From Ahimsa to Apathy in 58 Years

From Ahimsa to Apathy in 58 Years

One might say that the independence of India was a truly defining moment in the nation's history. One might say that it was a truly black day for the entire subcontinent, depending on the way one looks at it. For parties that subscribe to the first line of thought, the plethora of possibilities and the manifold broadening of horizons that occured for Indian citizens after independence has far outshadowed the problems, if any, that one might see in the day to day running of the country. The flip side of the line-of-thought-coin is that it's not the independence, per se, that was a disgrace, but the way in which it was achieved and the horrendous repercussions that were and still are felt.

Ahimsa, by definintion, is non-violence. However, it doesn't stop at that. Ahimsa means that a person voluntarily chooses not to commit violence despite that fact that they are fully capable of inflicting untold injury on someone. Now, this definition of Ahimsa changes the perspective with which we view the non-violence movement that purportedly brought India independence. According to Gandhi's ideology, if someone slaps you in the face, you should turn the other cheek. Thence, the perpetrator would feel ashamed at his own gaucheness and apologise to you. However, if you analyse this scenario carefully, you will see that you are being oppressed and are succumbing to the oppression. It is said that succumbing to oppression is also a crime. If you don't cry out against oppression, you are as much at fault as the oppressor. Therefore, Gandhi's ideology is a little flawed in accepting, nay, condoning the oppressor's deeds by turning the other cheek.

Still, I think that flawed though it was, enough cheeks turned that the British Raj had to take notice and leave the country, albeit not without partitioning it, but I digress. Everyone was happy that India had independence, that Ahimsa worked, that India was the only nation in the world that gained independence without war. Ahimsa was entrenched deeply into the minds of Indians, which is not an entirely bad thing. However, somewhere down the line, "turn the other cheek" metamorphosed into "turn the other way". A classic (if you can call it that) example is the rape of a mentally retarded young woman in a Mumbai Local train some years back. There were four other people (all men) in the train compartment who could have come to the poor girl's aid, but none had the courage to stand up to a petty goon. I am sure if all four of them had come together to fight that bastard, they could have overpowered him. The sheer lack of will and the moral turptitude exhibited in this heinous crime and the equally horrendous apathy shown by the men in the compartment is not only sad, but an incontrovertible sign that Ahimsa has turned into Apathy.