DUSSEHRA: INTERNALISING AND DOING GOOD!
-Fr. Cedric Prakash sj*
Dussehra
(Vijaya Dashami) is once again here and will be celebrated with traditional
pomp and gaiety all over the country. It is a moment for every Indian to
spend some time reflecting on the significance of the festival and ask
ourselves whether we have truly internalised the meaningful values which this
great festival embodies.
On Dussehra,
we celebrate the triumph of good over evil; of how Lord Ram defeats the demon
king Ravan who typifies all that is evil.
India’s great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata provide us with gripping
narratives of the festival.
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We need to
look around today to see how the forces of evil seem to have plunged a deadly
weapon into the heart of India: in Faridabad two innocent dalit children are
burnt alive by the higher castes; in Dadri, a man is lynched because of some
rumours that he ate beef; in Mumbai, a motley group of Shiv Sainiks violently
hold the State to ransom and prevent the improving of relations with
Pakistan; intellectuals like Pansare, Dabholkar and Kalburgi, who demonstrate
courage to take on right-wing forces, are killed; human rights defenders who
take a stand against powerful vested interests on behalf of the minorities,
the dalits, the adivasis are subject to constant harassment; Godse, the one
who killed Mahatma Gandhi, is ‘honoured’; women continue to be on the
receiving end of a male chauvinistic society (‘Ram’ no longer wants to
protect and save ‘Sita’ today); children are not spared: if not sexually
abused, several of them are condemned to hard labour; one can go on and on, ad
nauseam.
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There is a
silver lining though: several of India’s top intellectuals which include litterateurs,
historians, poets, sociologists, journalists and others have visibly and
vocally stood up against the forces of evil. These are citizens with impeccable
credentials which include a high degree of credibility, objectivity and
impartiality. Several of them have had
the courage to return Government awards and recognitions which were
well-deserved; but they do so only because they conscientiously feel that the
Constitutional rights (particularly freedom of speech and expression) are
today being grossly violated.
Dussehra then,
this year, should be a special moment of grace for all Indians, when one is
called in no uncertain terms to take the side of good, of truth and of justice
against the forces of evil, that are making every attempt to destroy all that
is sacred to the people of India. One can no longer think that dealing with
these forces of evil is the prerogative of just a few; every right-thinking
Indian citizen needs to wake up at this moment and to remind ourselves that “the only thing necessary for the triumph
of evil, is for good men to do nothing”.
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Gurjarvani videos from youtube gurjarvani-channel. Gurjarvani intends to make as great a contribution to Gujarati culture as possible. We in Gujarat have a great tradition of literature, poetry, art, dramatics, dance forms, tribal art, etc
Thursday, October 22, 2015
DUSSEHRA: INTERNALISING AND DOING GOOD!
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