Pic Source: Merinews.com |
I did not know
much about the happenings in FTII. I wasn’t actually interested in it but today
after a conversation on the topic, I Googled everything about it and it feels
like Why?! Just Why?.
But that’s not all
about it. It’s not just a mere clash of policies or ideologies. This 70 day protest,
which began with the wrongful appointment of Mr. Gajendra Chauhan as FTII
President, hints at something far more repugnant and repressive to come.
As I see it, this
is a failure of the non-violent methods of protests propounded by the father of
our nation and this might just be the beginning for the end of days for
non-violence. The basic idea of non-violence, as everybody knows according to
the definitions is to ‘affect the opponents’ heart’ and making a desirable
change without opting for arms. But that’s just the superficial part of it. In
reality, it was the popularity of a protest that led to its victory. No
peaceful protest could’ve been successful without effective use of media to pressurise
those in power.
In any case, to feel the building pressure, a person must have some sense of moral or ethical consciousness,
But today, in case of our right wing organisations, whose stake in Governmental
decisions is substantial, you cannot expect any such thing as ethical consciousness.
Moreover, these people have mastered the art of manipulating media. In short,
the two basic things required for a successful non-violent protest is already
in their favour.
For example, in
the FTII issue, why would they let the protests continue without any kind of
reaction unless they want the TRPs to go down on the topic and let media and
people forget about it. If not anything else, the success of the Modi
Government is that they are almost in complete control of media in the country
which was not the case with UPA. In fact, UPA’s downfall started from the
extensive media campaign of Anna Hazare.
Information
Technology, with the abundance of information, has made the importance of any
news slight and restricted to a very short timeframe. If any action, at all,
has to be taken, its relevance too is constricted to that timeframe. So, not
giving attention to an even and letting it pass is the best way to counter any
non-violence protest. And this is precisely what is happening in FTII. This is
not going to be the first time that such a protest would get ignored and let
banished into oblivion.
I couldn’t help
but think – what other options do we have other than nonviolence? Though I hope
that we won’t have to choose those options, I believe we will one day be forced
to. Obviously it would lead to further turmoil and so on and on. The only doubt
I have is what Orwell once put into words –
‘Is it possible that human beings can continue with
this lunacy very much longer? You know the answer, of course.’
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