SELECTIVE CONSCIENCE OF INDIA For the last few weeks, I had been increasingly exposed to some disturbing violent videos (in whatsap) & images from Syria. We’ve been flooded with images of young girls (barely in their teens) in combat gear, clutching on to outdated artillery. Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons are battling it out against the ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) in Kobane, a predominantly Kurdish city along the Syria and Turkey border. But what is more disturbing is the selective conscience of India. While I do condemn Israel for their oppression on Palestinians, there is very little justification for the lack of concern expressed at this growing threat to peace across the world by Indians. Mass genocide and a promise of more to come does not seem to have touched the sensitive bones of any political party in India. This is in stark contrast to the massive outrage by the Congress, even stalling parliamentary proceedings in July, demanding that India condemns the attack on Gaza, questioning if our foreign policy had changed with the new government. The CPI (Communist Party of India) held rallies in several parts of India, condemning Israel and burning effigies. The AAP in its inimitable style had held a candlelight vigil at Jantar Mantar in support of Palestinians, joined gleefully by self-proclaimed secularists and intellectuals. But of course, the Kurds and Yezidis are hardly a vote bank, are they? But, what is truly distressing is a lack of empathy by civil societies – educated Muslims who had flooded our social media timelines with images of Gaza, philanthropists who took to the streets wielding banners with solidarity messages – all have maintained stoic silence, while ISIS carries out systematic ethnic cleansing and murder of innocents. While tears were shed copiously for Gaza, there are none for the brave children and women defending their homelands in Syria. The loud and emotional discussions carried out for the cause of Palestinians have fallen silent for the hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Our collective hypocrisy as a society is alarming, and should be a cause for deep shame.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 06:20:54 +0000
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