The 4C’s and 4M’s

An algebraic title is sure to send alarm bells ringing in the mental belfry of most folks. Breathe easy!( that should be no sweat, particularly after the grand global Yoga celebrated recently on International Yoga Day). One can gauge by the windfalls our political leaders reap through rhetorical skills, that catchy alliterative slogans are always a great hook to charm most voters most of the time.

Sample some of these--- ‘Garibi Hatao,Desh Bachao’, ‘Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikaas’, ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’ ,’Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan’ . I leave it to your wisdom to judge how well these catchy catchphrases have yielded results or have they remained mere ‘jumlas’ dangled by the netas.

As an ordinary wordsmith I suppose the same alliterative strategy in the title should work to grab the attention of the diminishing number of readers who are caught in a world mesmerised by the quick changing pixels on screens of digital devices.

India is, in fact, not just 4C’s and 4M’s but an entire ‘alphabet’ and more in its glorious diversity. But in recent years this diversity is getting tattered at the seams, with the pulls of polarisation along Creed, Caste, Colour, Class. The 4 C’s were always present but now loom large like a demon on a disruptive mission.

This is true not only in our land but across the globe. It is not just the wandering Jews of yore but a sea of migrants across the world lost at sea or land in search of a safe haven because of their creed, colour or class. The history of mankind is littered with wars to safeguard or spread one’s religion and turf. Christians vs Muslims, Catholics vs Protestants, Christians vs Jews, Hindus vs Muslims, Buddhists vs Muslims, Sikhs vs Muslims.(and these can be shuffled to show many more combinations). It seems as if everyone is against everyone else. All this bloodshed, ironically, in the name of God!

Caste, colour and class have an equally dismal history wherever you look at the globe. The Dalits in India are outcastes still when India is shining on the global marquee in economy, technology, science and other fields. America, the land of opportunity, has denied just that to the Afto- Americans and the aborigines. South Africa with its erstwhile apartheid policy is another instance of naked discrimination. But the ‘woke’ generation across the globe is resisting inequities like these heaped on people.

With the constant edification being spouted in robust doses online and in print by a galaxy of experts and thought influencers, we should’ve figured out the global architecture of societies by now. Alas such is not the case! The constant info- churn in fake messages sent in a loopy loop around the world on social media has also muddied the waters. To stir the murky pot further the 4 M’s that are currently swirling in the Indian news-sphere are a combo of Manipur , Minorities, Millets and the black sheep of our history: the Moghuls.

Manipur is burning with internecine unrest. The minorities thread is entwined in this civil war. It needs a healing touch to soothe the fevered brow of states with an impartial gentle hand. The rest of India has to wake up to the reality of both Northeast and North (Kashmir) as crucial body parts of India being border zones with great security implications.

Millets, the poor man’s food who in his native wisdom chose whole grains, has now been given the status of a Superfood . There’s even a jingle sung by Falguni Shah with a Rajasthani folk lilt interspersed with the voice of the P.M. promoting it. How one wishes that voice had also been used to soothe the rising wall of hatred in Manipur between the tribes and the plains people.

Another ‘M’ in this quartet, the Moghuls, is being expunged from our history books creating a blinkered version of our lived history. If we think of ‘Mera Bharat Mahan’, then unpleasant blips on our past history should not roil us. Why can’t we appreciate Moghuls like Akbar who had an inclusive outlook , or Dara Shikoh, the liberal Moghul , who translated the Upanishads from Sanskrit into Persian and supported a syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture instead of citing the name of power hungry Aurangzeb? A question to ponder!