Des mere.. des mere...

A man rising in the world is not concerned with history; he is too busy making it. But a citizen with a fixed place in the community wants to acquire a glorious past just as he acquires antique furniture. By that past he is reassured of his present importance; in it he finds strength to face the dangers that lie in front of him.

Malcolm Cowley

History, I have always believed, is being made a rebuke these days. This has seemed more true in the case of my country than any other as I see it. I do not know if my vision is flawed, but I see what I see! The reason I say this is that each time a calamity strikes our nation in the form of terrorist attacks, there is a huge hue and cry, the world over condemning the attacks, and invariably references are made to the long history we have had of peace and understanding! The nation that preached universal brotherhood to the world, is now being made target of by anti-social elements! We call upon the memories of the great leaders who taught us virtues, values of peace and harmony, and through that we strive to find solace from the wounds inflicted on us, seemingly oblivious to the underlying causes, or consciously choosing to ignore it.

The bombing of the crowded trains in Bombay is such a cowardly act by the militants, that it even fails to elicit words of rebuke! Hundreds of common men are victimized for the sheer power play of the people in authoritative positions. Much like the mute spectator in R K Laxman's sketches, the common man continues to live his daily life, licking his wounds and healing himself. While the resilience of the Mumbaites is absolutely commendable.. nay laudable with supreme honors, the hackneyed measures adopted by the government is as always pedestrian.

When diseased, as important it is to find the cause of the disease and remedy, it is also equally important to understand the circumstances, the surroundings and the environment that led to the breeding of such pathologic germs! Is it human nature? Ofcourse it is. We are all militants in our own small ways! Every common man is involved in a power struggle in his own domain. What we are observing in my nation is the manifestation of the same on a large scale, because the perpetrators of it are capable of greater impact due to their authoritative powers.

Instead of calling upon our history and lamenting the deterioration of value system, and indulging in self-pity over the victimization, it is time we bear the gauntlet and "go to the mattresses". But who do we wage the war against? It is always a nice place to start from our own home. If we are attacked by the diseases, it is because we have given these disease causing agents and environment to breed within us. The first measure should be to hunt them down and eliminate them from the surrounding. It is a cleaning that is long due, the only question being, who will bell the cat?

These are the moments, when I feel the act of staying safely in a foreign nation, and analysing the situations in my motherland to be one of helpless complacency. I wish I could come back soon. It is frustrating to be caught in the obligations and commitments of one's duties towards one's family, one's culture and one's nation. What gets precedence is a matter of individual choice. As for me, I can only wish that the history that we so much gloat about would choose to repeat itself, rebringing the long lost peace, and harmony into the streets of the nation.