We live in an age of disagreements and discontent. It is easy to disagree these days. In a way, that should have been an indication of maturity and independence. But then, the manner and motive of disagreement and even the consequences of disagreement leading to discord and hostility speak little of the disagreement we otherwise approve as 'autonomy of thought'.
Lest we think this is only about contemporary conditions in India, we just have to look at other democracies in the world and indeed the state of international relations. Consensus-building is the ultimate accomplishment of a successful leader. But tragically, some have become immensely successful only by, perhaps especially by, averting consensus and feasting off people’s latent fears, avarice, jealousy, egos, and the instinct to push ‘othering’. “Hate begets more hate and only love conquers all”, we are constantly told since Mahatma Gandhi validated the proposition through his life. But contemporary experience makes us wonder otherwise.
We Were Ought to Have Learnt Something From the Two World Wars
Look at the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has brought misery and death to many innocent persons, not to mention young Indian medical students who have nothing to do with the conflict. Closer home, ‘The Kashmir Files’ is hailed by some as the eventual vindication of their tale of tragedy and by others as an exaggerated propaganda device to further widen a historical wound.
Truth is a precursor of reconciliation if we are to follow the footsteps of Nelson Mandela. But tweeting and twisting truths is more like stabbing and then turning the knife to bring out a cry. So, it is a cry-versus-cry, and “my cry being more painful than yours” syndrome.
The history of humankind is replete with inflicted tragedies far beyond the number of natural calamities. The generations that bore the brunt of the two World Wars took a vow to never allow similar devastation to take place again and ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’. We were to have learnt a lesson after having lost hundreds of thousands of lives in combat and as collateral damage.
The nuclear blasts over Nagasaki and Hiroshima caused innumerable deaths supposedly to prevent an ongoing saga of killings in the trenches and the battlefields across the globe. But what lessons did we learn? Within months and years, there was Korea and Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, India’s wars with China and Pakistan, civil wars in Africa and Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan, and many more.
Several times, the world has tottered on the verge of nuclear confrontation going back to Cuba and the missile crises during the tenure of US President John Kennedy. There was the Berlin embargo that prompted Kennedy to proclaim, ‘ich bin ein Berliner!’ (I am a Berliner).
The most recent verbal build-up to a similar crisis has come in the uneasy balance of NATO holding back from imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine and Russia alerting its nuclear command.
How Far Can Indian Maintain Neutrality?
India has thus far maintained an uneasy and delicate balance in the matter. But there is a lesson, too, that if things get worse and out of hand, we might not be able to hide behind a cloak of neutrality between two disputing friends. Our situation, as indeed our ambitions, does not permit the privilege of neutrality that the Nordic countries preserve. Our moral objectives cannot allow us to look away as fatalities continue to grow and rubble mars the landscape. But be that as it may, this is a matter for our Ministry of External Affairs to reflect upon and to negotiate.
The world will hopefully find a path to its salvation and as an Indian, one would of course wish to see India play a role. There is the unfinished business of elimination of nuclear weapons, still a far-off dream despite the limited success in the reduction of the stockpile. The UN remains an imperfect platform but a useful one. There are appeals to push reform that will reflect the realities of the contemporary world, somewhat different from the post-WW II conditions.
The Congress Party Is Facing Its Own Dilemma
Even as the world strives for peace and power simultaneously, and our own country strives to deal with contested versions of truth in its history and politics, my own party, the Indian National Congress, which has been the driving force of our Independence movement and nation-building efforts since then, is attempting to come to terms with a dramatically changed social reality and some misfortune. There are prescriptions galore outside the party and also some within. In using the word ‘prescription’, one means when people think and pretend that they know all that there is to know, not that they seek a discussion to arrive at an acceptable outcome.
Many of our valued colleagues have parted ways with the party and found greener pastures that they once castigated. Some others have chosen to stay put and pressed to be heard. We must acknowledge their faith in the party and, at the same time, applaud our leadership for making the effort to provide comfort and confidence. Their voices will indeed be heard and their advice will be absorbed.
Yet, those who chose not to blow hot and cold but waited for the party mechanisms to factor in their opinions must not be taken for granted. John Milton’s words are apposite, “they also serve who stand and wait”. Surely, they are no less because they complain less.
The world may take longer to secure consensus to save humanity and one prays against a case of ‘too little, too late’. But hopefully, we in the Congress will achieve it sooner to save the cherished Idea of India. A parting word for the perplexed who cannot understand the true import of our faith, partly because they are confused about the term ‘andh bhakt’. As we go forward, hopefully, we will distinguish fake from faith; both are part of our common experience and discourse of contemporary life. What does one do with those who have eyes but will not see?
(Salman Khurshid is a designated senior advocate, Congress party leader, and former Minister of External Affairs. He tweets @salman7khurshid. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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