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Captain GR Gopinath founded Air Deccan and is considered a pioneer in the low-cost airline sector. He recently joined Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party)
It was roses, roses, all the way, ...
A year ago on this very day. ..
....now a year is run. ..
For they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones at me for a year's misdeeds. ..
Two hundred years ago, Robert Browning described a patriot's feelings and fate, a man who only a year ago was a hero greeted with roses and was now being taken to the gallows; the same crowd that worshipped him now pelted stones.
Hero today, villain tomorrow. Adulation one day, animosity the next. It is the lot of people who choose public life. It is said that Pundit Nehru mentioned the Browning poem in one of his poignant moments after the defeat of India in the Chinese war of 1962, when he was viciously criticised by many people for his handling of the Chinese.
Throwing rotten eggs and tomatoes was once common to demonstrate hostility and dislike. That has become passe. Throwing shoes became fashionable. It still is. A woman threw a shoe at Hillary Clinton just a couple of days ago in the US, but Hillary joked and shrugged it off, though the police arrested and took the attacker away.
George Bush jr, former president of the United States was one of the first victims of a shoe missile at a press conference in Iraq. In India, someone hurled a shoe at Chidambaram and the attacker is now contesting the Lok Sabha elections on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket. In the light of that, one of the spokesmen of a political party, with sadistic glee, justified the slap that Arvind Kejriwal received earlier this week as "poetic justice".
The BJP spokespersons made a cruel and bizarre claim. Kejriwal was stage-managing all this, getting beaten up repeatedly, to garner "sympathy votes", they said. It was a clever election tactics, according to them.
The AAP itself displayed signs of paranoia. They were sure it was the handiwork of BJP goons with sanctions from the top as they feared the rapid ascent of Kejriwal and his rising popularity. They were at pains to convince that there was a deeper conspiracy behind these attacks to stop Kejriwal in his tracks. Of course, both sides had no evidence to back their allegations. They were playing to the galleries.
In India, slapping public figures seems to be becoming a popular way to protest, along with the more traditional methods of throwing ink or eggs or tomatoes. Sharad Pawar was punched. Prashanth Bhushan was hit repeatedly and manhandled. But Kejriwal, a former Chief Minister and the leader of an important party, has borne the brunt most. He has been assaulted at least five times in the last few weeks.
It is deeply disturbing that none of Kejriwal's peers in other parties condemned the attack. It is human nature to feel satisfied when your rival or tormentor suffers ignominy or gets a bloody nose. Even as one feels a sense of shame, there is some pleasure. But when you are a public figure, you cannot remain silent when you see colleagues from rival parties being physically assaulted. It will easily be read by your devout followers as tacit approval and even encouragement to resort to physical violence.
Politicians and political parties must not forget that they hold positions of responsibility and therefore must behave responsibly. Besides, they may soon discover that the shoe is on the other foot and they could get a taste of their own medicine.
Even Indira Gandhi suffered a fractured nose when a stone was flung at her in a public rally. That was part of mob unruliness. But frequent incidents of individuals in the crowd walking up to leaders and physically attacking someone because he or she disagrees with the person is simply barbaric. It is against all that a civilised society holds sacred. It is against the very idea of India and its traditions of debate and dialogue.
Most often the offenders are let off by the police as the leader assaulted does not press charges. It may be necessary for law enforcement agencies to take cognisance suo moto and ensure prosecution.
It is also time that leaders of all parties reflect - is it the violence in their speech, the provocative and incendiary language they use that is fanning the flames of hostility in their followers, who now resort to violence at the merest chance, against those who may hold and propagate a different view.
They should remember that all the leaders whom they hold in high esteem in their parties - Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, or BR Ambedkar - were great men because they were also endearing in their speech and votaries of non-violence. And Kejriwal must also remember Mahatma Gandhi whose memory and spirit he often invokes, adhered to non-violence not only in action, but in speech and made it his article of faith.
It may be well for all of us to heed what the Buddha said - "In everything moderation, including moderation."
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