When the whole world, particularly the US prepares to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 911 terror strikes, the news of Delhi High court attack captures headlines for a couple of days and then fades away to the recesses of history. As if people are immune to insane killings, mainly because they have accepted it as a fact of life. Many, however, see in it an utter surrender to the evil works of the ancestors of the terror leaders of past. The history or terror, that the Indian subcontinent has dealt with started with Bin Qasim and then came Ghori. Ghazni and Temur et al, all the way to Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Masood Azhar. The world today has seen the works of Osama Bin laden, and knows first-hand what India has been experiencing for long. The ideology of hatred, separatism and violence guided by exclusivist ideas are responsible to spill blood on this earth, and it is done just because one did not agree with their crooked world-view. India is akin to an ancient monument, where pluralism is cherished, and also the worst terror victim in the world. History is replete with numerous incidents.
On these sad days of September, be it 26 or 11, it is imperative to remember Swami Vivekananda, a great son of India, who won the hearts of the Americans in September, 1893, and whose 150th anniversary is being celebrated this year.
On the closing day of the World Parliament of Religions on September 11, 1893, he spoke with fervor to douse the enmity among people, with shower of blessings to recognize goodness in all and touched the chord of humanity by uttering the following:
“Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful Earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now? But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.”
It seems that his blessings protected mainland America for about 108 years until the ‘9/11’. Let the world awaken to his message again to regain the strength to remove violence, bigotry and fanaticism in the name of religion, ideology, race, gender or nationality. Pray for all the terror victims and their families on this tragic day.
