Often language, especially philosophical, religious and psychological, is full of such paradoxes as in the title of our blog today. Those in the know would realise that it is taken from a verse in the Bible. Yet I can give you any number of such dissonances from all sorts of texts from any number of sources.
Why deal with such a paradox? Well, recently, on August 9, was celebrated the Martyr Day as well as the Adivasi Day. During the Independence Struggle, many known, and most importantly, unknown, citizens with a commitment to the freedom of the motherland, sacrificed their lives, their bright futures, their family life. Their only reward often would be a cruel death or harsh punishment. Hence the need to commemorate all these known, and most importantly, unknown, martyrs.
These martyrs came from all sorts of castes and groups. In fact, such was the fervour then that nobody questioned or cared for such identity politics. Yet, the narratives, written after 1947, would have their own agendas, and often the group most ignored might be the Adivasi's.
Very few city smarties, especially Gen Z onwards, would have heard of Birsa Munda, for instance. I can go on multiplying such examples. The basic idea is to realise their sacrifices. Unfortunately, moreover, their economic hardships have not abated even today. Hence the need to dedicate a day to their lived realities.
Everywhere across the world, the Aborigines have suffered a lot. Even when they do not get to taste the fruits of progress, the so-called development hits them truly hard. Undoubtedly, many committed couples such as the Bang's or the Amte family have dedicated their lifetime for helping out these lives ignored by the mainstream. The most important issue, a tough challenge, in this context is to get them in to the modernity mode, without destroying their unique ways of living.
Unfortunately, however, there are two major, not to mention countless minor, problems in their upliftment. The first one is the huge conversions. North-east would be a major example. The real huge problem, however, is how certain political parties are trying to use them for their own selfish goals. Hidden behind such agendas would be international interest groups as well.
To address all such issues, a bottoms-up approach wherein an organic leader, as in the case of the martyrs in the Freedom Struggle, should emerge. When revolution thus happens from within, there is always an unmistakable promise of a better future!
Pratima@My salute to all the unknown, unsung heroes and heroines from the past and the present, in the hope for a bright future!
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