By Sana Khan for TwoCircles.net,
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un – From Allah we came, and to Allah we shall return.
The Muslims recite this Ayah at the time of someone’s death. I recite this not because Akhlaq is dead but because humanity is dead. Fifty year old Akhlaq was beaten to death and his twenty two year old son severely injured by the residents of the Bisahra Village, after a rumour was spread that their family was consuming beef. The rumour began after an announcement was made at a temple in the village. How else do we make sense of this besides calling it communal intolerance and hatred?
During the life of an individual, a group or community, certain events occur that mark turning points in its life course. Such events (huge mob killing Akhlaq) structure the flow of time in a way that it divides time into – what was before and what came after. These kinds of events make a part of our identity. Since ‘what came after’ differs from ‘what was before’, it means that we have undergone some sort of change, that these events have changed our lives and therefore jeopardized our own identity. After a catastrophic event one does not remain the same as before.
Photo Courtesy: India Today
The newspapers have been reporting what Akhlaq’s family is going through after this attack and what their life was before this. It seems until the night of the attack, neighbours were on good terms with the family. Often for some work related problems or otherwise to greet on festivals, people would visit their home and be good neighbours as is in most neighbourhoods. But something had changed, it lead to this brutal attack and now the situation is that Akhlaq’s family is considering leaving the area and finding a new house. Did this happen because Akhlaq was now a Muslim in Modi’s India?
Now that it has been proven that the meat was not of cow but was mutton, how will the justice be done? (Even if it was beef, such killing is not justified). Will the people involved be jailed? Or hanged? Will it be blood for blood? How are we supposed to move ahead from here? There is bitterness, there are tears, communal sentiments are high, there seems no hope and one feels utterly helpless. In the name of religion or honouring religious sentiments, how many more innocent lives would be claimed? A human being’s quest for meaning in life, to discover beauty of life is constantly challenged when one sees this kind of brutal violence thriving on distrust and hatred. The dark side of humanity reveals itself in such gruesome manner.
With this incident we have reached another level of human degradation. The real danger lies not in the strength of the bad/evil, but in the weakness of good. Writing these words I have come to realise that darker times lay ahead. I can’t express the pain, agony, fear or hope of all the people who have been affected by such incidents. I ask myself, I am having dinner with my family, and suddenly fifty or hundred people enter my house, and start beating us, what would I do? How would I respond? Death would seem to come closer. Reflecting over this attack one can only say that we live in a society which has become extremely intolerant; has lost all moral senses, of life, of home, of tradition, of integrated communities – and we are placed in the midst of a depraved, absurd universe.
Our society is plunged into sectarian and communal killings, and it is time we did something about it. Whether we write another narrative of blood and tears or we raise our hands in hope and pray for strength to cope up with such incidents and have the courage to accept the wrong that has been done; it is up to us. One thing needs to be understood, the tyranny of majority will not be endured, Modi must take time out and take the blame (for it is his kind of nationalism that has intensified communal sentiments) and that revenge is no solution. Then how are we to get rid of hatred for the other community? The cycle of violence and strange savagery needs to stop.
The present communal strife and conflict is sustained by politically motivating people by emphasizing on their religious identities. There is a major threat that India faces and it is from the current fascist government, let India not become Nazi Germany. The only way ahead seems that of forgiveness. There is no future without it. In this case the very humanity has been assaulted and violated. The family’s trauma goes beyond physical pain and loss of life but remains scarred both in mind and soul. The painful, disoriented and troubled time they are having, nothing can console them. And forgiveness is not going to come easily . . . the perpetrators of violence must admit their fault, feel the guilt and should ask for forgiveness. They should be confronted with the ugly crime they have committed and then can one think of forgiveness. That is the path towards healing battered minds and souls.
We should keep in mind that forgiving is not forgetting. We should realise as Desmond Tutu says that “Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.” It is time we write new narratives. . .