Unseen Ripples
I was going through the written complaint. It was for page long. It was demanding to take action against a popular columnist and editor of a newspaper under the sections 153, 153 A, 153 B and 295 A r/w 34.
The inspector sitting in front of me said “The complaint comes three months late” and laughs. My eyes go on the last paragraph of the complaint explaining the reason behind the dealy. Ill-health, the complainant says. I turn the last page and i see a photocopy of the article which was published three months ago. I rememberd reading it then and telling my friends “read it and learn how not to write.”
The complainant says the article intends to instigate one community against another. Which is evident in the article. I ask the inspector what is their action. The inspector says “First to investigate the reason behind the dealy of complaining” i show him the last para of the complaint and he tells me “that is nonsense. he has visited the police station thrice in the past three months for various reasons.” Possible, i tell myself and ask the inspector what is their action against the columnist and the editor. “We will investigate if the article has triggered any mishaps from its day of publication to the day of the comlaint being filed.”
***
P. Sainath was in Udupi for a seminar. He was speaking of his experience and as he spoke he quoted an example from his experience saying how the people of the lower caste in some rural parts of India stood bowing to him, ten years ago, not just out of respect but also because of lack of self-respect. Ten years later, Sainath said, when he visited the same place again, the same people stood straight. Quoting this example Sainath questioned “How can anyone show this change in the attitude through statistics and graphs?”
***
Changes are not visible always. The change in the attitude will be visible only after a long time. The visible is the last wave that touches the coast and the stone that crated the ripple is invisible.
The article has brought about a change in the attitude of the people towards a minority community among the people of themajority community. The inspector’s investigation will never be able to see it for it is invisible. The impact of this change will become visible only after several years, like it did in Gujrat in 2002. (Teesta Setalwad has studied how the massacre of 2002 has its roots in its past throug constant injecting of negative feelings against for the minorities.)
By the time the impact of the article will become visible the inspector would have given a clean chit to the columnist and the eitor.
Why cant our police system see the invisible?
***
“kinare door hote hote bahut door ho gaye…paani ke chapakhon ki awaaz bhi doob gayi…dil mein aise sambhalte hain gham jaise zewar sambhalta hai koi…rooth gaye, naraaz ho gaye…hath se angoothi utari, wapas kar di…bahon ke kangan utare aur saath pheron samet lauta diye…lekin woh…woh baaki zewar jo dil mein rakh liye…unka kya hoga….”
–Gulzar
***
Power should be tought literature, for it enables them to see the waorld in a better way, it appears to me.
06 Januray 2009
Crazy Mind's Eye 
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