THE BIHAR
EARTHQUAKE
There has been an earthquake in Bihar. All the seismologic instruments failed to
forecast or even register the high magnitude quake as it occurred when the
earth shook in disapproval of the despicable attempts to rip wide open ancient
fault lines in Indian society. In that giant tremor some Colossuses fell from
the high pedestals they had mounted, their feet of clay caving in with the
upheaval.
What does one make of this? Commentators have been
profuse in their explanations, their post facto vision as always being 20/20.
Few gave credit to the farsightedness of Nitish Kumar who turned his back on
hate politics well before Modi strutted across the All-India horizon. On
hearing of the anointment of Narendra Modi as potential Prime Minister he had
distanced himself more than two years ago from the BJP and started on that
lonely long journey that culminated in the grand victory.
In an old film, Kalpana
by the dancer Uday Shankar, a song stereotypes India’s regions with
colourful adjectives;
veera
panchanadi vasi, - valiant people of the five
rivers
ganga jamuna ke buddhi
vikasi, -the intellectually mature of Ganga and Jamuna
banga desh ke kala
prakashi, - the
artistically developed of Bengal
karmakushala dakshina
adivasi – the diligent people of the South
#Bihar, the land that gave the world the Buddha, has
vindicated that old description of the riparian lands with an intelligent assertion
of the primacy of social justice and dignity. They have rejected the insidious overtures
to consolidate on religious identities; they have dismissed the overwhelming
pleas to conform by voting for a party because it rules in Delhi; they have
seen through the duplicity of lies and misinformation about caste and
reservations; they have refuted the domination of power and money; they brought
the proudly proclaimed ‘largest political party of the world’ to its knees.
Surprises do not end there. In an unusual flash of brilliance
we have the aspiring Rahul say that truth prevailed, reiterating that the national
motto of Satyameva Jayate has been proved once again.
Yet another natural phenomenon seems to be playing out
here. Evolution through the occasional mutation starts by producing
monsters. The rest of the species when
faced with abnormal deviants unite in a mahagathbandhan,
a grand alliance, to pounce upon such monsters and destroy them until a hardier
mutant evolves and proves fit enough to survive. This generation is being
privileged to the witnessing of such an evolution.
