While the politicians are expected to do no better, what is, indeed, disturbing is that even our intellectuals, media experts and/or political analysts sometimes begin to speak their language. That’s how this dominant, hegemonic political 
discourse becomes a form of social and intellectual discourse, too. Sometimes, I’m compelled to believe that Bollywood offers a much better, sharper and more critical understanding of our social and political issues than our politicians, media experts and analysts put together.
Neeraj Pandey’s recent movie, “A Wednesday”, scores over several other movies on the familiar theme of ‘terrorist violence’ for two different reasons. One, because it helps us understand that one should never underestimate either the patience or the anger of a common man. If pushed too far, he may choose to find his own weird solutions to the growing menace of terrorism. Two, because it succeeds in putting human face on terror, almost inviting us to sympathise with the ‘characters’ we have only learnt to hate over the years. Neeraj Pandey doesn’t leave us in any doubt that the real question is not whether the terrorist is a Hindu or a Muslim, because he only practices the ‘religion of hatred and terror,’ something that all religions unequivocally denounce. The real question is that a terrorist, too, was a human being much before he became a terrorist. In other words, it’s the denial of social justice coupled with economic deprivation that often compels a human being, regardless of his religion, to pick up the gun. In a way, when an individual takes to terrorism, he is making a loud statement. He wants to scream and tell the society: ‘You have pushed me into the oblivion, and here I return, in my new found anonymity to throw your orderly, patterned lives into absolute ruin and anarchy.’ Terrorism is the last outpost of a civil society, triggered off by the failure of dialogue between the citizen and the state, especially when the state fails to deliver. It’s an utterly helpless scream of those citizens who wish to be heard and seen, even ready to enter a system that delivers or assures them a decent place in the mainstream. Be it Kashmir or Nagaland, Assam or Punjab, ‘terrorism’ has reared its ugly head in all those places where the process of development has given common people a miss, or wherever it has substantively failed to transform the lives of the people at the grassroots. Rather than indulge in useless rhetoric, let us give development and inclusive growth one last chance. Also let us give our people, no, not just vague promises (for they have had surfeit of these already), but a genuine reason to believe that justice is possible for all, regardless of their status, position, caste or religion. Who knows, somewhere it may help us minimise, if not eliminate, the ‘horrendous impact’ of this ‘national problem’!...Continue
discourse becomes a form of social and intellectual discourse, too. Sometimes, I’m compelled to believe that Bollywood offers a much better, sharper and more critical understanding of our social and political issues than our politicians, media experts and analysts put together.Neeraj Pandey’s recent movie, “A Wednesday”, scores over several other movies on the familiar theme of ‘terrorist violence’ for two different reasons. One, because it helps us understand that one should never underestimate either the patience or the anger of a common man. If pushed too far, he may choose to find his own weird solutions to the growing menace of terrorism. Two, because it succeeds in putting human face on terror, almost inviting us to sympathise with the ‘characters’ we have only learnt to hate over the years. Neeraj Pandey doesn’t leave us in any doubt that the real question is not whether the terrorist is a Hindu or a Muslim, because he only practices the ‘religion of hatred and terror,’ something that all religions unequivocally denounce. The real question is that a terrorist, too, was a human being much before he became a terrorist. In other words, it’s the denial of social justice coupled with economic deprivation that often compels a human being, regardless of his religion, to pick up the gun. In a way, when an individual takes to terrorism, he is making a loud statement. He wants to scream and tell the society: ‘You have pushed me into the oblivion, and here I return, in my new found anonymity to throw your orderly, patterned lives into absolute ruin and anarchy.’ Terrorism is the last outpost of a civil society, triggered off by the failure of dialogue between the citizen and the state, especially when the state fails to deliver. It’s an utterly helpless scream of those citizens who wish to be heard and seen, even ready to enter a system that delivers or assures them a decent place in the mainstream. Be it Kashmir or Nagaland, Assam or Punjab, ‘terrorism’ has reared its ugly head in all those places where the process of development has given common people a miss, or wherever it has substantively failed to transform the lives of the people at the grassroots. Rather than indulge in useless rhetoric, let us give development and inclusive growth one last chance. Also let us give our people, no, not just vague promises (for they have had surfeit of these already), but a genuine reason to believe that justice is possible for all, regardless of their status, position, caste or religion. Who knows, somewhere it may help us minimise, if not eliminate, the ‘horrendous impact’ of this ‘national problem’!...Continue
