The world is under a sheer terror of destruction. With the rise of extremist militant groups like the ISIS every single day is under the grip of uncertainty. Whether a city will live to see another morning or sleep another night is questionable. Common people are the worst sufferers who remain unarmed and unequipped. They cannot even predict when or where another bomb will be hurled, how many people will be killed, how many children will be orphaned.
Recently Paris was shaken by the bombardment of ISIS. The whole world was taken aback by this attack. People raged with protests – they condemned this act of cruelty. This protest was needed. But what happened when France tried to pay back in the same coin? Where did all the protest go?
Why am I writing this now?
I am really worried about the reactions Indians showed in these two incidents. We are still so much under the influence of the colonial mindset that somewhere down the line we actually forgot the ones who lost everything in both the incidents were common people like us. It is not important how many were killed. The important part is that lives were taken.
India for the past many months has faced tremendous unrest. Secularity has been cheated, people have been convicted due to their religious beliefs and the sufferers were common people like the people of Paris and Syria. Why only Syria we cannot afford to forget the massacre in Beruit either. The social media outrage which I saw during the attack in Paris from the friends of my country was overwhelming.
But their dead silence during the attack of France on Syria broke my heart. Why we ourselves being a colony, being victims of discrimination and injustice are doing the same with other countries, probably weaker in front of the violence? Why can we not feel equally for the victims of Syria or Beirut as we felt for the victims in Paris? Why our mindset is still so discriminatory? Is it not a time suitable enough that we speak against the wrong and not make such discriminations.
I as an individual condemn the violence exerted by France as much as I do in case of ISIS. This is because at the end of the day common people face all the loss, they fight day in and day out to feed their children. If I stay calm when France attacks Syria (for whatever the reason maybe) the whole world might just shut up when my country is blown up by some religious, blood hungry war-mongers. So it is my earnest request to my country people learn to raise your voice when you see wrong is being done. It has been a long time since we acquired our independence but we forgot to free out thoughts from the cage.
It is high time we learn to stand straight and condemn the violence that is being committed every day, everywhere and not just color our profiles in the flags of the countries we think are superior to us. If you can put up the flag of Paris to condemn the attack unleashed on them, do not forget to dedicate your profile in the name of all those hapless Syrians who were killed mercilessly because France wanted revenge. Death for a death can never bring the peace we so thirstily wait for.
