Jekyll2024-01-24T14:39:10+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/feed.xmlHashin JithuI write about the world.മാരൻ ദൈവത്തിന്റെ നാണം കെട്ട മരണം.2024-01-23T10:51:39+00:002024-01-23T10:51:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2024/01/23/maaran-daivathinte-maranam<p>ദൈവങ്ങൾ അങ്ങിനെ മരിക്കാറില്ല. കൊല്ലപ്പെടാറേയുള്ളൂ. സൃഷ്ടിക്ക് ശേഷം ശോഷിച്ചു തൂങ്ങിയ കൈപ്പലകളിൽ നിന്ന് കുഷ്ഠം പിടിച്ച നാല് കൈകൾ മാത്രം സ്വന്തമായുള്ള മാരൻ ദൈവം, എന്ന് ചത്ത് മലക്കും എന്ന് മാത്രമായിരുന്നു കുറച്ച് കാലത്തേക്ക് ക്ഷമാശീലരായ വിജിഗീഷുകൾ വീക്ഷിച്ചു കൊണ്ടിരുന്നത്. എന്നാൽ അവരെയൊക്കെ ഞെട്ടിച്ചു കൊണ്ട്, മനുഷ്യ മനസ്സിലെ മറവിയുടെ കാണാക്കയങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും മാരൻ ദൈവം വിശ്വാസത്തിന്റെ പരകോടിയിലേക്ക് വീണ്ടും റിലീസാവുന്നത് ഇരുപതാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിന്റെ അന്ത്യത്തോടെയാണ്.</p>
<p>സോവിയറ്റ് യൂണിയന്റെ പതനത്തോട് കൂടി സ്വേച്ഛാധിപതികൾക്ക് സോഷ്യലിസം ചൂണ്ടിക്കാണിച്ചു ഭരിക്കാൻ തരമില്ലാതെയായി. ഉദാരമായ ആഗോളവത്കരണം, മുതലാളിമാരുടെ ഉദരങ്ങളെ ഭൂഗളത്തോളം വികസിപ്പിച്ച ആ കാലഘട്ടത്തിലാണ്, മാരനിത്യാദി ആഭാസദൈവങ്ങൾക്ക് വീണ്ടും മാർക്കറ്റുണ്ടാവുന്നത്. ഇന്റർനെറ്റിട്ട് വലിച്ചു കെട്ടിയ കമ്പോളങ്ങളിൽ മനുഷ്യർ തന്നെ പലപ്പോഴും ദൈവ വേഷമിട്ട് ജനി-മൃതി-മോക്ഷമിത്യാദി ഘനഗംഭീരങ്ങളായ ആശയങ്ങളെപ്പറ്റി സാധാരക്കാരോട് സംവദിച്ചു. അതിൽ ലയിച്ചവർ മേലനങ്ങേണ്ടതില്ലാത്ത, ലവലേശം കരുണ വേണ്ടാത്ത ഇപ്പുതിയ ഭക്തിമാർഗ്ഗങ്ങളിൽ സവിനയം ലയിച്ചു.</p>
<p>സ്വകാര്യവത്കരണത്തിന്റെ കേമപ്പെട്ട വാഗ്ദാനം, നടുറോഡിൽ പണിത ടാപ്പുകൾ വഴിയുള്ള സമാശ്വാസ വിതരണമായിരുന്നു. “രാജ്യം വളരുമ്പോൾ, രാജ്യഭണ്ഡാരവും വികസിക്കും. വലിയ ഭണ്ഡാരം പൊട്ടിക്കുമ്പോൾ കീഴാളർക്ക് മുഴുത്ത കാറ്റ് ലഭിക്കും. ഇപ്രകാരം എല്ലാരും വളരും!” എന്നൊക്കെയാണ് അഭിജ്ഞാനസാമ്പത്തികശാസ്ത്രജ്ഞർ അഭിപ്രായപ്പെട്ടത്. കാലം, വയറൊട്ടിയ, ഒന്നമർത്തിയാൽ നെഞ്ചെല്ല് പൊട്ടിച്ചിതറുന്ന കുഞ്ഞിക്കുരുന്നുകളെ ഈ പൈപ്പിൻ ചോട്ടിലെത്തിച്ചു. സമാശ്വാസത്തിന്റെ സുഗന്ധം പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ച് ടാപ്പ് തുറന്നവർക്ക് കിട്ടിയത് ഉപരിവർഗ്ഗത്തിന്റെ അധോവായുവായിരുന്നു. കുറേയെണ്ണം ചത്തു; ബാക്കിയായവർക്ക് വിപ്ലവത്തിലുള്ള വിശ്വാസവും നശിച്ചു.</p>
<p>സങ്കടം ശീലമാക്കിയ ജനതക്ക് പൊറുതി കൊടുത്തത് പണ്ട് പടിയിറങ്ങിപ്പോയ ദൈവങ്ങളാണ്. അവരുടെ വേദാന്തം, റേഡിയോ-ടീവി-ഇന്റർനെറ്റ് വഴി ഏകാന്തത മുറ്റിയ മനുഷ്യ മനസ്സുകളിലേക്ക് വീണ്ടും ഒഴുകിയെത്തി. മറവിയിൽ മാഞ്ഞു പോയ മാരനും, വനവാസം മതിയാക്കി മാലോകരുടെ നെഞ്ചിൽ കുടിവെച്ചു. ഉള്ള ദൈവങ്ങളിലെ മര്യാദക്കാരനായ മാരൻ, ആയ കാലത്ത് പുരുഷരിൽ ഉഷാറുള്ളവനായി പേര് കേൾപ്പിച്ചവനാണ്. എന്നാലായുഗത്തിൽ തൻപോരിമ പറയുന്നത് ഒരു കുറച്ചിലാകയാൽ ഇത്തരം സ്തുതികളൊന്നും മാരൻ പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിച്ചിരുന്നില്ല. എഴുത്ത് വിദ്യ പഠിച്ചൊരു കാട്ടാളൻ തന്റെ ജീവചരിത്രമെഴുതിയില്ലാരുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ ഇക്കാണുന്ന ഭക്തസഹസ്രങ്ങൾ തനിക്കുണ്ടാവില്ലല്ലോ എന്ന് മാരൻ ഇടക്കോർക്കാറുണ്ട്. അതിസാരം പിടിച്ചൊരു സംവിധായകനെ വെച്ച് കമലാന്തൻ രായാവ് മാരന്റെ കഥ സീരിയലാക്കിയതാണ്. ഭക്തി കാട്ടി ജനത്തെ തണുപ്പിക്കാൻ നോക്കിയ കമലാന്തൻ അവസാനം ഒരു പെണ്ണ് പൊട്ടിത്തെറിച്ചു മരിച്ചു. പാവമായിരുന്നു, നല്ലവനായിരുന്നു. പൂഷോടകം എന്ന നശിച്ച നാടിന്റെ പ്രതീക്ഷയായിരുന്നു. പാവം മരിച്ചു പോയതിനു പിന്നാലെ തുടൽ പൊട്ടിച്ചു പാഞ്ഞ ചെന്നായ്ക്കൾ ആ നാടിനെ തന്നെ ഇരുട്ടിലേക്ക് തള്ളിയിട്ടു കളഞ്ഞു. മാരന്റെ പേരിൽ തുടങ്ങിയ പിത്തന, പക്ഷേ മാരൻ മാത്രം കരുതിയാൽ തീർക്കാൻ പറ്റുന്ന ഒന്നായിരുന്നില്ല. ഭക്തരാരും മാരനെ അറിയാൻ ശ്രമിച്ചുമില്ല.</p>
<p>ഭാര്യ മരിച്ച ശേഷം, ചുടല പറമ്പുകളിൽ ഉറങ്ങാൻ പോയത്, രതിയോടുള്ള വിരക്തി കൊണ്ടല്ല. അധികാരരാഷ്ട്രീയത്തിന്റെ ചെങ്കൽചൂള, ആത്മാവിന്റെ ഉള്ളറകളെ കരിയിച്ചു കളഞ്ഞത് കൊണ്ടാണ്. ദൈവമായ മാരൻ, രാജാവ് കൂടിയായിരുന്നു. അഖിലലോകർക്കും ഉടയോനായ ആകലോകകാരണമുത്തൊളി മൊഞ്ചൻ മാരൻ. എന്നാലുമെന്താണ് തെണ്ടികളും തോട്ടികളുമായ ദൈവങ്ങൾ പുരാണങ്ങളിലില്ലാത്തത്? തീട്ടം കോരുന്ന, വിടുപണി ചെയ്യുന്ന, വെറ്റില നുള്ളി നുള്ളി കൈ വിണ്ടു വിണ്ടു മണ്ണിൽ കുഴഞ്ഞു വീണുമരിക്കുന്ന ദൈവങ്ങളില്ലല്ലോ? രാജകിരീടത്തിനു കീഴിലെ നീറുന്ന അധികാരവടംവലികൾ മാരന്റെ ഹൃദയത്തെ കരയിച്ചു കളഞ്ഞിരുന്നു. ഒടുക്കം ഗതികെട്ട് മനുഷ്യനെ കത്തിക്കുന്ന കനൽ പറമ്പുകളിലേക്ക് പാലായനം ചെയ്തതാണ്. കോണകം മാത്രമുടുത്ത്, നട്ടുച്ചക്ക് കൊട്ടാരത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പാഞ്ഞ് രക്ഷപ്പെട്ട മാരനെയോർത്ത് മറ്റ് ദൈവങ്ങൾക്ക് അസൂയയാണുണ്ടായത്.</p>
<p>എന്നാൽ മാരന്, മടങ്ങി വരേണ്ടി വന്നു. മാരൻ ജനിച്ചത് ഒരു തുണ്ട് ഭൂമിയിലാണ് എന്നൊരു കഥ നാട്ടിലാകെ പടർന്നു. കഥക്ക് വിത്തിട്ടത് വിവരം കെട്ടൊരു പടുകിളവൻ; വെള്ളമൊഴിച്ചു വളർത്തിയത് മൂലക്കുരു മൂത്ത മന്നാഡിയാർ എന്നൊരധികാരമോഹിയും. അഖിലത്തിനുടയോൻ ജനിച്ചതീ തുണ്ട് ഭൂമിയിൽ തന്നെയോ എന്ന് മറുത്ത് ചോദിക്കാൻ മാത്രം മൂളയുള്ള ഒരുത്തനും മാരഭക്തരിൽ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നില്ല എന്നത് സങ്കടം! ഒടുക്കം അവിടെ തന്നെ നിന്ന് പഴകി മണ്ണാച്ചൻ മൂടിയ ദൈവകൂടാരം വലിച്ചു പറിച്ചു കളഞ്ഞവിടെത്തന്നെ മാരനൊരു പള്ളി പണിയാൻ അവർ തീർച്ചയാക്കി. മാരന്റെ പള്ളി പിൽക്കാലത്ത് മാരമ്പള്ളി എന്നറിയപ്പെടുമെന്നൊക്കെ അവർ മനക്കോട്ട കെട്ടി…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“മണ്ണിലുയർന്നൊരു മാരമ്പള്ളി,
വിണ്ണിൻ യശസ്സാം പൊന്നുമ്പള്ളി,
ഉയർന്നു പൊങ്ങണ നേരത്ത്,
സുന്ദരചന്ദിരരൊക്കെ വിറക്കും,
മാരൻ നാമം ലോകം നിറയും.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>എന്നൊക്കെ മാരഭക്തർ പാടിനടന്നു. വാട്സാപ്പ് കൂട്ടായ്മകൾ വഴി മാരസന്ദേശം ലോകം മുഴുവനുമെത്തിച്ചു. എന്നാലൊരു കഥയും മാരനറിഞ്ഞിരുന്നില്ല. മൂലക്കുരു മൂത്ത് കാലകത്തി നടക്കുന്ന ഒരുത്തൻ രാജ്യം ഭരിക്കുമെന്നൊരു പ്രവചനമുണ്ടായിരുന്നല്ലോ. മന്നാഡിയാർ മണ്ടി പാഞ്ഞു വന്നത് തന്നെ ആ പ്രവചനം സത്യമാക്കി സിംഹാസനത്തിൽ ആസനസ്ഥനാവാൻ കൊതിച്ചു കൊണ്ടാണ്. അവന്റെ കൂട്ടക്കാരാണ്, മാരനത് പറഞ്ഞു, ഇത് പറഞ്ഞു; മാരന്റെ മണ്ണ് നായി കൊണ്ട് പോയി, ആരെക്കൊന്നും അത് തിരികേയ് പിടിക്കണം; മാരഭക്തരുടെ മാനാഭിമാനം കാക്കാൻ ദൈവകൂടാരം വലിച്ചു പറിച്ചു കളഞ്ഞവിടെത്തന്നെ പൊന്നു കൊണ്ടൊരു മാരമ്പള്ളി പണിയണം. അങ്ങിനെ പോണു മൂലക്കുരു മൂത്ത മന്നാഡിയാർ വിറ്റഴിച്ച സ്വപ്നങ്ങളുടെ നീണ്ട നിര.</p>
<p>“മയിരന്മാര്….!”</p>
<p>അവസാനനാളുകളിൽ മറ്റൊരു വാക്ക് ഭക്തന്മാരെപ്പറ്റി മാരൻ പറഞ്ഞിട്ടില്ല. മഞ്ഞ മാർബിളിൽ പണിത മാരമ്പള്ളിയെ തീട്ടക്കൊട്ടാരം എന്നാണ് അങ്ങോര് വിളിച്ചത്. ബാക്കി ദൈവങ്ങൾ അതിന് മുന്നേ തന്നെ മാരനെ ഇട്ടെറിഞ്ഞു പോയിരുന്നു. “സ്വയം പൊങ്ങി മൈത്താണ്ടി” എന്നാണ് സൃഷ്ടിയുടെ ഈശ്വരനായ കുമ്മാവ് മാരനെ അധിക്ഷേപിച്ചത്. “മനുഷ്യരെ തമ്മിൽ തല്ലിച്ച കണ്ടി കുണു വാവേ, നീ കണ്ണ് പൊട്ടി പുഴുത്തരിച്ച് മൂത്രത്തിൽ മുങ്ങി മരിക്കും!”. സകല മനുഷ്യരുടേയും അമ്മയായ ആദിപെരുംപടപ്പ് ഉള്ള് നൊന്ത് മാരനെ പ്രാകി. പെറ്റ വയറല്ലേ! മാരമ്പള്ളി കലാപകാലത്ത് ചോര വാർന്ന് മണ്ണിൽ വീണ പൂർണ്ണ വളർച്ചയെത്തിയ മനുഷ്യക്കുട്ടികളെ കണ്ട് ആ മനസ്സ് നീറി. മാരനെ മാത്രമല്ല, മനുഷ്യരെ കാക്കാത്ത സകല ദൈവങ്ങളേയും അവർ കണ്ണ് പൊട്ടണ ചീത്ത പറഞ്ഞു. “ആളെക്കൊന്നല്ലെടാ ഫുണ്ടകളേ പള്ളി പണിയേണ്ടത്” എന്നവർ ആകാശത്ത് നിന്ന് വിളിച്ചു പറഞ്ഞു. മാരഭക്തരാവട്ടെ, കർണ്ണങ്ങളിൽ അന്നേദിവസം അവരുടെ തന്നെ ലിംഗാഗ്രം പകുത്ത് പൂജ ചെയ്യുകയായിരുന്നു. ചർമ്മം കൊണ്ട് ചെവി മൂടിയിരിക്കുകയായിരുന്നതിനാലവരത് കേട്ടില്ല.</p>
<p>പൂഷോടകം എന്നാ ദ്വീപസമൂഹത്തിലാണ് മാരഭക്തർ മിക്കവരും തിങ്ങിപാർത്തിരുന്നത്. പണ്ടൊരവിട്ട നാളിൽ ദൈവങ്ങളുടെ പേരിൽ പരസ്പരം വെട്ടിച്ചത്ത പോരിശയുള്ള പന്നകളുടെ പിന്മുറക്കാരാണ് ഇന്ന് പൂഷോടകത്തെ പ്രജകളൊക്കെയും. അവരിൽ മാരഭക്തരുണ്ട്, മസിലൻമാരുണ്ട്, മാന്ന്രാണികളുണ്ട്, മൂക്കോലികളുണ്ട്, ബാക്കി നാനാജാതി മതസ്ഥരുണ്ട്. പ്രധാനമായും കാല് മടക്കി പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുന്ന മസിലൻമാരോട് പിത്തനയുണ്ടാക്കാനാണ് മാരഭക്തരോട് മൂലക്കുരു മൂത്ത മന്നാഡിയാർ ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടത്. അതിനായി ഖണ്ഡകാവ്യങ്ങളെഴുതി. സിനിമാ പിടിച്ചു. പരപര രാഗത്തിൽ കീർത്തനങ്ങളെഴുതി പള്ളികളിൽ ആൾക്കാർ തലചുറ്റി വീഴുവോളം കേൾപ്പിച്ചു. ഏത് വിധേനയും മാരഭക്തരും മസിലൻമാരും തമ്മിലടിക്കണം. അടിച്ചു കൊണ്ടേയിരിക്കണം. അല്ലാത്ത പക്ഷം തനിക്ക് സിംഹാസനത്തിൽ അമർന്നിരിക്കുക സാധ്യമല്ലെന്ന് മൂലക്കുരു മൂത്ത മന്നാഡിയാർക്ക് നന്നായി അറിയാമായിരുന്നു. അതിൻ പ്രകാരം സൂര്യനുറങ്ങിയ ശുഭമുഹൂർത്തത്തിൽ വലിച്ചു പറിച്ചു കളഞ്ഞവിടെ തന്നെ മാരമ്പള്ളി പണിയാൻ ഒരു കൂട്ടം ശവികൾ ഒരുമ്പെട്ടിറങ്ങി. പിന്നെ നടന്നത് ചരിത്രം.</p>
<p>“മയിരന്മാര്…!”</p>
<p>മലം മൂടിയ മണിക്കിണറിൽ മുങ്ങി കൊണ്ടിരിക്കേ മാരൻ തന്റെ ഭക്തരെ കാറിത്തുപ്പി വിളിച്ചു. എനിക്ക് പള്ളി പണിയാൻ നീയൊക്കെയാരാണ് ചെള്ക്കകളേ! എന്റെ പേരിൽ മനുഷ്യരെ വെട്ടിയെറിഞ്ഞ്, എന്റെ പേരിൽ തീട്ടകൊട്ടാരം കെട്ടി, എന്റെ തന്നെ മുന്നിൽ വന്ന് സഹസ്രനാമം ദിഖ്റ് ചൊല്ലാൻ ചില്ലറ ഉളുപ്പൊന്നും പോരാ!</p>
<p>മാരമ്പള്ളി കലാപാനന്തരം, ഒട്ടുമിക്ക ദൈവങ്ങളും മാരനെ പരസ്യമായും രഹസ്യമായും അധിക്ഷേപിച്ചു എന്നത് സത്യമാണ്. ഒരമേരിക്കൻ ദേവി മാരന്റെ മുഖത്ത് കാറിത്തുപ്പി. ബെറിങ്ങ് ഉൾക്കടലിലെ ഒരു കുട്ടി ദൈവം പറന്നു വന്ന് മാരന്റെ തലയിൽ തൂറി. പൂഷോടകത്തിലെ പൂറന്മാരോട് പരസ്പരം സ്നേഹിക്കാൻ പറയെടാ പൂറാ എന്നൊരു കരീബിയൻ ദൈവം കാറി വിളിച്ചു. അപമാനം സഹിക്കാം, ചങ്ക് തകർത്തത് മസിലൻമാരുടെ ദൈവം മെല്ലെയടുത്ത് വന്നിത് പറഞ്ഞപ്പോഴാണ്. “ന്റെ മക്കൾ മാത്രം അല്ലല്ലോ ഓര്. ഇത്രയെണ്ണത്തിനെ കൊല്ലണ്ടേർന്ന്. അനക്കൊന്ന് പറഞ്ഞൂടേനോ മാരാ…”</p>
<p>ഞങ്ങൾ പറഞ്ഞാൽ കേൾക്കുന്ന ജാതികളല്ല ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഭക്തർ എന്ന് ഓനറിയാഞ്ഞിട്ടല്ല. ദണ്ണം കൊണ്ട് പറയുന്നതാണ്. തന്റെ കൂടി മക്കളല്ലേ മരിച്ചവരൊക്കെയും?</p>
<p>ഹൃദയം തകർന്ന മാരന്റെ നെഞ്ച് കല്ലായി. മര്യാദ വിളങ്ങി നിന്ന ആ ഹൃദയം ഒരു ഹിമശിലയായി മാരന്റെ നെഞ്ചിൻകൂടിനെ മഥിച്ചു. മരിക്കാൻ നേരമായി. മഞ്ഞ മാർബിളിൽ കൊത്തിയെടുത്ത തീട്ടകൊട്ടാരത്തിന്റെ കല്ലിടലിനോ ഉത്ഘാടനത്തിനോ മാരൻ പോയില്ല. അങ്ങോട്ടൊന്ന് തിരിഞ്ഞു നോക്കിയത് പോലുമില്ല. ദൈവങ്ങൾ കയ്യൊഴിഞ്ഞ മാരൻ, ആശ നശിച്ച, ചൈതന്യം ദ്രവിച്ച, മരണം തൊട്ട് നക്കിയ നായി പടച്ചോനായി. മൂത്രത്തിൽ മുങ്ങി മരിക്കുമെന്ന ആദിപെരുംപടപ്പിന്റെ പ്രാക്ക് ചെവിയിൽ പ്രതിധ്വനി കൊണ്ടു. “ദെണ്ണം കൊണ്ട് പറഞ്ഞതാണ് ചെറിയോനെ, ഇയ്യത് മറന്നാളാ” എന്ന അവരുടെ ആശ്വസിപ്പിക്കലൊന്നും മാരനേശിയില്ല. അവർ ദൈവങ്ങളുടെയും അമ്മയാണല്ലോ. അവരൊന്നും വെറുതേ പറയില്ല!</p>
<p>മാരന്റെ ദേഹം പുഴുക്കുത്തി. വിരകളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞു പതഞ്ഞു. വിരലുകൾക്കിടയിൽ കൂടി പുഴുത്ത മാംസം പിഞ്ഞിപ്പറിഞ്ഞു നിലത്തേക്കൂർന്നു വീണു. കൊഴുത്ത അമേധ്യത്തിൽ പൂണ്ട് ശ്വാസം തിങ്ങി മരിക്കാനായിരുന്നു മാരന്റെ വിധി. “നായിക്ക് പിറന്ന നശൂലങ്ങളെ! അന്നം കിട്ടാതെ മരിച്ചു പോകുമെടാ കൂത്താടികളേ..!” ഉള്ള് നീറിയാ പാവം ദൈവം തന്റെ ഭക്തരെ പ്രാകി. അവരപ്പോഴും തീട്ടക്കൊട്ടാരത്തിലെ പ്രഭാതപൂജകളിൽ മുഴുകി, ശ്രീത്വം സ്വപ്നം കാണുകയായിരുന്നു. മാരമ്പള്ളിയെന്ന മരീചിക, അവരുടെ സ്വപ്നങ്ങളെപ്പോലും മലീമസമാക്കിയ അധികാരനാടകമായിരുന്നു എന്നവരറിഞ്ഞില്ല. പുഴുത്തു നാറി, മാനം കെട്ട് മരിച്ചൊരു ദൈവത്തിന്റെ ദയനീയമായ കരച്ചിലുകൾ അവർ കേട്ടതുമില്ല. അവർക്ക് മേലെ അസ്തമിച്ച സൂര്യൻ പോലും ഉദിക്കാൻ മടിച്ച് ലജ്ജിച്ചു നിന്നു.</p>ദൈവങ്ങൾ അങ്ങിനെ മരിക്കാറില്ല. കൊല്ലപ്പെടാറേയുള്ളൂ. സൃഷ്ടിക്ക് ശേഷം ശോഷിച്ചു തൂങ്ങിയ കൈപ്പലകളിൽ നിന്ന് കുഷ്ഠം പിടിച്ച നാല് കൈകൾ മാത്രം സ്വന്തമായുള്ള മാരൻ ദൈവം, എന്ന് ചത്ത് മലക്കും എന്ന് മാത്രമായിരുന്നു കുറച്ച് കാലത്തേക്ക് ക്ഷമാശീലരായ വിജിഗീഷുകൾ വീക്ഷിച്ചു കൊണ്ടിരുന്നത്. എന്നാൽ അവരെയൊക്കെ ഞെട്ടിച്ചു കൊണ്ട്, മനുഷ്യ മനസ്സിലെ മറവിയുടെ കാണാക്കയങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും മാരൻ ദൈവം വിശ്വാസത്തിന്റെ പരകോടിയിലേക്ക് വീണ്ടും റിലീസാവുന്നത് ഇരുപതാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിന്റെ അന്ത്യത്തോടെയാണ്.Philosophy of the bomb.2023-10-30T01:00:39+00:002023-10-30T01:00:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2023/10/30/philosophy-of-the-bomb<p>One of the longest standing political projects of all times are the reflections on how to justify a carnage. Theorising to erase murder and call it by some other name; finding ways to hide dead bodies from the past - in a futile attempt to escape retribution. Sometimes, it is about delusions that are employed to escape conscience.</p>
<p>But things doesn’t work that way. Sooner or later, truth catches up and the stench of rotten flesh - not always the literal human meat - will surface and there would be no place to go. That is also when we realise that the demons that ate our loved ones were hatched by ourselves. By the time we realise, it is almost always too late to do anything.</p>
<p>Great empires create arms industries to sustain their campaigns. But one day, the depradations would prove too less for the kind of trouble the proprietors of these industries take. And then, the guns will be trained to the weakest; so that the ‘costs’ are amortized over a the remaining days of a grappling empire. “Chickens always come home to roost.”</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The colonizer, who in order to ease his conscience gets into the habit of seeing the other man as an animal, accustoms himself to treating him like an animal, and tends objectively to transform himself into an animal.”
“And then one fine day the bourgeoisie is awakened by a terrific reverse shock: the gestapos are busy, the prisons fill up, the torturers around the racks invent, refine, discuss. — People are surprised, they become indignant. They say: “How strange! But never mind — it’s Nazism, it will pass!” And they wait, and they hope; and they hide the truth from themselves, that it is barbarism, but the supreme barbarism, the crowning barbarism that sums up all the daily barbarisms; that it is Nazism, yes, but that before they were its victims, they were its accomplices; that they tolerated that Nazism before it was inflicted on them, that they absolved it, shut their eyes to it, legitimized it, because, until then, it had been applied only to non-European peoples; that they have cultivated that Nazism, that they are responsible for it.”
—Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, this cannot be used as a means to blame the victims. They are almost always the “victims of circustances”, who almost always had no say in the way powers that be cultivated the world before them. Of course, they could have voted sensibly. But did voting save them from the vagaries of price rise, poor health and education policies, or did they get a sound economic system? Weren’t they dependent on the intellectuals who lied and a salaried media that appeared to be free?</p>
<p>In any case, the “philosophy of the bomb” applies to another category of people who come from the very lot who live at the heart of these colonies. They are, however, not the ‘weakest’ kind. The weakest are generally marginalised to the extent of irrelevance and disappearence. They are even below the “proletariat”, who could afford to work in the factories run by the colonial as well as comprodor elites. The weakest, are cast aside from the avenues of education, skilling, social participation and are kept there through perpetuating their state of ‘deliberate uselessness’ as designed by the colonial power centres.</p>
<p>The proletariat and the ‘middle class’, are actually the benefactors of colonial state in varying degrees. Indeed, some of their faculties and labour is exploited by the colonial power to reinforce its authority and ensure commercial viability of the empire. However, they are indeed rewarded - from the handsome excess that the ‘middle class’ receives vis-á-vis the meagre living wage that a proletariat member gets albeit being confined to their urban prisons, fondly called ‘chawls’ of the new world.</p>
<p>In modern parlance, the amorphous “Market Economy”, is commanded by a power centre that is coveted by all seekers of power. Irrespective of the social status of these contenders, they all are benefitted from this Market Economy that distributes largesse as a function of your acquired skills. Only caveat being that these skills are a function of your social privilege - something that the Holy Market doesn’t really care. That it aids perpetuation of structural inequalities is a debate for another day. IMO, the long march of democratic traditions will be halted if this fundamental inequity isn’t addressed through the electoral as well as administrative apparatus.</p>
<p>Going back, the philosophy of the bomb (PoB) needs another exposition around the perceptions that religions or identity is the prime motivator of terrorism. The phenomenon of terrorist being linked to religion is a relatively recent one. Rather, PoB is a remarkably secular apparatus. It is a thinking complex, that works as an antidote to the pains inflicted by the structural inequalities. It is a polemic that goes to great lengths to justify violence as the means of political action.</p>
<p>It might be ironic to state that PoB is a lazy political espacism, given the great lengths its proponents go to, inorder to achieve its stated ends. The only problem is that painful political organisation and legitimate politcal expression of the masses is a long, arduous process to which the revolutionary have no patience. The revolutionary is always childish, <a href="https://blog.hashin.me/2023/09/20/revolution-is-a-product-of-old-age/">even when their actions are inspired & conjured up by the elder lot</a>. Here, the revolutionary is pushed into the thick of action even before they achieve a stage of reason. Here, ‘the state of reason’, shouldn’t be confounded with age of the revolutionary. Sometimes, the revolutionary is an older person, having bored themselves to a point where any sociopolitical action, whatever nuisance it is, is a fulfilment of their romantic ideals. Here, the old revolutionary use age as a justification. They argue that they have tried and tested every other method and PoB is now the only way forward. These perverse justifications of violence arises from the fundamental inability to creatively engage with the larger society. But the PoB gives a reliable outlet through which these anxieties (many a times manifestly sexual) could be relieved.</p>
<p>Anyhow, the PoB always comes back to the perpetrators. It gives a figment of legitimacy to the colonial state’s oppressive apparatus. Adherents of PoB is always a small minority, who pose little threat to the multi-billion enterprise that the extractive colonial state is. In fact, the adherants of PoB lives in cavities carefully carved out for them. They preach various flavours of freedom discourses - tuned to suit various affinities. They have a tailor made version for the urban proletariat. Yet another concocted by university professors who don’t really understand how an automatic rifle or IED works, but see them as a “last resort” means to justify PoB. The post revolutionary anti-intellectualism will almost always consume them. But they have little choice. Under a capitalist & colonial apparatus, they feel emasculated and useless; the post revolutionary world is a promise. Their dilemma is something we will deal with later.</p>
<p>The purpose of this particular article is to examine the mechanism through which PoB infiltrates the minds of radicals in stratified societies of today. It may not always manifest as bombs or mass shootings; for social media acts both as a source and sink of radical hatred and discontent that propels them into action. But when they finally choose action, the fountainhead of their philosophies are the “materials of dehumanisation”, actively employed by them and against them as the situation demands.</p>
<p>You cannot bomb someone you see as being similar to you. The whole point of the exercise to clear out “something” (not someone) which (not who) you see as threat to the “larger good”. So the victim has to be dehumanised. Now, it is not always the bomber who would have done this. It could be a rabid political philosophy or ethnic idealism that worked over existing social faultlines. Whatever the case may be, according to the bomber, they are not killing people, they are exterminating a ‘threat’.</p>
<p>This is why PoB is only an expression of the larger malice of philosophies and ideologies that seek to dehumanise. And despite the efficacy and utility of dehumanisation, it has to be actively shunned by sane political actors. Modern democratic discourse must have customary as well as legal mechanisms to counter dehumanisation. Lexical controls, conventions or even curbs on discourse in favour of larger humanity should be the norm. If the school curriculum or the early socialisation doesnt’ include this with a spirit of fraternity, the society is doomed to fail.</p>
<p>Aspirations for a united society alone wouldn’t make to it. There is a dire need to act against social faultines. The fighting devices of dehumanisation of dissenters or rivals is something we cannot do without. Sunset begins at noon - we need to act now.</p>One of the longest standing political projects of all times are the reflections on how to justify a carnage. Theorising to erase murder and call it by some other name; finding ways to hide dead bodies from the past - in a futile attempt to escape retribution. Sometimes, it is about delusions that are employed to escape conscience.Revolution is a product of old age.2023-09-20T01:51:39+00:002023-09-20T01:51:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2023/09/20/revolution-is-a-product-of-old-age<p>Once, I was quoted an American report that claimed that the single most important data point that leads to revolutions is a bulge in the youthful population. We were talking in the backdrop of the Arab Spring and I was very young myself. At that point, I was preoccupied with thinking that I was <em>old</em> and not young, even when I was barely twenty at the time. The idea of youth fuelling revolutions is a very interesting one. Perhaps, revolutionary zeal is unsustainable without a bundle of youthful human material that you can throw at the meat grinders set up by entrenched powers.</p>
<p>Whether it be the police or military, internal rebellions can hardly crush their material might. But you can easily crush their spirit by sacrificing a substantial bit of human youth, who could be fomented like the tip of a whip, lashing out in all directions - frothing themselves out into a world of glaring injustices. Now, their anger may indeed be justified. But our focus should be on the actors who would find it easier to manipulate this anger and channel it into political action that matters. To take on the citadels of power, a straight fight is hardly desirable. You may want to pull the rug under their feet, and the element of surprise must come from the willingness to sacrifice the maximum number of young people.</p>
<p>History has this bad habit of celebrating those who emerged victorious through revolutions. In reality, most of the outcomes are actually decided by the side that first grew tired of killing young people. Now, I am not vindicating the tyrants who were displaced through these bloody, violent revolutions. They generally keep their teeth firmly clasped to the young meat, but their systems are prone to crack faster. From their ministers to officers to department heads to office clerks - it is far easier to see how their air-conditioned rooms and finely done steak - or a mushroom delicacy that costs many thousand dollars - come from the blood of the young people they call ‘theirs’. These oppressors are more likely to capitulate when both sides are sacrificing same number of (young) human meat in the fight.</p>
<p>However, the same revelation is harder for the ‘side’ that is making revolution. They were the underdogs when the revolution started. They were never invited to the high table. Their commanders theorise about equality because they are the ones who are hurt mostly by inequality. They are very well aware of the amount of young blood they are throwing at the meat grinders of an oppressive state. After all, the guns they hold came through ways known only to them and not the young lot who hold them and fire at the agents of state, who unfortunately look just like them. It is easier when the state looks a bit different due to a change in ethnicity, but the internal organs that their bullets pulverize are hard to ignore. Regularly, they step on a small intestine, gall bladder or a young lad blown into smithereens by a friendly grenade. He/she is more likely to cry reading an intercepted love letter from someone in the enemy line. Warzone is a mix of maimed human limbs, confused minds and loss of collective humanity. We send young people there to make sense of the incredible cruelty/violence over which human societies are built upon.</p>
<p>And who sent them there?</p>
<p>Not just the oppressor state, but also the commanders of the revolution, who knew every bit of what they are doing. This is not a moral evaluation of their decisions - they would most likely say that the violence caused by them is miniscule compared to systemic violence and oppression of the powers they are fighting against. That the sudden blip in the death rates in revolution years will slowly be overcome when Liberty, Equality and Fraternity is achieved and the ‘nation’ attains prosperity. But once the new rule is established, it is only a slow wait till the rot sets in and the next set of revolutionaries are born.</p>
<p>The leaders of the revolution are dressed in camouflage - not just for the battlefield. But also, to cover up their rotten souls which match those of their oppressors. Their youthful appearance and love for life is emphasised in the revolutionary press, with mediocre university dropouts writing paeans about their courage and irreverence towards death. The three-fifth of the paraphernalia of a post-revolutionary society is centred around how they have transcended the fear of death in service of the people. But half of their fables come from the way they held death with their own bare hands. Not their own deaths, but the deaths they caused when they knew every bit of what they were doing. The death of young people and snivels of emptied out families doesn’t reach them when they go around sibilating across the now-empty corridors of power. Revolutions crush only the bodies of the oppressors; they ruin the souls of the contenders. Revolutions beget revolutions. It is not difference in opinion that cause revolutions, it is the lust for power that spawns religions, dangerous philosophies and messiahs that deliver freedom encased in a casket of death.</p>
<p>When their leaders take over the old presidential palace and unceremoniously poke open the Suede leather of old thrones, they smell rotten flesh - not of animals long dead. But of young people they threw towards a merciless state whose character they very well knew. Every night of war was them clasping their soft bellies in makeshift tents, hoping that they are not killed the day after. Days were spent acting fatherly, jovial and courageous in front of young recruits, only to wish for the night to come. Then, they go to their rough beds, masturbating themselves to sleep, dreaming about the beauties of the Capital that they will win after the revolution hits a bull’s eye. One of them is said to have licked the varnish off a perfume-stained letter that a romance-stricken college student sent to him, as the revolution raged and he was hailed as the hero of the people. She was in love with him, unbeknownst of the boys her age (whose ideals she shared), he was sending to be fried in napalm every day.</p>
<p>Those who spawn revolutions are not young people. It is a product of old age. Not because revolutionary preparedness takes years to master. It is because of the bitterness that every leader should possess to coldly calculate death and destruction while plotting for a change of guard in the corridors of power. Young people seldom are equipped with the feeling of loss and permanent envy that push them there. Sure, young people are angry and volatile, but they wouldn’t be able to handle death as a metric that ought to be optimised. A minority of revolutionary leadership is indeed young, but only of age. Their humanity must have been sucked out of them during a difficult childhood. They are old (wo)men in young clothes; and they generally drink and smoke themselves to death when the revolution is finally successful.</p>
<p>But then, in the moonlit streets of serene capitals post revolution, the night lights may suddenly turn blood red with palaces reeking with the stench of millions of young people dead. It is when the revolutionary overlords vomit blue blood. When the clouds clear, ghosts of revolution will crawl out of the forest - singing songs of oppression and the need for blood to avenge the losses and lubricate the wheels of change. There is a revolution, a river of blood and also large fields full of dead young people - and some of them would be born only in the decade to come.</p>Once, I was quoted an American report that claimed that the single most important data point that leads to revolutions is a bulge in the youthful population. We were talking in the backdrop of the Arab Spring and I was very young myself. At that point, I was preoccupied with thinking that I was old and not young, even when I was barely twenty at the time. The idea of youth fuelling revolutions is a very interesting one. Perhaps, revolutionary zeal is unsustainable without a bundle of youthful human material that you can throw at the meat grinders set up by entrenched powers.Democratic thinking vs Democracy in Praxis.2023-04-24T10:51:39+00:002023-04-24T10:51:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2023/04/24/democratic-thinking-vs-democracy-in-praxis<p>It is very important that we understand the differences between these two. The basis of modern democracy is as much philosophical and ideological as much as it is rooted in practice. The much hackneyed quote of Sir. Winston Churchill (oh, that old doyen of democracy who didn’t bat an eye murdering 43 million Bengalis by deprivation!) that it is the worst form of government - except for all the others that have been tried. The quote looks neat, and gives us a nice pat on the back for having chosen Democracy.</p>
<p>But there is a problem here.</p>
<p>It is that the people who read this and take pride in democracy are hardly aware of other forms of government. Unless you live in a transitional society that’s slowly democratising post a catastrophic undemocratic government, you’re unlikely to have a perception of what is it like to live under a yoke - domestic or foreign. You are unlikely to have been equipped with enough skillsets to smartly analyse socio-political indicators to measure the health of your democracy. You may not have a ‘canary in the coalmine’ that will tell you whether you will lose your civil rights in the near future. Or, if there is an extant underground, but active, plan to slowly oppress you economically by imposing an extractive system over and above the economic system of your country/province.</p>
<p>This is typical of the infirmities that most of the quotes/ideas that support democracy have. If not backed with proper ideas of praxis, ideology of democracy could be standing on thin ice. Worse, it risks being used as a means to oppress an unsuspecting populace. If we comb through the myths of yesteryears, we’ll see them teaching people about the ruses of kinds and holymen who were ever trying to usurp their well being. Doesn’t democracy deserve its own set of myths and folklore that protects its adherents from the depradations of a maruading elite?</p>
<p>All these are very much real because that’s how humanity works. It is very easy for the individual to believe in the goodness of figures far removed from their immediate surroundings. Humanity invented halos so that the uncertainties of this world could be suspended around figures of authority. This suspension of disbelief is essential to the working of many social institutions that are founded more in prestige than on the routine display of hard power. No doubt, great amounts of violence crawl through the underbellies of our society that tries to put up an air of normalcy. Here, this mechanism works directly against Democracy taking deep roots in any society.</p>
<p>More so for India, where the culture is strong on idolising popular figures and giving them an aura of invincibility and inherent goodness that transcend their fallible humanity. Story of Indian democracy is also the story of many such wholesale abuses of the faith of Indians in the goodness of great men and women. This is a very important aspect of Democracy in praxis that needs to be stressed enough.</p>
<p>Other vices of our fledgling democracy - money being used as a substitute to genuine political work, state power directed to tilting elections in favour of one party, influence of primordial identities in the formation of political units, sabotaging the welfare agenda of state in pursuit of electoral victories alone, near total destruction of civil society as a check on the unbridled powers of the executive, emasculation of free speech ecosystem, corporeal destruction of organised opposition, diminishing space for ideological organisation - all of them exist because the praxis of democarcy is ignored. Most of our discourse around democracy in centred around the ideological dimension of giving value to each and everyone - even if those lofty ideals are not put into practice through a just social order.</p>
<p>It is pointless to expect political processes alone bring lasting social change in a sovereign democracy. This is because almost all political formations in scene will be geared towards capturing state power, with little regard for anything else. Even the ideological movements within will be moved by the concerns of popularity that could preclude them from capturing power. This system will slip into utter chaos if those who hold the vote - the commoner - is not educated in the best ways possible about how all these shifts affect them.</p>
<p>The model of imparting this education through schools alone may not be effective. For these things have to be taught by the communities and households. Indian religions - the ones originated here as well as those found their home here - have this habit of strongly enculturating the young with what they believe in. Such a cultural intervention is the need of the hour. Despite all their differences and possible animosities, various community groups should be brought together to develop a common democratic vocabulary. This shouldn’t be limited to the iconographic approach adopted by the early democrats. They were also the freedom fighters who freed us from the British yoke. But their project of making India democratic is still a work in progress.</p>
<p>I explicitly mention this iconographic approach of theirs because it focused on creating shared images, people and halls of fame in the proces of nation building. But it is not wholly immune to perverted ideological projects that seek to divide the nation. For example, imagery is always about the strong emotions that they elicit. If someone could conjure up necessary emotions to create stronger imagery (and efficient channels to distribute them), it would spiral into a cultural arms race. Sadly, the party that appeals to more primordial identities and related emotional complexes will have a natural advantage in eliciting emotions in their favour.</p>
<p>Here, we should be smart enough to see that this process will not benefit any single party alone for a long time. They may seem to win the war by playing to a set of emotions over a constituency over a period of time. But invariably, a new iconoclasm will arise, much more fierce and committed towards conjuring up necessary resources to take the entrenched party heads on. They may or may not be concerned about national domination. If they are not, they will easily achieve a fragmentation of polity. If this culture war is allowed to go unabated, it will ultimately end up in cleaving our country and polity along lines that benefit these “political entrepreneurs” who sell anything that they can put their hands on in their pursuit for power. The ultimate beneficiaries are only their allies and attached families. Everybody else in the country stands to lose out. Elections degenerate into contests of differences alone and not a meditation on possibilities of co-existence.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In a consummate democracy, elections are not contests of differences alone, but a meditation on possibilites of co-existence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is where democracy in praxis should be set up. It consists of large scale political organisation work that focuses on creating systems that impart this essential knowledge to the people. The spread of technology alone would not magically make things better for us, as we have painfully learned in the last decade. Every socially responsible citizen would have to take upon themselves this need to educate, create and spread positive propaganda that will make democracy stronger. We should work harder for we cannot let our democratic elections relegate into a mere contestation of identities. Over and above that, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Democracy in itself is no end, but only a means towards a dignified existence for all. Democracy is not something to be proud about; it is a set of responsibilities that we can only shirk at the cost of our fulfilling existence.</p>
<p>Godspeed.</p>It is very important that we understand the differences between these two. The basis of modern democracy is as much philosophical and ideological as much as it is rooted in practice. The much hackneyed quote of Sir. Winston Churchill (oh, that old doyen of democracy who didn’t bat an eye murdering 43 million Bengalis by deprivation!) that it is the worst form of government - except for all the others that have been tried. The quote looks neat, and gives us a nice pat on the back for having chosen Democracy.Attack on fraternity is an attack on the Indian Constitution.2022-12-13T02:30:39+00:002022-12-13T02:30:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2022/12/13/for-a-better-india-1<p>One of the hallmarks of Indian public discourse is the inexplicable urge to deflect a sane analysis of the nature of political processes. This doesn’t mean that the political processes are incredibly complex and the public unable to understand it.</p>
<p>Of course, there are many layers to the Indian political process that makes it hard to “analyse” based on a truly cause-effect investigation. I will touch upon that another day. Here, our discussion pertains to how Indians are shielded from the nuances of political process.</p>
<p>To some extent, we see deliberate social designs that prevent us proceeding from an adolescent flux to a stable ‘adult’ existence. The hallmark of this ‘adult’ existence is the agency that comes along with it. One doesn’t have to see it as the severing of an imaginary umbilical cord with the larger society. Rather, it is a place from which the person enjoys relative autonomy over taking life’s most important decisions. That is, things that have a lasting impact on themselves and the community they live in.</p>
<p>If we look at the way children are reared by the parents as well as the community, the dominant theme is to create reluctant decision makers who are primed to live in a heavily controlled environment.</p>
<p>Mind you, this is not an exhortation to create some libertarian utopia devoid of any social sanctions or control. But this is an honest examination to see if the space in which politics operate in our society is fundamentally constrained. This is not an analysis on the impact of different political ideologies. Rather, this is a study of the social space in which all these ideologies are immersed.</p>
<p>For example, if a particular ideology uses a certain set of lexical collections to put forward a doctrine of passion - hatred for example - this study will analyse why that works as a political strategy. Why did that lexical collection resonated with the people? Why didn’t the people reject it as a silly call for pet hatred, that will corrode every aspect of the society as they know it?</p>
<p>Answering these questions requires creating a model of society that will help us test hypotheses of this kind.</p>
<p>Again, the infantilization of the population is only one aspect of the larger question - what is the fundamental nature of politics in our country? Also, what is a feasible political philosophy that we all can take up so that all our lives are better? Some prerequisites to this study are what constitutes our nationhood.</p>
<p>For instance, if someone is to consider only people of a particular religion as belonging to our nation automatically, things will be quite different for her. But we won’t solve this conundrum if we treat her as an object of derision. If you are to ask her if all humans should be treated equally, she will most probably answer that they should be. If you ask her, should all humans be treated with dignity, she will most probably answer with a resounding yes. But if you are to put it this way - “Whether human rights should be applied to all”, they may have a different answer.</p>
<p>This is because “human rights” is a sticky word that comes with a certain amount of baggage. To a liberal minded person, this is a sacrosanct entity that need to be protected at any cost; to some it is a reason why terrorists are able to constantly terrorise us. It prevents legitimate state action that could have saved us from this menace. To them, misuse by human rights activists is a bigger problem than a corporate media be allowed to terrorise us 24x7, warning about enemies within - real or perceived.</p>
<p>In a constitutional scheme of things, we ensure human rights to all. Even our enemies or those who have sworn to kill us. This is because if we don’t do that, there’s a lot of scope for the misuse of those doctrines to usurp those rights away from people who are innocent. It is the people of India, we, who maintain the state here. We pay for its existence. We ensure that it lives on through us. The state derives everything it has from us - “We, The People of India”. Hence, we are responsible for all actions of the state even if we didn’t call the shots. At this juncture, we should also pause to define this “We”, the first word of the Indian Constitution.</p>
<p>The “We” here doesn’t correspond to any community of people that existed at a particular point in time. For example, if it was just the people of India when it got independence, how could the generations that came after it (and those legally migrated into the country) be included in that “We”?</p>
<p>150 years down the line, we all will be dead. Still, the constitution will be expected to represent the people. It should ensure that the same dreams of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and human dignity be protected. This brings us to an unassailable truism that has been neglected for long. That is, the survival of the Constitution hinges on the maintaining of the “national community” as an essential entity that agrees upon the basic precepts of protecting the dignity of all humans - along with dreaming the same dreams of welfare for all. If that is not deeply embedded in the national consciousness, the nation will see its Constitution mauled and disfigured to suit the whims of a few. First in praxis, then in letter and later in spirit.</p>
<p>By then, the national community would have long withered away. Their national imagination would have been corrupted and maligned by an insidious process of long drawn campaigns that attack the very roots of Unity. Every attack on Unity is aimed at ultimately tearing down the Constitution. And hence, if it is liberty, life and dignity that you love - you must resist everything that seeks to undermine the unity of our people and our national imagination.</p>
<p>The question of national imagination is intricately tied to the ‘maturity’ of a people. This maturity however cannot function if it is a mere legal fiction. The genius of the people is not something that you attribute to them. Neither is it something that you can excavate from society to prove your point. It is something you can appreciate only if you look at people from a non-judgmental and neutral point of view. This is the reason why Indian constitutionalism is inseparably tied to the larger project of decolonisation. Here, the people are no longer treated as subjects. They are thinking entities that can act on their own. A lot of characteristics are attributed to them which may not apply to each and everyone. But that is a given - you cannot generalise anything over the whole population in such a diverse country.</p>
<p>What we seek to achieve is to ensure certain things that make life better for everyone in the long run. A life with dignity, protection to life and liberty etc works to the advantage of the nation and whole of humanity in the long run. Certain life choices that people make - like voting for a certain party - could sabotage this only if the institutional democracy is not strong enough in that country. The Constitution seeks to remedy this by creating an institutional framework that protects human dignity and life quality no matter the transient electoral majorities that the politics of the day manages to produce.</p>
<p>The process of creating an electoral majority is always with an aim to create a monopoly over government. The Constitution acts as a referee that creates a level playing field for all. It also ensures smooth transition of power from one majority to another. If this system is damaged, the fundamental ideal of Constitutionalism - rule of law - will be damaged beyond repair. It is not difficult to see that all these concepts are closely tied to each other.</p>
<p>An attack on Unity - attempts at undermining fraternity - will directly lead to transient electoral majorities that can be sustained only through continuous assault on liberty and equality. This attack on liberty and equality would be sustained at an ideological domain for a long time before it becomes feasible to weaponize the arms of state to attack these prized ideals.</p>
<p>This article is already long, but it is trying to break down these ideas into fine granules that will readily help us see how all these are interconnected.</p>
<p>For example, an autocratic leadership inside a political party (any one of them) is dangerous to the whole of democracy. This is because their ways for the pursuit for power will be different from the rule books of parties that are used to Constitutional contests. These parties will also find it difficult to create pluralistic structures that are aimed at preserving the Unity of India.</p>
<p>Conversely, if the DNA of a political ideology shudders at the thought of collective and democratically elected leadership, it cannot aim to ever uphold the Constitutional safeguards. It will forever be condemned to autocratic leadership that distribute largesses across their patronage networks. These are feed-forward loops that need to be broken if there is any hope for creating an open, free democracy that works for everyone. This is much more than just writing and ‘observing’ the sacred letter of the law. This series (of articles) will touch upon the practical implications of trying to implement such a system.</p>
<p>Another discussion is moot here. An argument of ‘practical difficulties’ in politics or dismissing this as “Idealism” is only counter productive. There should be an agreement within the thinking populace to document all these realities. They should organise effectively to act on this documentation of facts.</p>
<p>Instead of waiting for grand schemes like Revolutions that shake up the entire system and ruin millions of lives (and lead to proliferation of movements that feed on bloodlust under a cloak of “serving the weakest”).</p>
<p>“Serving the weakest” or “ending preferential treatment of X” or “Defeating the malicious neighbour” are tropes that are worse than the ‘Divine right to rule’. These are entities that could be raised to the canon of sacred domain in the society - all talk and no action. Worse, they could be used to suppress dissent and legitimise violence. These are the dangers that everyone should be warned about.</p>
<p>Before I end this, I urge the reader to look for concepts that need to be further deconstructed. Explication of any political philosophy starts with breaking it down and addressing each of the underlying assumptions. Some of these assumptions are inevitable - or are ideological. Some of them will be sacrosanct - like the unity of the nation. But that is the framework under which we operate.</p>
<p>The nation needs to stay together. The political action here would be the desire to make sure that the unity of the nation creates something of value to us and to the rest of humanity.</p>
<p>Reflections on Nationalism and its implications and what we could do (political action) will also be discussed in this series. Suggestions may be left as comments or mailed. I seek to develop this series as a free flowing essay that doesn’t really fit into any structure or organisation.</p>
<p>I admit that this is a lazy decision and may make things hard for a disciplined learner who may want to follow this. My assumption is that the academic value of my work will be scant, but the practical application may add value to the reader. It is easier to apply when the ideas appear as part of discourse. At the least, my aim is to create a workable set of ideas that will improve the human condition in our country upon its application in politics. I know that this is a grand ambition to have. Maybe, the practicality of these will be foiled when it meets the harsh reality of entrenched systems that regulate the pursuit for power. If it may help some of us to crystallise their thought process, I will call it a day.</p>
<p>Thank you for reading. Later instalments will be updated here.</p>One of the hallmarks of Indian public discourse is the inexplicable urge to deflect a sane analysis of the nature of political processes. This doesn’t mean that the political processes are incredibly complex and the public unable to understand it.Gandhi and his faults - choosing the praxis X idol.2022-10-02T10:51:39+00:002022-10-02T10:51:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2022/10/02/gandhi-praxis-x-idol<p>Critical reading of Gandhi is the order of the day. Despite his portrayal in textbooks and pop culture, the enterprise of ‘exposing’ Gandhi has grown leaps and bounds in the last a few decades. If you look inside, you’ll see all hues of politics inside this body of work. From Ambedkarites to Marxists to cultural nationalists to right wing terror groups and their counterparts - you see the burgeoning industry of ‘exposing’ Gandhi. And most often, their passionate hate towards Gandhi fuels their politics.</p>
<p>I don’t think they are searching for any answers. And this post is not to vindicate Gandhi for his faulty positions whatsoever. From my extensive reading of his OG archives, I know that his corpus is interlaced with pseudoscience, faux pride for culture, an admiration for Caste system etc - to name a few.</p>
<p>But still, why am I so enthusiastic about the man? What is it that I find so enticing about his life and work? For all the questions that have been raised about my articles on him, I believe that I owe an explanation.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/HAlgSvn.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Gandhi - the man - was always a work in progress. His greatest contribution is the process of self discovery and the purification of the ‘soul’. Now, this is something that is susceptible to metaphysical trappings. For example, one may ask - of what is soul and is it a real entity? Or if the ‘purification’ as propounded by Gandhi had any connotations with the Caste paraphernalia?</p>
<p>And they are not wrong to raise these questions. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi himself was trapped in many of those - as can be seen from how he interpreted Caste as an eternal reality that holds a lot of promise. But the man’s conclusions - or the way he articulated them publicly - should not be used to represent him.</p>
<p>This is because Gandhian philosophy is not something that churns out answers to life’s complicated queries. Rather, it is a process that greatly simplifies the ‘discovery’ and ‘description’ of the world - both material and moral. You should visualise it as a simple machine that outputs answers (which are closer to the ‘truth’), according to what you feed it.</p>
<p>In Gandhi’s moral universe, Truth reigns supreme. In his political imagination, truth is the sovereign power and the ultimate arbiter. He interlinks Truth with non-violence because violence is possible only when there is paucity of truth (here, one could define truth as a refined form of wisdom - which in turn is processed information).</p>
<p>If you can see the other ‘human’ and have complete knowledge of his self - committing violence on her is extremely difficult. If you are punishing them for their identity - truth tells you that all identities are constructed. Or that identities don’t define a man. If you are punishing a man for his actions, knowledge of truth will also put you in their shoes. And help you see the world through their eyes. From there, you may have scant reasons to unleash violence upon that person.</p>
<p>So you see, Truth exposes the world to you. It is the connecting link between Philosophy, Law, Engineering and Administration. Can you pass unjust laws, without concealing truth at some point? If you are taking an administrative decision that oppresses a class of people - can you do it without turning a blind eye on the truth about their sufferings and the ultimate truth that all men are created (or born) equal? Can you do this without neglecting the truth about the humanity that weeps at the suffering of others? Or the shrine of compassion that we all carry within, that makes us sob when we see suffering?</p>
<p>Can you commit any act of violence without yielding to the seductive power of lies and deceit?</p>
<p>This was at the core of Gandhian philosophy. And as you can see, it is a long, arduous process. Being a Gandhian is building this machine of truth from first principles. It is to assemble this simple machine inside your mind and analyse the world with all the information, interactions and experiences you have. You refine your inputs through travel, reading, conversations and outright observation of the world, the self and the rest of humanity.</p>
<p>This is the Gandhian philosophy in praxis. The ends of these are deeply personal. What Abdul Ghaffãr Khãn deduced was not what Mandela deduced and their ‘conclusions’ varied greatly from Martin Luther King Junior.</p>
<p>But they all are Gandhians, who sought to dismantle the yoke of lies and deceit to uncover the truth. Truth also negates the use of religion in politics. For, the shroud of religious bigotry could easily cover the violent underbelly of an expanding state. When Alexander invaded Egypt, he got the Oracle of Siwa to pronounce him the son of God Amun and enabled his royal writ to run large with legitimacy. The dabbling of the spiritual world with material politics only corrupts them both. This was at the heart of his teachings.</p>
<p>A Hindu cannot hack a Muslim to pieces (and vice versa), if he could see the humanity and the pain of himself in the other. But they killed each other in the millions. Gandhi showed us that this tragedy and ghore could only be staged with an elaborate web of lies, propaganda and deceitful machinations of the clergy and social elites. His politics was a philosophical reproach to all these marauding political entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>This piece is not seeking to vindicate Gandhi of his faulty positions. But rather, my humble effort is to illuminate the conditions that led to those positions. But the man displayed remarkable commitment to change his course if and when the faults are pointed out to him. This great quality of self correction and refinement would have been impossible without the machine of truth that he built with his philosophy.</p>
<p>Yes, he has written Xenophobic comments when he was jailed with black men in South Africa. But one would see that the Gandhi of the 1940s would never do that. The long praxis of his philosophy has changed the man a lot, and it charged his life and learnings as a radical. What made Gandhi a radical was his infectious commitment to learn and correct his mistakes. And for someone who was essentially the connection between India’s national past (riddled with corruption and perversion) and its modernity, he ought to be a bridge that touched both the ends.</p>
<p>It’s easy to despise a bridge for its roots are deeply submerged and organically joined to both the shores. But without that act of being there at both ends, there cannot be a bridge. Without the bridge, all are lost. Still, the bridge is viewed as some sort of contradiction, a perversion. Gandhi is no different. Even when he blessed the constitutional scheme of things and went along with the dominance of a secular-atheist Nehru in deciding the national future, he stood strong for the rustic charm of a golden past and his village republics. Gandhi was the bridge here, and his heart was committed to the Truth and the resultant dousing of violence.</p>
<p>It is this power of truth that gave him the ability to see. And it was a contagious gift that spread from him to the people around them. Suddenly, the killer masses of Noakhali can see the seductive cocktail of communal venom and political oppression that they have been fed. And how they all are thrown at the meat grinder by the selected few, who cared less about them. And death devours them all equally, no matter who yielded the machete.</p>
<p>The cutting action of a machete is a circular one. It also represents the cyclical nature of violence (a Churuli, as we call it in Malayalam). This cycle can be broken only with a patch of non-violence. This is done through the illumination of truth over this space. Gandhi’s satyagraha melded the spirituality (quest of truth) with the secular reality of political solutions. Here again, truth assumes the role of ultimate arbiter. This was Gandhism in praxis. It is what you must choose, even if you cannot see the humanity in the divinity of his idol.</p>
<p>I wrote this article as a follow up to an article that I wrote about Gandhi,<a href="https://blog.hashin.me/2018/10/02/idea-of-gandhi/" target="_blank">which you can find in my archives</a>. Other aspects of Gandhian philosophy will be discussed in further instalments. Please leave comments. Thank you.</p>Critical reading of Gandhi is the order of the day. Despite his portrayal in textbooks and pop culture, the enterprise of ‘exposing’ Gandhi has grown leaps and bounds in the last a few decades. If you look inside, you’ll see all hues of politics inside this body of work. From Ambedkarites to Marxists to cultural nationalists to right wing terror groups and their counterparts - you see the burgeoning industry of ‘exposing’ Gandhi. And most often, their passionate hate towards Gandhi fuels their politics.ദൈവത്തിന്റെ ആയിരം മുഖങ്ങൾ.2022-07-19T01:51:39+00:002022-07-19T01:51:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2022/07/19/daivathinte-aayiram-mukhangal<p>ദൈവസങ്കൽപ്പങ്ങളുടെ തുടക്കവുമൊടുക്കവും എവിടെ നിന്നാണ്? മതങ്ങൾ പരസ്പരമുള്ള വ്യത്യാസങ്ങളിൽ തമ്പടിച്ചു, അവിടെ നിന്നെ ലോകത്തെയും മനുഷ്യനെയും നോക്കിക്കാണുന്നു; പക്ഷേ ആ ഒരു വായനക്കപ്പുറം അവർ തമ്മിലുള്ള സമാനതകളെ നേരാംവണ്ണം വിലയിരുത്താൻ തന്നെ ചരിത്രം നമ്മെ പഠിപ്പിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.</p>
<p>ചരിത്രം ഈ രീതിയിൽ വളരുന്നതിന് മുൻപ് തന്നെ ക്രാന്തദർശികളായ മനുഷ്യർ, വിശ്വാസങ്ങളുടെ അറ്റം തിരഞ്ഞു പോയതായി കാണാം. ചിന്തിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യന്റെ നിരീശ്വരവാദം പക്ഷേ മതത്തെ പാടെ നിരസിച്ചു കൊണ്ട് തുടങ്ങിയതല്ല. മറിച്ചു, ചാണക്യൻ തൊട്ട് ഇബ്ൻ ഖാൽദൂൻ വഴി മാക്കിയവെല്ലിയിലേക്കെത്തുന്ന ചിന്താധാര അധികാരലബ്ധിയിലേക്കുള്ള വഴിയിൽ മനുഷ്യൻ കൈലേസായി കൊണ്ട് നടക്കുന്ന വിചാരധാരകളുടെ ആകെ തുകയാണ്.</p>
<p>സത്യത്തിൽ, മുഹമ്മദ് നബിക്കും, യേശു ക്രിസ്തുവിനും, ഔലിയാക്കന്മാർക്കും അപ്പോസ്തലന്മാർക്കും മുന്നേ നിയർ ഈസ്റ്റിൽ പരന്നൊഴുകിയ കുറെ വിശ്വാസങ്ങളുടെ ആകെ തുകയാണ് കഥകളിലെ ഖലീഫമാരും പോപ്പുമാരുമൊക്കെ. പിന്നീടത് കപ്പൽ കയറി ലോകം മുഴുവൻ നിറഞ്ഞൊഴുകി. ഈ കോലത്തിലാണ് ഇന്നലെ ഞാൻ വിശ്വാസങ്ങളെപ്പറ്റി സ്വപ്നം കണ്ടത്.</p>
<p>പല വഴിക്ക് പിരിഞ്ഞെങ്കിലും അവരൊക്കെ വെള്ളം കുടിച്ചതും, വളർന്നതും ഒരേ ജലധാരയിൽ നിന്നായിരുന്നു. യുവത്വത്തിന്റെ ധാരയായ കസ്റ്റാലിയയിൽ നിന്ന് വെള്ളം കുടിച്ചു നിത്യയൗവ്വനം നേടിയവരെപ്പോലെയാണവർ. വിചാരധാരകൾ പലതാണ്, പക്ഷേ തലമുറകൾക്കപ്പുറം നിലനിന്നവ വളരേകുറവാണ്. അവരെ നിലനിർത്തിയ, അവരുടെ യുവത്വത്തിന്റെ രഹസ്യം ഈ പങ്കിടലുകൾ തന്നെയാണ്.</p>
<p>കലയിൽ, സാഹിത്യത്തിൽ, അമൂർത്തമായ ബിംബങ്ങളുടെ പങ്കിടലിൽ ഒക്കെ അവർ പരസ്പരം ചാരി നിൽക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. അബൂത്തിൽ പുതിയൊരു പ്രവാചകൻ അവതരിച്ചാൽ, അദ്ദേഹം പറയുന്ന ചരിത്രവും ഐതിഹ്യങ്ങളുമൊക്കെ ഒരേ ജലധാരയിൽ നിന്നുൾക്കൊണ്ട ഉൾക്കാഴ്ചകളാണ്. അയാളുടെ സാരോപദേശം, നൂറ്റാണ്ടുകളുടെ അരക്കല്ലുകളിൽ രാകി മിനുക്കി പാകപ്പെടുത്തിയ മനുഷ്യരാശിയുടെ ചോരയിൽ കുതിർന്ന പാഠങ്ങളാണ്. പ്രവാചകന്റെ കണ്ണ് മുഖത്തല്ല; മണ്ണിലും മനസ്സിന്റെയുള്ളിലുമാണ്. അവിടെ നിന്ന് കാണുന്ന ചരിത്രത്തിലെ രക്തചൊരിച്ചിലുകളാണ് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ചുണ്ടുകളിൽ “നിന്നെപ്പോലെ നിന്റെ അയൽക്കാരനെയും സ്നേഹിക്കുക”, എന്ന് കൊണ്ടെത്തിക്കുന്നത്.</p>
<p>സെൻട്രൽ ഏഷ്യയിലെ കൊടും തണുപ്പത്ത്, മൃഗതോലണിഞ്ഞു പാമീർ കുടുക്ക് നടന്നു കയറുന്ന മനുഷ്യന്റെ ചുണ്ടിലെ വേദോച്ചാരണത്തിന് ഉച്ചാടനത്തിന്റെ, യുദ്ധകാഹളത്തിന്റെ ധ്വനിമാത്രമല്ല സ്വന്തം. സൂര്യചന്ദ്രന്മാരെ കൂടെ നിർത്തി, കൂട്ടത്തിന്റെ പശിയകറ്റാനുള്ള പരക്കം പാച്ചിലിൽ ഉതിർന്നു വീണ വാക്യങ്ങൾ വേദവാക്യങ്ങളായി. കൊലയില്ലാതെ വേദങ്ങളുണ്ടാവുന്നതെങ്ങിനെ? ഇന്ത്യയിലും, മദ്ധ്യേഷ്യയിലും, പൗരസ്ത്യ പ്രദേശങ്ങളിലുമൊക്കെ തത്വചിന്തയെ വേദങ്ങളിൽ പകർത്തിയെഴുതിയത് പ്രവാചകന്മാർ അവരവരുടെ നാക്ക് കൊണ്ടാണ്.</p>
<p>ശേഷം, രാജാക്കന്മാർ വിലക്കെടുത്ത ആരാച്ചാർമാരെക്കൊണ്ട് ഇതേ വേദപുസ്തകങ്ങൾക്ക് മേലെ ഒരു പാളികൂടി എഴുതിച്ചേർത്തു. അനന്തരം പടച്ചോന് രാജാവിന്റെ രൂപവും ഭാവവുമായിരുന്നു. അല്ലെങ്കിലും അഖിലവും പടച്ചവന് ഇരിക്കാൻ എന്തിനാണൊരു സിംഹാസനം? തെറ്റുകുറ്റങ്ങൾ തൂക്കിനോക്കി സ്വർഗ്ഗവും നരകവും പടച്ചോൻ വിധിക്കും. പക്ഷേ സ്വർഗ്ഗത്തിനു രാജാവിന്റെ അന്തഃപുരത്തിന്റെ ഭാവം കൈവന്നതെങ്ങിനെ? നരകങ്ങൾ കാരാഗ്രഹത്തിനകത്തെ പീഢനമുറകളുടെ അനുക്രമണികൾ പിൻപറ്റുന്നതെങ്ങിനെ? ഓരോ സങ്കൽപ്പവും ലോകത്തെ സമ്പന്നരുടെ, അധികാരം കയ്യാളുന്നവരുടെ താത്പര്യങ്ങൾക്കനുസരിച്ചു എഴുതി വെക്കപ്പെടുന്നതെങ്ങിനെ?</p>
<p>വിശ്വാസം, അതിന്റെ പരകോടിയിൽ വസിക്കുന്നത് സമാധാനമുള്ള മനുഷ്യന്റെയുള്ളിലാണ്. അതിൽ നിന്നവനെ വ്യതിചലിപ്പിക്കുന്ന എന്തും, വിശ്വാസത്തെ കേട് വരുത്തും. പിന്നീട് തർക്കശാസ്ത്രവും, കളരിപ്പയറ്റും, ഗൂഡാലോചനയും; അധികാരലബ്ധിക്കായുള്ള തത്രപ്പാടുമൊക്കെ വരും. അവിടെ പടച്ചോനെന്ത് സ്ഥാനം?</p>
<p>നിങ്ങൾ സൂഫികളെ, ഭക്തസന്യാസികളെ നോക്കൂ. അവരുടെ പാട്ടുകളും, ആട്ടങ്ങളും, വചനങ്ങളും ഉറൂസും, അധികാരികളെ ചൊടിപ്പിച്ചതെന്തേ? പടച്ചോന്റെ രൂപവും ഭാവവും പട്ടിണിക്കാരനായ മനുഷ്യന്റെ ഒഴിഞ്ഞ കഞ്ഞിപ്പാത്രത്തിന്റെ രൂപം പ്രാപിക്കുമ്പോൾ ഇടിഞ്ഞു വീഴുന്നത് പിരമിഡിന്റെ മുകളിൽ കയറി നിന്ന് ദുൽഖറിനെ (അലക്സാണ്ടറിനെ), സൂര്യപുത്രനാക്കുന്ന പൗരോഹിത്യത്തിന്റെ, രാജാധികാരത്തിന്റെ കാപട്യമാണ്. അവിടെനിന്നാണ് പ്രവാചകന്മാർ നദിപോലെ ഒഴുകിത്തുടങ്ങുന്നത്. കടൽ പിളർത്തി, അനുയായികളെക്കൊണ്ട് കാനാൻ ദേശത്തേക്ക് പാലായനം ചെയ്യുന്നത്. ആ കഥകളിലെ നായകസങ്കൽപ്പങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച് പിന്നെപ്പറയാം.</p>
<p>വിശ്വാസങ്ങൾ തമ്മിലുള്ള വ്യത്യാസങ്ങളിലേക്ക് ക്യാമറ തിരിച്ചു വെക്കുന്നത് തർക്കശാസ്ത്രം കൊണ്ട് കഞ്ഞി കുടിക്കുന്ന പാവത്തുങ്ങളാണ്; ബാക്കിയുള്ളവർ കാണുന്നത് പ്രവാചകരുടെ പേരിലുള്ള ചില്ലറ വ്യത്യാസങ്ങളല്ല, അവരുടെ കഥകളെല്ലാം ഒന്ന് തന്നെയാണ് എന്നതാണ്. ആ കഥകളെല്ലാം വന്നത് ഒരേയിടത്ത് നിന്നാണ്. അതൊക്കെയാണ് ഞാനിന്നലെ സ്വപ്നം കണ്ടത്.</p>
<p>രണ്ടു പാട്ട് കേൾക്കാം.</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/bJ0ri1IULOM" title="Kandisa Alaha">https://youtu.be/bJ0ri1IULOM</a>
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/XMiaekbP7_k" title="Shahbaz Aaman, Karayoo">https://youtu.be/XMiaekbP7_k</a></p>ദൈവസങ്കൽപ്പങ്ങളുടെ തുടക്കവുമൊടുക്കവും എവിടെ നിന്നാണ്? മതങ്ങൾ പരസ്പരമുള്ള വ്യത്യാസങ്ങളിൽ തമ്പടിച്ചു, അവിടെ നിന്നെ ലോകത്തെയും മനുഷ്യനെയും നോക്കിക്കാണുന്നു; പക്ഷേ ആ ഒരു വായനക്കപ്പുറം അവർ തമ്മിലുള്ള സമാനതകളെ നേരാംവണ്ണം വിലയിരുത്താൻ തന്നെ ചരിത്രം നമ്മെ പഠിപ്പിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.The American Verse2022-06-20T10:51:39+00:002022-06-20T10:51:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2022/06/20/american-verse-insta<p>American verse is a queer mixture of everything avant-garde. Strongly drilled into their national culture is the fascination for differences and an almost infectious urge to differ.</p>
<p>Perhaps, this national character have roots in the way that union was formed. And it isn’t surprising from a historical pov that a resistance to that political order would be to turn inwards and ‘convert’ people into insular ‘masses’.</p>
<p>This is particularly important, because political emancipation of a community is always about learning, understanding, peacefully reflecting and taking actions that are in agreement with this sober social reflection.</p>
<p>Everything that undermines this diversity and tolerance is also a show of emotions. Drumming up primordial identities such that the thinking faculties of a mind may be shut. Parochialism replaces Cosmopolitanism as the norm. And this rot from within slowly takes over the state and everything dear to its people.</p>
<p>Again, this is not a slide that cannot be arrested nevertheless. It requires smart overtures that leads to educating people rather than leaving them agitated.</p>
<p>Prose can be sober, but it is the sombre touch of verse that may cleanse hearts and souls.</p>
<p>And here I am, trying to analyse the purpose of American verse (no point for guessing that it is none) and how it has influenced the story of its people. Hoping to make a cut here and there.</p>
<p>And till then, Prost to all!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/M4VudaB.jpg" alt="" /></p>American verse is a queer mixture of everything avant-garde. Strongly drilled into their national culture is the fascination for differences and an almost infectious urge to differ.My Time with the UPSC.2022-06-02T00:01:39+00:002022-06-02T00:01:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2022/06/02/my-upsc-journey<p>The results of the UPSC CSE 2021 are out. I have secured an AIR of 553. In this post, I would like to briefly state my experience with the examination and some pointers I have about the examination.</p>
<h2 id="coaching">Coaching</h2>
<p>Coming from an engineering and technology background, I knew precious little about the examination and most areas of study were alien to me. I did have a fruitful schooling period and this indeed helped me greatly, but I had to learn most subjects anew. Since the UPSC preparation was sort of a hiatus from my career and entrepreneurial journeys, I did enjoy the studies. It gave me an opportunity to brush up my understanding of basic geography, read good history, learn the ropes of polity etc. I will write a detailed post on all those subjects later. But in general, it helps to have a keen interest in these subjects and an eye for how these subjects will have applications in real life scenarios.</p>
<p>I took my General Studies coaching at Vajiram and Ravi, Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi. This was in 2017-18. I haven’t attended any classes elsewhere. The classes were good, and were taught by a diverse pool of faculty. Rather than the quality of teaching, it was this diversity that attracted me. And such diversity in viewpoints suited me well. Since I stayed in Delhi, such differing opinions and the opportunity to learn helped me well. I didn’t take any coaching for my optional subject, Anthropology.</p>
<h2 id="prelims">Prelims</h2>
<p>Despite the commendable quality of teaching, the way Vajiram taught me to appear for prelims didn’t really help me. In fact, when I failed to clear the prelims of 2018, I knew that the reason was exactly this. I scored 94.33 against a required cut off of 96. I had attempted only 65 questions. This was a mistake. I recommend that anyone write any question in which they can eliminate two options. 85+ questions may be attempted. Practice is very very important. In my first year of study, I stopped ‘actively’ reading books after 4-5 months and started writing prelims mock papers. I wrote 160+ papers and studied the keys well. I was up for the UPSC game within 9-10 months and it greatly helped me in staying in the race. If I had kept on reading textbooks, I would have taken at least 1.5 years to reach there. Again, this is just an estimate. Actively writing tests honed my ability to think about subjects and connect them with others. I cleared Prelims in 2019 (IFoS too, but I ended up wasting two months on IFoS mains), 2020 & 2021.</p>
<p>Test series that helped me are listed here. Vision IAS test series helped me to cover the subjects, since they had a fairly good key. But I feel that UPSC prelims is an analytical examination more than a ‘know or not’ examination. So, the way we attempt the examination is important. The test series that helped me in this regard are - ClearIAS, Civils360, and a few others that I don’t recall. As a rule of thumb, if any test makes you think about the options and there is scope for very intelligent guessing, it should help you in the long run. Write them more often and try to ‘derive’ answers than learn them right away. Writing 2-3 tests per week and learning the basics have helped me greatly. It was my primary mode of study for the entire examination process.</p>
<p>Since I come from a strong engineering background, I have never prepared for CSAT. No specific comment on that segment.</p>
<h2 id="mains">Mains</h2>
<p>I read as many Topper’s copies as I could lay my hands on. I downloaded scores of them for each paper and read most of them. I also wrote the Mains test series at Vision IAS, which helped me. In my previous attempts, I have taken a few tests at Enlite IAS. The feedback from Mahesh Sir was relevant and helpful. I feel that incorporating feedback is very important. Plus, it is important that we stick to the 3 hours timeline.</p>
<p>While reading Topper’s copies, try to understand why those answers ‘worked’. After that, try to incorporate them in your tests. I have hardly written any answers outside the mock tests. I kept writing tests and read my papers afterwards to evaluate my performance. The answers I found wanting, I worked upon. Rest, I just read the keys and thought about ways to improve my writing.</p>
<p>I don’t remember any of the answers that I wrote for the mains. I did stick to the general intro->body->conclusion format. But I have written some answers outside this too. Thinking a bit before writing could help us draft answers that actually reflect our understanding. I did try to incorporate points from various disciplines and areas that may add depth to my answer. But I also tried not to overdo it. Initially, I used to miss trivial points and would write answers that looked a lot more technical than they should be. Once I started writing answers that reflected my exact thought process on the subject matter, starting from the basics, their presentation improved greatly.</p>
<p>And I wish I had prepared for the optional paper better. I wish I wrote at least one test series. I am glad I studied the subject by myself, for I am still in love with Anthropology. But writing a good test series and taking worthy feedback and incorporating them in my work was something I should have done. No points for guessing that I haven’t done particularly well in those papers. But the good part is that I love tribal anthropology and I wish to do field work in the hinterlands at some point in my life. I am glad I picked up anthropology. My marks for two papers combined are 228, 237, 248 in the three mains I wrote.</p>
<h2 id="interview">Interview</h2>
<p>I did attend a few mock interviews at many institutes. I got very workable inputs from Shri. Jojo Mathew and Shabbir Sir of the ALS. One to one session with Shri. Ravidran of Vajiram and Ravi was useful, and I learnt a lot from the inputs from retired bureaucrats in many boards. Inputs from Hon’ble Ex union minister Shri. Alphons Kannanthanam was very helpful as it helped me orient myself during the entire PT process.</p>
<p>I feel that building up a resume is important. Being confident about your viewpoints helps. But all in all, marking is a very subjective process. Getting very different marks within a span of 7 months (between CSEPT 2020 & CSEPT 2021), is a testimony to this fact. So don’t think a lot about this step; just keep studying well for the mains and prelims. Once you have cleared Mains, you’ll know how to do this. If you don’t have anyone to talk to, you can email me.</p>
<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<p>I feel that it is important to understand the nature of the process rather than focus on individuals who may or may not be able to help us. I have looked at this preparation phase as a means to learn more. I was prepared, even if I didn’t make it to the final list. Even if I had failed, I would have given myself an education that I always wanted. This is the key takeaway for me from the process.</p>
<p>It is important to know that this is an examination that anyone can appear for. It is important that we study, but more important is that we understand the uncertainty and unpredictability that is associated with it. I also feel that knowing more about the nature of the job could be a strong motivating factor. Rather than the authority, prestige and privileges that are attached to the job, I was greatly motivated by the scope of learning that this job offers.</p>
<p>I have worked with many organisations in my life. Both as an active member and as a zealous leader. I was very active in college politics. These experiences have taught me a lot of things. As someone who is interested in the practical aspects of things, these learnings have enriched me greatly. When I look at the huge machine that is the government, I am filled with awe and I always wanted to know more and more about it. And also see what modest contributions I can make in running it.</p>
<p>And here I am, at a point where I could actually try doing it.</p>
<p>Hopefully, I will learn more than I wish to learn. Hopefully, I will end up doing much more than I wish to do. As I publish this article, this is one thing that occupies my mind. The learning. I was not always sure why I wanted to be a civil servant. But the answer is clear now. It was always the curiosity, stupid! I want to know, and I know that knowledge is power. May I get to do all these in the times to come!</p>
<p>PS: I met some very interesting and motivating people on the route. I am wishing to write a detailed list of names, and I am saving it for another day.</p>The results of the UPSC CSE 2021 are out. I have secured an AIR of 553. In this post, I would like to briefly state my experience with the examination and some pointers I have about the examination.A short history of 2021.2022-01-01T10:51:39+00:002022-01-01T10:51:39+00:00http://blog.hashin.me/2022/01/01/a-short-history-of-2021<p>As we get on with 2022, a few reflections about my 2021 is due.</p>
<p>It was a beautiful year. I travelled a lot, especially across the length and breadth of the state. I learnt a lot. Then came an exhilarating two months period, working on a project - single mindedly with possibly the best team out there. We, as a triumvirate, sat together to pull off something interesting. And we did it. In terms of learning, 2021 was a fantastic year.</p>
<p>And then there was a migration. I don’t know if that’s the right word to use, because I was all over the place in 2021. It started with me at Trivandrum, wondering if two years in that city was already long enough. Before I knew, I had made the decision to move. It was decided in the first fifteen days of 2021 itself. But I took another one month shuttling between Kochi, Malappuram and Kozhikode before I finally decided to leave Trivandrum. By February end, I was back at home. Perhaps this was the first time I was ‘really’ home after my short stay during the 2018 floods. I spent those days reading “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth amongst other things, while the water slowly seeped into our house and we had to take shelter at my aunt’s house.</p>
<p>Again, March and April were fantastic. There were a deluge of people in my life. There was a lot of information, people and decisions to make. Sure, I made a lot of mistakes, but these two months were the best professionally.</p>
<p>I flew to Delhi on April 10th, only to hurry back home on 26th to a mounting second wave. The 16 days in Delhi were fun, though I spent most of the time planning what I will do in 2021. Needless to say, I don’t remember any of it now.</p>
<p>Back home, I was reading, writing and wasting away my time when the Clubhouse happened on 24th May. Then, fifteen days went up in the air as we discussed almost everything in the world. Of course, I spoke a lot of history; society and then there were this fight with a bunch of people who thought that feminists are ruining this world. It was fun.</p>
<p>I flew back to Delhi on June 14th. That day, I spoke about Alexander the Great for about five hours. Four hundred people attended the event. I Left Clubhouse after a few days of hanging around. It was fun.</p>
<p>Then there was a lot of cooking. I found the best places to buy all kinds of meat in Delhi. And how to cook them well. Sure, the first twenty batches tasted somewhat alike. Sometimes, a bit too much of cardamom, sometimes the pepper notes aren’t hitting it right, sometimes I couldn’t just connect with the food I was making. And then there were overcooked and undercooked bits. Once, I added butter and milk to beef; in short, a lot of blurry evenings will finally teach me how to cook.</p>
<p>Then a lot happened; I flew to Trivandrum on 23th September. The 24th was a bad day; I went back home on the 26th. Then I returned to Trivandrum on October 7th. After that, I flew to Bangalore on 11th, back to Calicut on 15th; I flew back to Delhi on 18th. That was a very hectic week with some flying involved, but that was fun.</p>
<p>The four days in Bangalore was a reflection of all that I could have done with my life. Of everything that I have left behind, including someone I considered the most important part of my life. But then, the most important parts of our lives change too. Perhaps, that’s the best insurance against tragedy, torpor and dejection. Those four days made me sit down and reflect about the life I had, when I left the city exactly five years ago on September 30th of 2016. That was some learning.</p>
<p>I have stayed in Delhi since 18th October, 2021. I have eaten out of dried leaves near tombs, went out with people I didn’t see after; ate to my fill, ran under scorching sun as well as a smothering smog. Slept in the streets more than once, drank overpriced coffee in expensive cafes, and stared at a dried up Yamuna river bed on which people grew heavy metal laden vegetables.</p>
<p>Negotiated the mazes of Majnu Katila and Old Dilli alike; jogged around the presidential palace and Lodhi Gardens with same ease, let out a sigh about the mutilated Rajpath and loss of common spaces. Also, read a set of books about the stories, smell, taste and of people long lost in the city of Djinns.</p>
<p>And I am flying to Trivandrum tomorrow evening. This would be the short history of 2021, of course with the most important parts censored out. I would save that for another day.</p>
<p>Regards, <br />
Hashin</p>As we get on with 2022, a few reflections about my 2021 is due.