Patralekha Chatterjee | Look ahead, not at past: Anger, rage hurts India

Then there is the other India with its senseless assaults on those who are weaker, less powerful in the socio-economic food chain. This India triggers rage. How can one’s self-worth depend on persistently crushing and humiliating those who cannot fight back?

On December 20, a 17-year-old Dalit boy died by suicide in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district. His family alleges that he was invited to a birthday celebration and then subjected to a series of horrific acts of violence and humiliation. They allege that he was assaulted, stripped and urinated upon. A few days ago, the media reported another case, of a 50-year-old Dalit man who was tied to a tree and beaten to death on mere suspicion that he was trying to steal a bag of rice. This happened in Chhattisgarh’s Dumar Palli village. Three men have been arrested. These are not isolated instances of violence and systematic humiliation of Dalits.

In an article in July 2023, “Mooknayak”, an online news website focusing on social justice for Dalits and marginalised communities, flagged several instances, both reported and unreported, where so-called “lower castes” have been subjected to urine and human faeces, underscoring the urgent need to address and eradicate caste-based atrocities.

Systematic aggression against vulnerable groups — be it minorities or Dalits — as part of the ongoing culture wars in India sometimes has a bizarre twist, such as the rise of the Santa Claus police. Indore in Madhya Pradesh, lauded by urban planners and others for its commendable work on waste segregation, conversion, and disposal and for being India’s cleanest city for seven years in a row, is in the news. This time, it is not about urban innovations. On Christmas Day, Arjun, a Zomato food delivery man in Indore, who was dressed up as Santa Claus, was stopped by a group of people belonging to a Hindu nationalist organisation, and forced to take off his costume. His fears that his company ID will be blocked if he removed his costume and desperate pleas to be spared fell on deaf ears. The group coerced Arjun into removing his Santa jacket and trousers. “Why don’t you wear Lord Ram’s costume or saffron clothes while making the delivery during Hindu festivals,” the Zomato rider was reportedly asked. In Kerala, three men belonging to a Hindu nationalist group have been arrested for allegedly threatening teachers over Christmas celebrations at a school in Palakkad.

Why are some citizens of the world’s fifth largest economy quaking in fear of Santa Claus and Christmas celebrations? Why is it so integral to their self-esteem to intimidate hapless food delivery agents dressed as Santa or Christmas celebrations featuring Santa? Is this the way to Viksit Bharat?

I am currently in Bangkok, capital of dominantly Buddhist Thailand, an upper middle-income country. December 25 is not a national holiday here. It is a restricted holiday but Santa in a red jacket and trousers and cap is everywhere on the streets. Traffic volunteers are dressed as Santa. So are many in the hospitality/tourism industry. It is part of merrymaking which makes no one feel insecure. No one is protesting.

Can one look away from the brutalities and public humiliation of those least able to fight back just because one is not personally affected yet? Can one frame them as activities by “fringe” elements and shrug them off? In my view, the answer to both is a robust “no”.

Bullies who can force their will, intimidate, and humiliate others openly do not qualify as “fringe”. They are emblematic of a culture of impunity where such humiliation happens repeatedly because the perpetrators know they will not suffer in the long term. This demonstration of brute power and ghoulishness towards those perceived as “inferior” is part of signalling. It seeks to counter mobilisation and assertion among Dalit youth, minorities and those who refuse to cave in and buy into the idea of India as a homogenous entity where one dominant creed and culture thrive.

The targeting of Dalits, minorities and other vulnerable groups is also happening in the backdrop of incessant talk about who said what to whom decades ago, or what happened centuries ago. While the political discourse in the country is currently marked by an obsessive focus on historical debates and exchanges between key figures like Babasaheb Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru, far more pressing issues that Dalits continue to face get short shrift. There is a lack of urgency in addressing the horrors of the present. Annual data from India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows there has been a 50 per cent increase in murders of Dalits from 651 to 975 from 2012 to 2022, the latest year for which data is available.

Which brings me to the key issue. At a time when India is rapidly modernising and becoming more influential on the global stage, we cannot afford to mortgage our future to the narrative of the past. Questions of social justice, equality of all religions, ending caste-based discrimination, hunger, malnutrition, health, education, skills for the evolving world of work and economic well-being of all should be at the forefront of public discourse. We can't afford to lose focus.

In a country of over 1.4 billion, some will always do well. Some have always done well. What matters is not how the extraordinary fare but what happens to ordinary women, men, and children in India. Whether they merely survive, or they thrive.

The past is another country. We must be aware of it, but we must not be hostage to it. Events of the past have already occurred. Stoking polarisation by digging up the past -- as some are literally doing and threatening to do -- is not going to get the country anywhere but an abyss. As I sign off for the year, here is hoping that a young nation like ours looks ahead and does not get bogged down on acrimonies of the past.

Polarisation, perennial stoking of prejudices and “othering” of entire communities is part of the road to nowhere.