The Rage Simmers

Every day, one opens the newspaper or switches on the TV; there is a mention of mob violence. Has it increased over the years? Is the media coverage responsible or are we blowing it out of proportion? All relevant questions, unfortunately, there are no easy answers. In a country of one billion people (overused cliché, but very important to mention) and counting, the economic equality or inequality plays a huge role. It has been oft mentioned that the economic gap between the rich and the por is widening. While it maybe true, it does not paint a completely clear picture. Yes, the rich are still rich, the poor are still struggling. The inflation eats into meager earnings of the people making it expensive to afford what they used to a few months back. So they get poorer. The health factor is also another major contributor. Many families have only one earning member, so when they fall sick, the medical bills eat into what they have. Unemployment reigns large. A few who do get out of it, manage to get a better life.

      But many people are stuck. Working in a manufacturing industry or a particular office is all they know. It is all they have done in their lives. When suddenly deprived of their life’s purpose and sustenance, they react violently. Change is not welcome. Years of having their voice suppressed and not being heard has given birth to the violent Indian. Anger when not given an outlet for release simmers slowly, this , when stoked by years of scraping for a decent lifestyle, corrupt politicians, of voice and feelings being stomped over and not heard has given rise to a rage, a rage simmering just below the surface waiting to erupt.

    Rage, when it does erupt is inconsolable. It knows no logic or humanity. It has a mind of it’s own. Rage, when it does erupt, leads to the lynching of a CEO for a perceived or a very real wrong done. It leads to the destroying of buses when someone is run over. It leads to people taking law in their own hands. Burning of churches, in Mangalore, in Orissa, is nothing but rage. Not many people actually even know why they are destroying churches, harming people (other than the fact that they have got money to do it). Their anger is stoked by a very skilled leader who convinces them that this is the right thing to do. They bad, we good. Carried away by all the sufferings they have faced, they go on a rampage. They destroy till the rage spent or they are arrested. Mobs, when angry can cause damage to a large extent. Mobs have been used by politicians to bring down other parties, to make others look bad. Plying with such an emotion will finally burn the one who’s started it.

    There are no easy solutions to these problems. They probably existed even before some of us were born. Decades of tolerance for a better future has not yielded the result Indians have been waiting for. The patience is wearing thin. They are not happy. The angry Indian is here to stay, hopefully, if things go well, his stay can be short and lessons can be learnt from him so that we do not repeat the same mistakes.