Sunday, July 19, 2009

What a shame ........

I keep quiet when the Christian nuns get raped,
I keep quiet when the environment and nature is rummaged,
I keep quiet when the Babri Masjid/Akshadam/Church is demolished,
I keep quiet, after a hue and cry, when Kasab and his brethren kill and set fire,
I keep quiet when the Dalits are murdered by the Hindus, Hindus by Muslims or Dalits, Muslims by Hindus and Dalits ,
I keep quiet when there is rampant corruption and it is nicely christened ‘speed money’,
I keep quiet when human lives are destroyed by ULFA, Naxalites, Bajrang Dal and such outfits,
I keep quiet when education is at the mercy of politicians who play their own fiddle,
I keep quiet knowing fully well I am the puppet and others incapable and incorrigible are the puppeteers,
I ask myself what would happen to my own children and the future generation if this continues,
Like me, do you also keep quiet?

27 comments:

Amit said...

well, that is one question i keep asking myself, How long we can keep quiet and take on the shit Indian society and politics is giving us.

And after a lot of deliberations and contemplations, i have decided that you need to sort your priorities, don't be too sentimental about making changes and creating a hype about it. Rather make small changes, even if u can change thinking process of a few individuals, it should help.

I guess that is one of the main reason i blog. Spread the word, thats the key though i don't know much i am successful.

Cheers!
Amit

nsiyer said...

thanks Amit. Thats a way of looking at it. Though I am still uncomfortable and would wait for my call which is not very far.

Debra Lynn Shelton said...

Yes, I keep quiet. Well, not exactly. I mean, I discuss it with my friends and family, but how does that help change the world? Bless you, you are always opening my eyes just a little bit more...

Aparna said...

I try not to. In my own way, however insignificant it may be, I try to speak out.
It may be through teaching my daughters, by imparting some values, it may be through my writing. Even if my make a little difference, I will be happy.

nsiyer said...

DEBRAH, thanks for your inspiration. I thought the post would be thought provoking and hence I did what I did.

nsiyer said...

I agree Aparna. Each of one of us does. But I think taking it on and confrontong, garnering support and creating a movement is important. I do agree that the small things we do tricle, but they are slow.

Anu...:) said...

We all keep quiet and bury this rage,resigned to the fact that this is India..nothing good can happen here.
But seriously,apart from being engineers and bloggers and poets and etc etc....what are we if we turn a blind eye to the incidents/facts mentioned in the blog.
Some people write about it...and it always happens that such write-ups are often talked about then forgotten...whereas if you write anything wrong regarding any other thing such as religion...you would get an uproar instant reaction.Is that hypocrisy or a blurred sense of right and wrong?
We all are (me included,of course)are waiting for some leader-SOMEONE-who would take up these issues and fight and we would contend ourselves to the fact that till that hero arrives,we'll wait..and when he arrives,we'll fight with him.
Isn't it?

nsiyer said...

I agree 'It's Me'. Waiting for someone or sometime seems to be the solution.

Kavi said...

Whenever you come back to blogging you come back more powerful than where you left off !

Whats the secret..i wonder !

And no. I dont sleep quiet. There are some things that are done. Quietly. But done they are !

Eskimo Bob said...

I think it's important to have quiet dignity. Though one doesn't need to shout from the roof top - it's the one who silently goes about doing good deeds making the world a better place who make the most impact.

hitch writer said...

yes i do... infact i try to ignore it.. and act it never exxisted

Vancouver, Canada said...

"Be the change you want to see in the world" I love this quote..and if each individual can abide by these words..then YES there will definitely be change in the world :)

Thanks so much for your ever inspiring and thought provoking posts sweetie..truly does make a huge difference once the word is out there for it to register and blossom into a greater tomorrow :)

Much Love, Sandy xx

nsiyer said...

I agree with what you say Bob. It requires a lot of authenticity to silently do. This is so bcause declaration makes you commit whereas silence gives you an escape route.

nsiyer said...

Hi Hitcj writer. Commend you for very few people admit it.

Hi Sandy nice to have you back. You as always are ever encouraging. The encouragement sounds authentic.

priya said...

Nice post Sir.

I've asked myself these questions, I end up being quiet too... I wish to do sooo many things every time something happens... but I'm left wondering how!

I agree to some of the comments above... about doing things in our own small way. But sometimes I wonder if these small ways make a difference ... especially in these times where catastrophes - both natural and human - are increasing in frequency and magnitude!

I want to do so much... but I'm left thinking and wanting... helplessly!

Sucharita Sarkar said...

I don't keep quiet. I talk and I rant. But that does not change anything either.

Ankit said...

I guess everyone takes a stand every now and then, but for a change to happen everyone has to speak out at the same time.

I don't know how to do that.

Ugich Konitari said...

I guess I dont have the guts to go out there and do something. The cost would be immediately immense, and the benefits possibly doubtful. But at least a thought manages to enter the mind, because I have seen different and better days when I was younger.

How do you explain things to today's generation, who hears nothing but horrible things happening and the perpetrators getting away with it under blessings from some powerful types? They probably think thats how life is.

A very frightening prospect.

nsiyer said...

Hi Priya. All of us the power. We need to make this collective power.

Hi Sucharita. Thanks. We need to come out of boundaries set by ourselves.

nsiyer said...

Hi Ankit, that is the power of declaration. Speak loud enough and just do it. If you have taken a stand, you have already done enough.

Thanks Ugich Konitari. Your comments seem to be make me say' we need to impress upon the young minds about delaying gratification as against instant gratification'

syed ahamed saqi said...

Dear Sir
There was a very famous english poem on the same lines which goes on like " they came for the blacks, i kept quiet, they came for the jews, i kept quiet , and finally they came for me and no one was around to help me"....

Our personal voices cant be muzzled in this age of blogging, and atleast we can speak our mind out, untill then what remained in our deepest recesses has now taken a shape of a post.

Nice post sir.
Saqi

nsiyer said...

Thanks Saqi. I am interested in this famouus english poem. If you can send me, will be obliged.

sujata sengupta said...

I try not to keep quiet..but I also feel helpless and violated, I try and tell myself that by educating my kids and making them aware of what not to do, I will be able to make a difference..but again at the end of the day..I just feel helpless, a bystander, a vouyer to the ghastly things that are happening to my country

nsiyer said...

Thanks Sujata. I think all of us bloggers should collaborate 'to do'.

muthu said...

hmhm---

I understand your point and the passion behind it.

but things will not change overnight...

it will be slow.. we may not see the fruit of it but still we need to sow the roots of it...

small changes will slowly grow into larger ones...


Do you know that we can use the right to information act to question any govt institution on how it spends the money alloted to it.

There by questioning it's functioning..

one lawyer, in my neighborhood, used that right to ask the local school--

why is that the toilets are in such a bad condition.. and whats happening to the money alloted the that purpose of maintaining the sanitation....

the govt school magmt took action or was rather forced to take action abt it...




Spread the word abt this...

right to information is not just a right.

It s a powerful tool in the right hands....


cheers.

syed ahamed saqi said...

sir, the poem i was talking about is by Martin Niemoller.. here it goes for you.

"First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me."

this was written during the world war II referring to the nazis...

Sushree said...

At this juncture, sir, I'd like to ask you - what would you have done if faced with such appalling situations? I ask you this cuz at the time of the Taj shoot out, my friends and me were enjoying at McDonald's and felt numbed by the utter helplessness. We just kept watching the news in horror and did not even have an iota of an idea as to what we could do... this feeling is one of total disgust-for what is happening and the feeling of almost being reduced to a puppet.... not being able to do ANYTHING.