The language of peace

Peace is the word that is routinely used when conveying a personal greeting for any celebratory or solemn occasion. In every religion of the world, we come across words like Shalom (Judaism), Salaam (Islam), Shanti (Hinduism) and Pax Domini (Latin, in the Bible). All these words have entered our conversation as forms of greeting, indicating that we are always wishing each other peace. In the Catholic Mass, the message of peace is touchingly conveyed with folded hands.

Yet ironically, we seem to have forgotten our wish for each other when we are swayed by messages of hate. In times of conflict, this becomes exacerbated, as we are seeing after the horrific massacre of innocent people on the idyllic meadow in Pahalgam.

The naming of religion in selecting these victims was clearly intended to provoke and whip up anger. When one is consumed with anger at this level of cruelty, it might help to hold our hands on our hearts and hark back at our own reactions in the past ten years. How many times has one remained silent when people from a minority community within the country have been victimised? Leave alone standing in a civil society group to protest a Citizenship Amendment Act; has one even spoken up when vituperative messages have been circulated in family or friends’ WhatsApp groups?

The recent massacre has likely increased the level of hatred that is being amped up against India’s most targeted minority in recent times. Things become even more shocking when this translates into actions. It was indeed sad to read about a gynaecologist telling a woman in an advanced state of pregnancy that she could no longer expect treatment, as “your people are shedding the blood of my people”. The doctor had clearly forgotten the Hippocratic Oath with references to yours and mine. Also, the said doctor may need to be educated that terrorists do not have any religion except that of spreading hate. Fortunately, the medical association in the concerned city publicly condemned the doctor’s behaviour.

Contrast this with the appeal made by Himanshi Narwal, the bereaved wife of the late naval officer Vinay Narwal. While she asked for the strictest punishment for the perpetrators of such cruelty, she requested that innocent Kashmiris and other Muslims in the country not be targeted. She was viciously trolled on social media, and among the sane voices to come to her defence was the gracious Lalitha, none other than the wife of the late Admiral Ramdas. She lauded Himanshi and said she befitted the role of a naval officer’s wife for speaking the language of peace.

Lalitha Ramdas deserves credit for speaking up at a time when both the pliant mainstream media and social media are working up sentiments by not just calling for a war against the neighbour suspected of the action but also by using intemperate language like prefixing a religion whilst repeating ad nauseam about the shedding of blood. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s infamous IT cell has in no small measure joined in the spreading of hate towards a particular community.

It’s hard to pinpoint who feeds off whom, but if the latest Press Freedom Index is any sign, it shows that honest journalism has taken a beating from the pressures. India’s rank has gone from 140 in 2014 to an abysmal 159 among 180 countries, which in percentage terms moves us from 40.34% in 2014 to 31.28% in 2024, bringing us to a shameful press freedom level of 31%. The TV channels might like to celebrate for being ahead of countries like Iran, Syria, China, and North Korea or exult at not being 180 like Eritrea. Pat yourselves, media, for going up two notches from the last year.

The opposition parties have disappointed with their silence. The Congress, more so in actions like rapping Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for talking peace. The party has hardly spoken up on behalf of the hapless Indian minority, which is again taking the brunt for something that it had no hand in.

When politicians can only think of vote banks and politicising, it falls upon wives and mothers, particularly those from the Armed Forces, to raise their voices for peace. In war, it is these wives who stand to lose the most. When Himani speaks up against turning on innocent people, she doesn’t want another wife to face the tragedy that has befallen her.

In the absence of a Mahatma or a statesman in our midst, we look up to peacemakers like Himanshi Narwal and Lalitha Ramdas to remind us of our shared humanity.

(The author is an independent writer)