It was a beautiful day. Who knew that nature’s beauty would provide an indelible contrast with man’s ugliness? In the span of an hour the psyche of a nation changed forever. More important than the actual number of souls that perished on that day is the fact that this act of cowardice and murder has become a symbol of intolerance and extremism.
We at Young India firmly believe that religious fundamentalism which is based on a worldview of exclusivity and elitism is the biggest hurdle to human development. This ideology of superiority blurs people’s view of the real problems of poverty, a dignified living, education, basic health care and religious freedom. Fundamentalisms brush aside any talk of moderation and inclusion. Their followers place a misconceived and shallow notion of identity at the center of their ideas and propagate them through coercion. Fundamentalists wreak havoc with a “missionary” zeal not knowing that in doing so they do grievous damage to their own religion. They must be resisted.
Mahatma Gandhi once said: Our goal should not be convert [proselytize] the other person but to make him/her a better follower of his/her own faith. I wish Al Qaeda truly embraces Islam for its own good first. Such self-righteousness pervades the religious spectrum so fundamentalists of other shades should not feel any sense of superiority.
Whenever we look back at that dreadful day and remember the incomprehensible pain and suffering our hearts fill with sadness and anger. 9/11 was not the first time that senseless violence had orphaned children or created a community of widows or snatched promising lives but it was an awful reminder of how misguided and inhumane fundamentalism can be. Our hearts go out to the families and our prayers will always be with them as they are with every victim of intolerance and hate.
It is essential to confront one question that some of our misguided friends pose – what about America’s exploitation of the rest of the world? It is hard to deny that some American policies have had an adverse impact on other nations. Yet, murdering innocent civilians is an utterly unacceptable way of registering that protest. And for the record let’s look at the reasons behind the specific act of murder committed on 9/11. The hijackers and their sponsors have never uttered a word on how they plan on dealing with the poverty, lack of education, feudal structures, suppression of women and lack of employment afflicting the millions in whose name they claim to fight! This utterly disingenuous argument that these people somehow represent all forces against American policy must be out rightly rejected by people of all ideological persuasions no matter how opposed they are to American foreign policy.
There are numerous ways to take a stand against policy positions of the United States, if one so desires. If a physically feeble man like Gandhi, who weighed just 107 lbs when he died, can take on the British Empire then those who truly believe in their cause can take on unjust policies if they deem them so. Of course, we at Young India firmly believe in engaging those with whom we disagree. We understand that such forums are not readily available to all who may feel victims of American hegemony or corporate ambition but violence will never solve any of their problems. Never. If there are people who want to organize and fight the right battle the right way then please visit our page devoted to the Gandhian Method of Nonviolent Transformation.
We do not intend to defend all of America’s policies. When we disagree with them we engage its policymakers to chart a different course. And our efforts will continue. We understand that fundamentalisms are dangerous but they must be resisted culturally and politically. In India, fundamentalism had become a majoritarian force threatening its very democracy. Our efforts, no matter how small, were tireless in countering them on both the cultural and political platforms. We learnt that fundamentalism begets fundamentalism. When one religion tolerates the rise of intolerance within its ranks it invites intolerance to grow in other faiths. Hence, on this solemn day let us promise those departed souls that we will persevere to fight fundamentalism and intolerance in our own faiths till either we or this ideology perishes. It is apt to close this piece with Mahatma Gandhi’s words who always reminded us to detest hate not the person who hates. As long as our moral vision is clear we will collectively win this battle for peace, justice and freedom.
Peace.
Team Young India.
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