ISIS and lessons in multiculturalism

In a changing, maturing India, where stability and progress trump other considerations, zero tolerance for communal drum-beating is all the more important

rupali

Rupali Mehra | April 16, 2015


#isis   #islamic state   #syria   #islamic state killings   #islamic state hostages  

When the Bamian Buddhas came crashing down like an avalanche, the first person I called was my maternal grandfather. On deputation to the Kabul press in the 1960s, he was lucky to have seen the imposing sixth century monolithic statues that stood guard on the edge of the Bamian valley. He often told us gripping stories of his time in Afghanistan and through his eyes we saw a once flourishing civilisation.

In 2001 the Taliban ensured no one else could experience these treasures and bring them home to their grandchildren. There was no story left to tell.

Fourteen years later the ISIS has taken the cue. Armed with sledge hammers, drills, explosives and guns they have powdered to dust what a rich, ancient society had painstakingly built 3,000 years ago.

When the ISIS released a video showing extremists smashing the giant statues of the Assyrian deity Lamassu, drilling into the 13th century BC alabaster reliefs, reducing the ancient city of Nimrud to rubble, even the gods must have shed tears.

The UN has called the destruction a war crime. Indeed, it is nothing less. What the jihadists have done is an annihilation of a civilisation, a murder of humanity.

But such cultural terrorism is a lesson in disguise. It poses a serious question across countries and cultures. Can we give self-styled custodians of faith and culture a free hand till the effects of their chauvinism are beyond our control?

This week a regional party, the Shiv Sena, called for disenfranchising Muslims –incidentally, 14% of our nation's population. Their outlandish proposal was a kneejerk reaction to another venom-spewing regional player, the Owaisi brothers, who've dared the Sena chief to step into their supposed bastion Hyderabad. 

It’s clear both are desperately trying to cling onto the last straws of political relevance. But this is not a one-off case. In recent months there have been sporadic incidents of cultural, regional and religious bullying, signaling a worrying trend.

Thankfully, and rightly so, the courts have ordered a complaint against both parties for hurting religious sentiments. But citizens too must voice disapproval through voice and vote, instead of being swayed by the noise.

Whether cultural conservatives like it or not, the fact is multiculturalism is seeped in our tradition and modernity. Be it our movies, where a Khan plays a Shyam and an Amitabh plays an Anthony with equal ease. Or our heritage, where monuments like the Hawa Mahal of Jaipur and the Bara Imambara of Lucknow are a testimony to a fusion of Rajput and Mughal architecture. Or the fact that KJ Yesudas, a Christian, sings devotional songs of Saraswati at temples – multiculturalism is in our DNA.

In a changing, maturing India, where stability and progress trump other considerations, zero tolerance for communal drum-beating is all the more important.

While we condemn the cultural and religious intolerance in other countries, let’s not forget our own dark chapter in post-independence India – the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir issue. Two decades later, those scars remain and remind us that we cannot ever again allow vested interests to change the complexion of our multicultural democracy.

Otherwise, what happens when radicals gain ground and call the shots is being played out, just 2,000 miles away. Their people will soon have no heritage to speak of, no culture to carry forward, and no story to tell their future generations, except of death and destruction.
 

Comments

 

Other News

India’s forest cover increases by 5,516 sq km in four years

The Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest cover biennially since 1987 and the findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per the latest ISFR 2021, there is a

Steps taken to meet higher power demand of April-May

While the average growth of energy requirement in the country for 2023-24 viz-a-viz 2022-23 has been estimated as 4.9%, the months of April and May have been projected as high demand period. During the current year, the peak demand is expected to be around 229 GW during the summer period. The government ha

Millets to make comeback in army ration after half a century

As the UN has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the Indian Army has steered introduction of millets flour in the rations of soldiers. This landmark decision will ensure troops are supplied with native and traditional grains after over half a century, when these were discontinued in favour

Central Bank Digital Currency has game-changing potential

When discussing digital currency, you might think of one or two well-known varieties. There is the digital representation of currency that you access with mobile and online banking services. This currency is the liability of a commercial bank. There is also cryptocurrency, a digital medium of exchange issu

An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years: The Endgame

The Indian President: An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years By K.C. Singh HarperCollins, 312 pages, Rs.699  

‘My Father Was a Simple Man’: Remembering Gen. Rawat

Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform By Rachna Bisht Rawat Penguin, 207 pages, Rs 599 On the morning of 8 December 202

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook    Twitter    Google Plus    Linkedin    Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter