? Stop being complacent and drop the shame? I wish I knew the answers. But I know, like the song, what’s wrong and what’s not right.

That’s The Beatles, by the way. In 1968. From the mouths of babes…