Something quite extraordinary has happened in our country this week.
Silence.
Not the peaceful silence of meditation. Not the calm silence of a choir rehearsal. Not even the slightly suspicious silence of a child who has stopped making noise and is probably drawing on the wall with a permanent marker.
No. This is a national silence.
Our great leaders, who normally have opinions about everything from the weather in Washington to the moral habits of neighbouring countries, have suddenly developed a remarkable condition known as diplomatic muteness.
War is happening. People are dying. Ships are being sunk. Missiles are flying across the sky like badly aimed Diwali rockets.
And our leaders have said absolutely nothing.
Now supporters of the present dispensation have come up with a magnificent explanation. They say this is not just silence. This is prudent silence.
Prudent.
Such a beautiful word. It sounds intelligent, thoughtful and statesmanlike. Like a wise grandfather sitting on a veranda, stroking his white beard and thinking about world affairs.
But I suspect the silence may have a slightly different origin.
You see, when you are sitting in a small neighbourhood tea stall and loudly criticising everyone around you, you feel very powerful.
You shout about discipline. You lecture others about morality. You warn people how they should behave.
But then a large gentleman enters the tea stall. A gentleman whose arms resemble railway bridges and whose voice sounds like a foghorn.
Suddenly the loud critic becomes very quiet. This, my friends, is also called prudent silence.
Our leaders are extremely brave when bullying minorities within our borders. They roar like lions. Laws appear. Speeches thunder. Television debates explode with patriotic enthusiasm.
But when the conversation moves to the global stage, something interesting happens.
The lion quietly transforms into a thoughtful squirrel.
Supporters quickly say this shows maturity. Wisdom. Strategic thinking.
And perhaps it does.
Because deep down there is a truth sitting quietly in the corner of the room.
For years we have been told that we are a mighty global power. The fourth largest economy. A roaring tiger. A nation that the world trembles before.
But occasionally reality clears its throat. And in that moment our leaders suddenly remember something important. That we are still a poor nation.
That powerful countries can flatten economies the way bored schoolboys flatten ants.
That shouting inside the house is easy, but shouting in the international neighbourhood can attract very unpleasant attention.
So we have silence. A deep, thoughtful, philosophical silence.
And in that silence my dear readers see yourselves as bullies, who when powerless on the international stage, turn your attention to the powerless on the domestic stage…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
The 5th largest economy. 300b short as per the economist today! So less to shout about!!
Bullies are often like that. I remember the old old hindi movies, the ones predating Amitabh, where you had the munimji played by Jeevan. He always was subservient to the zamindar and oppressive to the poor villagers. Our current lot of ministers are like that. When a strong man questions them they will away but wait for an opportunity to strike. Well put!
Interesting that you bring up this visual reference.
But it might be worth asking why in 70 years, in not a SINGLE Hindi film , was the Villan from a minority community? Did this have something to do with the fact that almost 90% of the script/dialog writers were from a certain minority community? Could this be mire ifcan agenda in action than mere coincidence?
Also did anyone notice that after the murder of Gulshan Kumar, the founder of T – Series music cassettes, Hindu Bhajans, almost a staple of every film, simply vanished from the scene? Was this murder ALSO part of the same agenda?
Worth thinking about?
There are an overwhelming number of incidents of violence and intimidation against Hidus by gangs of a certain “peaceful” community, but they will continue to play the victim card, and the majority community will continue to be maligned and reviled through stereotype narratives.
Just saying it as I see and feel it. No offense meant against anyone.
You have talked about our leaders “bullying minorities”. It is so easy to fling vague accusations. It needs guts to be specific.
I invite/challenge you to name names and present credible evidence of this bullying.
Otherwise you disqualify your self from the roster of fair and unbiased journalists – which in any case is a very short list indeed.
Interesting that you bring up this visual reference.
But it might be worth asking why in 70 years, in not a SINGLE Hindi film , was the Villan from a minority community? Did this have something to do with the fact that almost 90% of the script/dialog writers were from a certain minority community? Could this be mire ifcan agenda in action than mere coincidence?
Also did anyone notice that after the murder of Gulshan Kumar, the founder of T – Series music cassettes, Hindu Bhajans, almost a staple of every film, simply vanished from the scene? Was this murder ALSO part of the same agenda?
Worth thinking about?
There are an overwhelming number of incidents of violence and intimidation against Hidus by gangs of a certain “peaceful” community, but they will continue to play the victim card, and the majority community will continue to be maligned and reviled through stereotype narratives.
Just saying it as I see and feel it. No offense meant against anyone.
Silence is a protection from powerful enemies.
True but sometimes, silence temporarily can be used as a powerful tool to “wait and watch” and then form winning strategies to quieten the growls and roars of a demonic predator which threatens to set the entire forest on fire!
Agreed. And I have not argued with that. But here it reveals something else, the imaginery power we think or broadcasted we were.