रविवार, 1 मार्च 2009
सामाजिक हिंसा का क्या हो निदान ?
साठ साल पहले जिस देश की जनता ने सत्य और अहिंसा के बल पर आज़ादी हासिल की थी। उसी देश की जनता में हिंसा की प्रवृति दिनोंदिन बढ़ती जा रही है। भले ही वो हिंसा वैध समस्याओं के निदान हेतु ही क्यों न हो। अहिंसात्मक आंदोलन का जो मंत्र राष्ट्रपिता महात्मा गांधी ने दिया था, ऐसा लगता है कि लोगों ने उसे पूरी तरह से भुला दिया है। लोकतांत्रिक मान्यताओं के मुताबिक शांतिपूर्ण और वैधानिक उपायों के ज़रिए किसी भी समस्या का अहिंसक तरीके से सर्वमान्य हल निकाला जा सकता है। लेकिन इसके ठीक विपरीत लोकतांत्रिक देशों में हिंसक संघर्ष तेजी से बढ़ रहे हैं। पाकिस्तान और म्यांमार में हिंसा की कई और वजहें भी है। मसलन धार्मिक कट्टरता, आतंकवाद और तानाशाही व्यवस्था। लेकिन भारत और श्रीलंका में बढ़ती हिंसक घटनाओं ने लोकतंत्र के साथ साथ बदलते सामाजिक सरोकार एवं लोगों की बदलती मानसिकता की एक नई तस्वीर ज़माने के सामने पेश की है। यह एक ऐसी तस्वीर है जिसे देखकर सीधे-सीधे किसी नतीजे पर नहीं पहुंचा जा सकता है। आतंकवादी हिंसा और आपराधिक हिंसा पर तो पूरी दुनिया में चिंता जताई जाती है। लेकिन समाज के अंदर पिछले कुछ वर्षों में हिंसक गतिविधियों में लगातार बढ़ोत्तरी हो रही है। लेकिन इस सामाजिक हिंसा पर कोई भी गंभीरतापूर्वक ध्यान नहीं देता है। छोटी-छोटी बातों पर लोगों की जान ले ली जाती है। ऐसी घटनाएं वाकई में चौकाने वाली है। आखिर समाज का ये कौन सा रूप है जो एकाएक जमाने के सामने हिंसक रुप लेकर खड़ा हो गया है। हाल की घटनाएं इस बात की गवाह है कि हिंसक घटनाओं में सिर्फ वयस्क ही शामिल नहीं होते है बल्कि अब छोटे छोटे बच्चे भी हिंसक गतिविधियों में शामिल हो गए है। दिल्ली में एक छह साल के लड़के ने चार साल के लड़के की जान ले ली। गुंड़गांव में एक नामी स्कूल के छात्र ने अपने साथी की स्कूल परिसर में ही गोली मारकर हत्या कर दी। यानि अब समाज में हिंसा इस हद तक फैल चुकी है कि इसका बुरा असर बच्चों पर भी दिखाई देने लगा है। यहीं वजह है कि अब बच्चे भी हिंसक होते जा रहे हैं। कहा जाता है कि मारपीट और किसी की हत्या कर देना, इस काम को अशिक्षित और मानसिक रूप से बीमार लोग अंजाम देते हैं। लेकिन भारत का पढ़ा लिखा तबका या आधुनिक समाज इतना क्रूर क्यों होता जा रहा है। वैसे हिंसक गतिविधियों के मामलों में भारतीय समाज का अतीत ठीक नहीं रहा है। भारतीय समाज में बुद्ध, महावीर और गांधी जैसे लोगों का होना ही यह साबित करता है कि यहां हिंसा का बोलबाला रहा है। भारतीय समाज ने हजारों वर्ष पुरानी सभ्यता में संघर्ष के साथ साथ सह अस्तित्व को भी विकसित किया है और इसे भी एक जीवन मूल्य के रूप में स्थापित किया है। लेकिन आज़ादी के बाद के वर्षों में सहअस्तित्व की भावना धीरे धीरे हमारे समाज से खत्म होती जा रही है। आंतरिक हिंसा में बढ़ोत्तरी का यह एक मुख्य कारण है। इस सबके अलावा बाज़ार का उन्मादक होते जाना और उपभोक्तावाद का सांस्कृतिक स्तर पर आक्रामक होना भी इस बढ़ती हुई हिंसा की एक प्रमुख वजह है। आज़ादी के बाद हमने कोई नए मूल्य तो अर्जित नहीं किए, बल्कि जो मूल्य विकसित हो रहे थे उन्हें भी हमने खो दिया है। अब लोगों के पास कोई मूल्य नहीं होता है, बस एक लक्ष्य होता है और उसे पाने के लिए कोई कुछ भी करने को तैयार रहता है। इस कुछ भी में हिंसा भी शामिल है। भारत में लोकतंत्र की जड़ें इतनी मजबूत होने के बावजूद अगर हिंसक आंदोलन इतनी तेजी से फैल रहे हैं, तो हिंसा के इस नए ट्रेंड की गहराई से जांच पड़ताल होनी चाहिए। वैसे तो आधुनिक समाज में बढ़ती हुई हिंसा के लिए किसी एक वजह को जिम्मेदार नहीं माना जा सकता है।
सदस्यता लें
टिप्पणियाँ भेजें (Atom)
International Conference on Communication Trends and Practices in Digital Era (COMTREP-2022)
Moderated technical session during the international conference COMTREP-2022 along with Prof. Vijayalaxmi madam and Prof. Sanjay Mohan Joh...
India a nation without an Identity heading for self Destruction
जवाब देंहटाएंIndia is losing once more by focusing on Israel-US engineered external threats rather than its internal failures. India is in the top ten nations with the widest socio-economic gap. It is an economically, socially and politically failed state for majority of its 1.2 billion citizens; who can not solve its socio-economic, religious and political problems including its Land dispute with Pakistan since 1948 over Kashmir.
Indian citizens rich and poor are sick of its Political Leaders; they consider them morally, ethically, financially and legally corrupt as well as uncaring for the less fortunate. 800 million poor are living in dire poverty that also includes world’s largest army of 85 million child labor. Indian Leadership political, business and religious rather than being ashamed of this are proud to have 800 million Indians living under extreme poverty and inhuman conditions. India’s elite world famous Billionaires are living side by side with almost a billion poor and treat them as sub humans who are burden for the country.
Such failures have gone largely unaddressed for past 6 decades and still are not being addressed with honesty by any of the Indian leader. This is sending India to a tipping point that will prove more dangerous to its very existence as one nation than any threat from Pakistan trained terrorist fighting an unholy war in the name of religion.
The word “tolerance” has been invented by those who do not give equal respect to other religions. If they are really serious in communal harmony they must respect; not tolerate other religions. They must respect the beliefs and way of worship of others rather than tolerating it or making fun of it. Then Democracy means an independent judiciary with common civil, criminal & personal laws for every citizen and a culture that values expression as well as equal respect for all religions. In America , Europe and Canada Democracy also means that citizenship and nationality are one and the same. But that’s not the case in India . People are first Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Christian etc. then they are Jat, Ahir, Brahmin, Vashya, Kayasth, Kshatriya, Bhapey, Ramgariye, Shia, Suni, Wahabi, Catholic, Protestant etc. and then they are Gujarati, Bihari, Punjabi, Maratha, Bengali, Rajasthani etc None of them ever feel or say they are Indian first.
Indian Democracy is fractured multi religious and multi regional democracy. There was a time to be part of the collective elite in the Federal government and its enterprise of license Raj to promote incompetent enterprises; a citizen must be part of Hindu clan. Although all other religious minorities as per the constitution are supposedly equal citizens. A distorted solution called “Reservations” based on Caste, Religion and Region in the name of equality was adopted and is still being practiced knowingly that it has produced more rift among communities rather than bringing closer to each other. This is a major factor that supports the notion that there is no such thing as Indian Nation.
This reservation system was adopted by Brahmins/Upper caste from the majority Hindu community ruling India at that time to create vote banks among lower caste/Dalit Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and other minorities. This Leadership also gave special status to some regions and personal laws for Muslims when like America ; religion is not defined in Indian constitution. In other words India is not a Muslim nation at the same time it is not a Hindu nation also. India may be a Hindu nation because of Hindu majority but at the same time it is a Muslim nation, a Sikh nation, a Buddhist nation, a Christian nation, a Jain nation and a nation of non believers also.
India lacks an identity that supersedes caste, ethnicity, religion and region, which can unify all its citizens as equal members of a shared Nation with a shared destiny reached through common goals. The multi-fractured nature of Indian society goes beyond the healthy human disagreement and debate inherent to a healthy democracy, instead prompting the question whether India’s 1.2 billion citizens; Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Christian further sub-divided into more factions are actually want to be “Indians’.
For India to be a successful democracy it must address its internal instabilities to avoid disintegration of North, South, East and West to pre British era rule of small providences ruled by feudal lords. Big decisions are pending for decades demanding national consensus that will affect the future composition of India , internal peace and security from hostile neighbors namely China and Pakistan . In question are not only the relationship between Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist and Christians but also between religious and seculars and between Maratha and Biharis, North Indians and South Indians, Gujarati Hindus and the rest of the Hindus.
India can learn from the American experience a nation of mixtures of races, religions and country of origin, skin-colors and non believers. It is an open and diverse society all of the members are equal with the right to identify themselves with America ’s “Founding Fathers and Freedom Fight Hero’s”. An African-American Barack Obama son of a Kenyan Muslim immigrant and native white American mother; can speak with pride of George Washington the father of the nation and Hero of the American Revolution war of independence against the British Rulers. Obama a Democrat also has the right to speak with pride about Republican Abraham Lincoln who enacted the Emancipation of Declaration ending slavery which later paved the way for equal rights for blacks in America . The people of America elected Obama as its first African-American President by ignoring the race factor. This is the definition of a democratic nation, multi-cultural and multi-racial; a person joins it by acquiring citizenship by birth or by naturalization and from that moment on is the heir to all its cultural and social history.
For India to be at peace with its neighbors namely Pakistan , it must first be at peace with itself. It is a hefty and long delayed process but there are few objectives Indian leaders across the board from every religion, caste, region and every citizen must join together to work towards in building an Indian identity.
1. There should be one Education system for all. Today multiple splintered groups of citizens attend multiple kinds of schools that deliver different kinds of curriculum and religious message including hate for other religions. The majority well to do Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christians, Jain etc enroll in private schools, similar to any other western country. Religious among them as well as not so well to do study in semi-publicly funded religious schools run by Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christian Charities to propagate their religion is better than other religions. Muslims and Christians are using them to encourage conversions and Sikhs are using them to spread hatred against Hindus as well to rewrite history that Sikhism is not connected to Hinduism in any manner. Largely underserved poor from all ethnic and religious back ground attend state/municipal schools famous for no teachers, no buildings and run down buildings with hardly any facilities.
How does Children from a society especially like India with multi religious, multi region and multi groups with in one religion can forge an identity who grow up with different understanding of their country? How do citizens learn to live together and respect each other when they are raised in a hate filled segregated environment promoting one religion to be superior over others, one class from the same religion is superior to other classes of the same religion and one region of India is superior than the other?
2. Civil Service must be made compulsory for all citizens disregarding their social, political, religious and financial status for a minimum of 2 years during the age of 18 to 24. Serving one’s own community in India through civil service or military service with emphasis on service and self sacrifice will make sense. The minorities across the board whether Dalit Hindus, Muslims, Christians would have a better opportunity when demanding equality and respect.
3. A confusing constitution with special rights and privileges to one religion and few regions is most glaring deficiency of Indian democracy. India must ratify a constitution that enshrines equal rights and protection for all citizens; recognize all indigenous minority are separate religion from majority Hindu religion but still preserve the Hindu character of the country in the same way as America is quote, unquote a Christian nation but the Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist, Jain, Jews and other minorities has no trouble living there. A constitution is the ultimate symbol of national unity: One Country One Law; one document from which all citizens will be judged equally, fairly and respectfully.
4. India must abolish its caste, religion and region based Reservation policies in education and government jobs. This policy has failed to serve its purpose. Those who need help are not getting it at all. All financial help should be purely based on economic status of the family for basic necessities of life and education purposes only up to under graduate level. When it comes to professional/degree colleges and government jobs; Merit must prevail. Once they make it through merit the financial assistance can kick in again for those who need it and can not afford to pay.
5. To tackle the rising population, which is responsible for poverty to major extent. India must adopt 1 Child per Family for a minimum of 30 years. All Indians; Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhist and those who do not believe in any religion must understand you can not grow land and natural resources. India with over 1.2 billion people is already overpopulated. This big population is putting constraints on natural resources which are already very limited. The adoption of 1 Child per Family is only possible when every body start thinking they are Indian first before they are any thing else.
Lack of Indian identity is tearing the country apart, why no Indian leader has seriously gone down the path of installing an Indian identity among its citizens? Attacking external religious extremism has always been preferable to Indian politicians rather than confronting its own home grown religious fanatics and failures to provide for its citizens.
Indian political, religious and business leaders must pay attention to the vast majority of Indians whose voice they are ignoring. They are the sane and rational India with their hopes for better future, looking for progress, prosperity along with peace and harmony among all citizens. In the coming Parliamentary Elections their voice will barely be heard because all the Indian Politicians are promoting their early 19th century policies based on caste, religion and backwardness not nationalism the Indian identity. A new twist to make things worse is Israeli influence among the majority Hindu community in main political Parties Congress and BJP as well Israeli’s new ally Samajwadi Party of Industrialist Anil Ambani. These policies will ultimately break India into pieces like Russia . If Indians are really serious in saving their country they must look beyond Congress, BJP and communal parties like Muslim League, VHP, Shiv Sena etc.
Dave Makkar
USA
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973 760 6006 C