Tuesday, June 15, 2021
JAY TALKS CRYPTO
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bitcoin
    • Bitcoin Live
  • Ethereum
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Cryptocurrency live
  • Altcoins
    • Altcoins Daily
  • Cardano
    • Cardano Price Prediction
  • XLM Live
    • XLM
  • XRP
  • Litecoins
  • Dogecoin
  • More
    • Coingecko
    • Coin Bureau
  • Videos
JAY TALKS CRYPTO
No Result
View All Result
Home Coin Bureau

A dream of India that should last forever

admin by admin
April 7, 2021
in Coin Bureau
0
A dream of India that should last forever
189
SHARES
1.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Some three decades ago, I decided to start working with adivasis and nomadic people. My workplace was Tejgadh, a village in eastern Gujarat. It is situated at the foot of a rocky hill and is skirted by the wide bed of the seasonally flooding Orsang river. The hill has hidden in it ancient caves with rock paintings from a period between 12,000 to 15,000 years before our time. The paintings in the caves should remind one of Mahasweta Devi’s classic, Pterodactyl, invoking a mythical bird and the agony of contemporary adivasi life.

It was here that I decided to create the Adivasi Academy. I chanced upon Mahasweta Devi a few years later, and she accepted my invitation to visit the Adivasi Academy. After having a dip in the stream of the Orsang river and visiting the caves with the rock paintings — like the ones she had visualized in Pterodactyl — the first thing she said to me was that she would like to breathe her last at Tejgadh. In my long years of work with her, she would often repeat this desire. A decade and a half later she passed away in her son’s house in Calcutta. In order to respect her wish, I brought her ashes to Tejgadh and created a modest memorial, made of interwoven arches positioned on a red-brick pedestal with an inscription which reads, “Every dream has the right to live” (picture). In physical height, this memorial may be the shortest among memorials one has seen. In a sharp contrast — about 70 kilometres south as the crow flies — is the Statue of Unity installed to remember Sardar Patel.

A few weeks ago, I had called young activists from many parts of India to meet at the Adivasi Academy. The purpose was to understand the situation in every state, going beyond reports one receives through the media. When all of us were seated around the Mahasweta memorial, I asked them to read the inscription and enquired what their unfulfilled dreams were. Those who came from Uttarakhand mentioned the melting glaciers, the fragile environment, its continuous degradation, the outward migration of the jobless hill people and the devastated social fabric. The friends from Nagaland complained about the lack of understanding among mainland Indians of the complex Naga history and society and about an increasing alienation. A friend from Meghalaya angrily added that unceasing mining has destroyed the legendary beauty of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills alike. Kashmiri friends spoke with voices heavy with emotion about the complete disruption of normal liberties. Adivasi friends from the central states spoke about the plunder of their forests and rivers by big companies and the pauperization of folks going to cities in hordes in search of employment. Friends from Uttar Pradesh brought in the question of a deep social discord and the lack of opportunities. The Punjabi friends had a lot to say about the woes of farmers. Those from Maharashtra mentioned how the progressive ideas of Jyotiba Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar had all been forgotten. The Tamil Nadu folks added that Periyar’s dream of an equal society has been entirely put in cold storage and big money and towering celluloid images have been dominating public life. The Karnataka friends highlighted nepotism, casteism and the decline of the egalitarian thoughts of Basavanna and Akkama. A Dalit leader from Gujarat said that he would like to collect small bits of brass and copper from every Dalit in India, mint a large coin out of them with Dr Ambedkar’s imprint and gift it to the president of India for laying at the foundation of the new Parliament building. Women present there spoke with great anxiety about how terrified they feel while expressing themselves in thought, emotion or costume. What Muslims and Christians said was not much different in tenor.

Our discussion continued for several hours. My simple question had resulted in unpacking a wide array of historical deceptions and injustices, a longing for creating a society with at least minimum decency and a sense of justice. The seemingly artless words of the inscription had opened up so many wounds. The yearning of my friends in that discussion made it difficult for me to have normal sleep that night. During it, I dreamt, and I am not sure if they were dreams, delusions or debates in my mind. I saw things not so easily to be seen in real life in our time: newly constructed shelters, all clean and with good toilets and drinking water for migrant labourers; ministers and government officials mourning for the dead among the agitating farmers, and farmers celebrating the repeal of the Acts; home ministry officials telling migrants in Assam that no certificate proving their religion is required for asylum and citizenship. In one part of the dream sequence, I saw lynch mobs asking for forgiveness from all the men and women they had ever lynched, and the police accepting FIRs from victims as per the law book. The courtrooms in my dream had entrances adorned with the words, “Justice shall be given equally to all”.

In another part of my long dream, I noticed religious fanatics of all shades drowning some books in the Arabian Sea. On asking them what those books contained, they said in many languages, “Oh, these were our books of hate words”. I also saw other books that probably were hospital registers, which showed no deaths of children for want of food or medicine. The National Crime Records Bureau records showed no new incidents of farmers’ suicide or the molestation and rape of women. I also saw a large gathering of mediapersons, but none of them looked scared and intimidated. Strange dream, indeed! I could see in it images, posters, statues and just empty shadows of martyrs who died for India’s freedom — scientists, thinkers, saints, artists, industrialists, sportspersons and mass leaders who made India a free and modern nation.

When I opened my eyes, I tried hard to recall if one of the statues I had seen was actually of Rabindranath. Or was it someone else trying to look like him? I concluded that it indeed was Gurudev, for the words inscribed on the pedestal were, “Where the mind is without fear…” These words would sound so hollow if said by any deliberately made-up look-alike. And I said, almost spontaneously, “Khela hobe”.

I am sure Mahasweta would have understood my dream. Her deep Bangla compassion for all lives and celebration of freedom, echoed by many Indians in an adivasi village in Gandhi’s Gujarat, are what the idea of India is all about. It has the right to live.

 

The author is a literary scholar and cultural activist; [email protected]





Source link

Related articles

What Makes the 1933 Double Eagle so Special?

What Makes the 1933 Double Eagle so Special?

June 15, 2021
Another Chinese province bans Bitcoin mining—sort of – Fortune

Another Chinese province bans Bitcoin mining—sort of - Fortune

June 15, 2021
Tags: dreamIndia
Share76Tweet47

Related Posts

What Makes the 1933 Double Eagle so Special?

What Makes the 1933 Double Eagle so Special?

by admin
June 15, 2021
0

1933 Double Eagle Breaks the Highest Value on Record In coin news recently, a gold coin sold at an...

Another Chinese province bans Bitcoin mining—sort of – Fortune

Another Chinese province bans Bitcoin mining—sort of - Fortune

by admin
June 15, 2021
0

Another Chinese province bans Bitcoin mining—sort of  Fortune Source link

China’s Xiong’an New Area Begins Using Digital Yuan for Salary Payments

China’s Xiong’an New Area Begins Using Digital Yuan for Salary Payments

by admin
June 15, 2021
0

China’s Xiong’an New Area, a district that is located about 60 miles southwest of Beijing and that serves as...

Youth Development Coach Martin Murff, Who Worked With Kids To Stop Violence In Chicago At UCAN, Is Now Charged As Violent Gang Leader – CBS Chicago

Youth Development Coach Martin Murff, Who Worked With Kids To Stop Violence In Chicago At UCAN, Is Now Charged As Violent Gang Leader – CBS Chicago

by admin
June 15, 2021
0

CHICAGO (CBS) — Martin Murff spent years working with kids to stop violence in Chicago, and was thought to...

Bitcoin Rises on Elon Musk’s Tweets; Housing’s Rural Surge Pre-Dates COVID-19

Bitcoin Rises on Elon Musk’s Tweets; Housing’s Rural Surge Pre-Dates COVID-19

by admin
June 15, 2021
0

CryptoCornerBitcoin's rally got a boost Monday when Elon Musk said Tesla would again accept the crypto as payment for...

Load More
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
2021 Coinbase Debit Card Review • Pros, Cons & More • Benzinga

2021 Coinbase Debit Card Review • Pros, Cons & More • Benzinga

April 14, 2021
MASSIVE NEWS Hokkaido inu Exchange news+ More! 1000x gem! If you missed shiba inu dont miss this!

MASSIVE NEWS Hokkaido inu Exchange news+ More! 1000x gem! If you missed shiba inu dont miss this!

May 12, 2021
Kishu Inu Mega pump! We called it first! Kishu inu Pump update+ Discord updates!

Kishu Inu Mega pump! We called it first! Kishu inu Pump update+ Discord updates!

May 15, 2021
Shiba Inu coin 1000x Exchange+massive news+ Shib Price Prediction!

Shiba Inu coin 1000x Exchange+massive news+ Shib Price Prediction!

May 11, 2021
Stellar Lumens Needs Institutional Audience To Become Top Altcoin

Emirates joins airlines’ high-loss club

0
Want to be rich? Bitcoin’s limited supply cap means you only need 0.01 BTC

Want to be rich? Bitcoin’s limited supply cap means you only need 0.01 BTC

0
Risky business

Risky business

0
Cardano Price Analysis: 07 March

Cardano Price Analysis: 07 March

0
Stellar Lumens Needs Institutional Audience To Become Top Altcoin

Emirates joins airlines’ high-loss club

June 15, 2021
As Yearn.Finance’s yield vaults grow, ‘crop’ projects define boundaries

As Yearn.Finance’s yield vaults grow, ‘crop’ projects define boundaries

June 15, 2021
Crypto’s fraught relationship with Elon Musk: Ambassador or liability?

Crypto’s fraught relationship with Elon Musk: Ambassador or liability?

June 15, 2021
These three cryptocurrencies look primed to test the May lows

These three cryptocurrencies look primed to test the May lows

June 15, 2021

Recent News

Stellar Lumens Needs Institutional Audience To Become Top Altcoin

Emirates joins airlines’ high-loss club

June 15, 2021
As Yearn.Finance’s yield vaults grow, ‘crop’ projects define boundaries

As Yearn.Finance’s yield vaults grow, ‘crop’ projects define boundaries

June 15, 2021

Categories

  • Altcoins
  • Altcoins Daily
  • Bitcoin
  • Bitcoin Live
  • Cardano
  • Cardano Price Prediction
  • Coin Bureau
  • Coingecko
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Cryptocurrency live
  • Dogecoin
  • Ethereum
  • Litecoins
  • Videos
  • XLM
  • XLM Live
  • XRP

Follow Us

Calculator

 
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

© 2021 Jay Talks Crypto  

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bitcoin
    • Bitcoin Live
  • Ethereum
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Cryptocurrency live
  • Altcoins
    • Altcoins Daily
  • Cardano
    • Cardano Price Prediction
  • XLM Live
    • XLM
  • XRP
  • Litecoins
  • Dogecoin
  • More
    • Coingecko
    • Coin Bureau
  • Videos

© 2021 Jay Talks Crypto