Let’s forget hate, celebrate love

Finally this year is coming to a close but just as we had started to celebrate the end of a horrible year that brought drought, floods, pandemics and misery across the world, we are facing another medical crisis in the making. China, the epicentre of the dreaded Covid-19, is now in the throes of a medical emergency that we can only speculate about yet. How many are affected, how many have died and how many will be wiped out financially are details that we may perhaps never know, given the bamboo curtain that protects this strange and enigmatic land. Are we on the cusp of a popular uprising to overthrow the present rulers? We have the evidence of people taking to the streets to protest enforced lockdowns in important Chinese cities that more or less forced the government to lift the suffocating lockdown restrictions. What followed was inevitable and may snowball into the end of a repressive and heartless regime. Signs of public anger have already been seen in Hong Kong when masked young people openly defied police restrictions just recently.

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Several friends had planned holidays now that air travel had been declared safe and masks and tedious Covid tests were no longer necessary. Many of them are now beginning to wonder whether they should step out at all, given the uncertainty that hangs over air travel once again. Those who had booked expensive hotels and air tickets stand to lose a lot of money but will have to decide whether money lost is better than a life lost. As I visited my bank for some urgent work, I hastily fished out a mask that I had thrown aside just last week only to discover that I was the only person wearing one in the lift as I went up. Added to this is a huge rise in flu-like symptoms, with a nasty hacking cough (thanks to rising pollution) that will just not go away. This is also the wedding season and I shudder to think of all those who may have to decide whether they should attend such super-spreader events or stay at home and mope.

All in all, the euphoria generated by the FIFA World Cup has evaporated so fast that I find it difficult to imagine that just the other day we were all celebrating the greatest show on earth as millions watched that magical final match between Argentina and France. Did the Chinese spectators carry it there? God knows, but the fear of another wave is beginning to haunt governments and people alike.

Let us now remember important world figures who passed away this year. The most significant death was that of Queen Elizabeth II, whose 70-year reign marked her as the longest-serving royal. The tragic assassination of Shinzo Abe in Japan was a shocker for the world as Japan (unlike India) has no history of assassinations. Gorbachev, a man who many of my generation remember for restructuring the USSR, went quietly into the shadows this year. Russia was once again in the news after Putin decided to invade Ukraine and pitch Europe into a huge moral and military crisis. The relentless bombing of Ukrainian cities and the sight of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries has given rise to another humanitarian and economic crisis that no one knows quite what to do about. Wars and insurrections loom everywhere. Iran and the mullahs are being challenged by feisty women, who are throwing their hijabs away in open defiance of a suffocating moral regime. Women in Afghanistan are now banned from attending university classes or any co-ed institute after the sixth standard. Are we heading into a New Year or retreating into some medieval age? Not to be left behind, our own loonies want a ban on a film where an actress wears a saffron bikini because it offends the modesty of their religious sentiments.

I could go on but need to draw a line at some point on the madness that has engulfed the world. It is as if a generation wedded to technology is also the most hidebound in terms of mental development. So, while we have reached unimaginable levels of technological expertise, we are also being brainwashed into the most regressive ideas by the very gadgets that are meant to expand our minds. Someone please unravel that mystery for me.

My fervent wish for all my readers is that we enter the New Year with hope and pride rather than despair and shame. We have weathered all the storms of this year better than almost any other country and are poised to take off, so let us not do anything to go back on the glorious traditions that we were all brought up on. Look no further than our neighbourhood to see what religious bigotry can do to destroy countries that practise it.

Peace on earth and goodwill among men, the eternal message of Christmas, contains all these sentiments. So whether you are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist or Jain, remember to treat all men and women with dignity and compassion. Instead of listening to the hate messages of bigotry and intolerance, look for those stories that celebrate brotherhood and love.

May the coming year bring you all the peace and joy that eluded you this year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!