Overzealous, patriot, publicity hound or a mentally unstable man. Whatever he may be doesn't really matter. What matters however is the reactions that followed the public slap Harvinder Singh delivered on to the unaware Sharad Pawar.
I am quite aghast by the reactions i saw from people in general and also by the politicians, one and all.
If India truly was a civil democratic society, the reactions i would have expected would be following.
Mass condemnation by the public in general.
Message on facebook and otherwise, which would have deplored such an un-civic act.
And i would have expected the political class to go into contemplation. “What could have caused a young Indian - and potentially many more - to do such an extreme act?” ; “What could have caused the tolerance of the nation to fall so much?”. Such questions should have made all our politicians go into a reflective mood.
What happened on the other hand was completely reverse.
The young man was praised by most people, making a hero of him - and to some extend comparing his ideology with that of Bhagat Singh. And this reaction, i saw, came from many well educated middle class people.
The political class on the other hand got together to deplore the "cowardly" and undemocratic act - as if all their actions are always bold democratic and virtuous.
Some others were chuckling within.
Someone questioned "only one slap?" and that someone was fighting a battle of non-violence just a few weeks ago and had revived the Gandhian ideology.
And no one seems to be really bothered by the same.
Personally i am quite saddened by seeing the state of our nation and the idea and perception of democracy as understood by the people in general.
And also by the lack of empathy from our politicians about the mood of the nation and their desire to explore what could have caused it and what could be done about it.
The democracy and the civic sense itself is in danger. Forget about upholding the Gandhian values.
