Murky morals, hollow humanity

Rajvinder Singh Bains

The book begins with the words of Rohith Vemula, PhD student of University of Hyderabad, taken from his last message, ‘My birth is my fatal accident’.

Paulo Freire, who wrote the Pedagogy of Oppressed is quoted after Rohith’s painful declaration, ‘Our task is to change some conditions that appear to me as obviously against the beauty of being human’.

Harsh Mander is engaged in bringing about a change in some conditions, which clearly challenge our humanity. This book is an endeavour in the same direction. Seventeen stories of unbearable suffering and courage have been narrated with love and respect for the survivors, who emerged victorious from the extreme conditions of pain, agony and anguish.

The stories are about resurrection after immense suffering without any intention of seeking revenge from the perceived wrong-doers. This book is meant to sensitise the reader. For, chances are that most of us aren’t aware of the struggles of homeless, of those who live on the streets. It compels us to do something for them, it jostles the human in us to bring out the humane part.

Naseeb Bahen and her son survived the 2002 Gujarat massacre only because she was admitted to a hospital a day before the carnage. Twenty six members of her family were killed and yet she lived to become the hope for others through Aman Biradari, a campaign for peace and justice. She was paid compensation for the death of one family member. Others were declared missing and she was told to wait for seven years for the compensation.

Krishan Gopal wasn’t allowed to worship in the Hanuman temple of his village in Rajasthan because he was a Dalit. In protest, he constructed his own temple. Yet, he was not allowed to worship there till his death. The suffering of HIV-positive Sushila and the bitter truth about beggars’ home in Chennai, where they were imprisoned in one room, while all their money was taken away, choke the reader.

The story of Lachmi Kaur of Tilak Vihar, the Sikh widows’ colony of Delhi shakes our conscience. The tale of a Dalit couple of Odisha, who sold their child so that he would not starve to death, is heart-wrenching. The national outrage brought the child back but made no provisions for his livelihood and the child finally died. There is an account of suffering of Dhanam, the eunuch. The tale of Shameem of Kashmir valley, whose husband became a police informer, yet got killed makes you doubtful of our society.

Also, there is an incident narrated of the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar of 2013. But the heart of the book is the story Mourning Rohith Vemula (1989-Forever). This is what his friends have inscribed on his bust at Hyderabad campus, signifying that he will live forever. These narratives of real-life accounts touch your heart and compel you to get inspired from people like them, who got caught in unimaginable, horrifying situations.

We must go back to Paulo Freire to find a solution to these societal problems: ‘In order for this struggle to have a meaning, the oppressed must not in seeking to regain their humanity (which is a way to create it), become in turn oppressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both.’These stories just do that — rekindle the humanity in you.