Mallika Sarabhai

[Ed. Note: The author is writing from Ahmedabad, a centre of the violence in the Indian state of Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims that erupted on Feb. 27, 2002, when a train of Hindus returning from Ayodhya was reportedly attacked by a mob of Muslims in Godhra, an incident of violence that has sparked many weeks of retaliation by Hindus who have targeted Muslims in the state.]

I stand amidst the ruins of civilisation, as I knew it. In a penumbra that seems unending. In a winter fog where our kind get into their fancy cars and loot and pillage while SMS-ing friends about the best places for satisfying unbridled greed. In a land where friends speak a language of vile hatred. In a state where Kubera [god of wealth] is the only mantra and Lakshmi [goddess of wealth] the only woman to bed. In a city where the R-word [rape] desecrates humaneness.

I accuse. For they have taken away my pride at being a human being, the smile that lurked on my lips when I spoke of my city. They have emptied my wardrobe of the colour saffron. They have taken away my joy of belonging to a land of understanding and compassion for difference. And the ability to say with a glint in my eye that I belong to the people who gave Gandhiji his non-violence.

I accuse. For they have turned us all into puppets, pulled by the string of selfish opportunism. Into a voiceless, gutless race. For having taken away the worst names we could call those others - animals, junglee [wild animals], rakshasaas [demons], beasts. For leaving us with only one name, derogatory enough for what we have become: mankind.

I accuse. For I have let myself be numbed into docility. Into feeling that I could get on with my work and things would be alright. For letting the educated - and - should-have-known-better, should-care-more group become the silent majority neutered by the vociferous lunatics set on self-destruction. For letting myself become a part of that silence. For trusting incorrectly. For letting everyday inanities dull my soul to the genocide being planned and executed.

I accuse. We have become the country of the blind and deaf, the self-centred and the soulless. We have become a country where our leaders lead us to superfluous paths of promises. Where leaders have become bleeders. Where warped priorities become the toast of the town while reality withers with the disenfranchised.

I am sure I remember a time, not so long ago, where we were not known by caste alone but as people. Where values were not yet the red spit with which pan-chewers bloodied the walls. And where you could have a conversation at a dinner table without someone you knew well saying, "Serve the bloody people right; they need to be wiped out once and for all."

I accuse. For I, we, have allowed things to come to pass to you. For I, we, have given a new meaning to the period called kalyug [a period of greed, violence and war in Hindu mythology]. I, we, have become the Mahishasuras that swallow and destroy the world. Our only answer, our only sanity, lies in plumbing our depths to find the mardini [demon-slayer] in each of us that vanquishes the asuras [demons]. There are no external solutions left. There is no "we" and no "they." We are them. Myself and every citizen of this once great nation. Yes. I accuse. Myself and every citizen of this once great nation.