It is time that we read and re-read the poem ‘The Second Coming’ by William Butler Yeats, penned in 1919 and first published in The Dial in January 1920. The title of the famous poem could be quite deceptive, and to the uninitiated, this could be a poem on a less talked about Christian theme, but it is in fact a detailed account of what our nation is going through, or could be deemed a true picture of the global scenario. The century-old poem seems to capture the spirit of our times, and it is in this universal appeal that the poem can strike a chord with what we witness before our eyes.

Written soon after World War I, the poem paints a picture of the world that is immersed in chaos, confusion and pain, inflicted by the warring forces, causing havoc on the lives of the innocent. Let us look at just six lines from this poem, to understand why we need to learn from history to find viable solutions to the problems we face, as a famous Indian proverb (made famous by the tele-serial Tamas in the late eighties) says, ‘those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it’.

Line 3 to 8 – “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, / The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned; / The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”

The words of Yeats are self-explanatory, and it does not require great minds to tell us what they imply in the context of what India is going through in the recent times; to say that things are falling apart in the country and in the world around is merely putting things at the most positive perspective.

The communal forces are up in arms once again, now that the Babri Masjid is relegated to history, with no bearing on the reality of today. The time-bomb is ticking, and it may not take too long for it to blast the nation into pieces, and then it may be too late to keep the nation together. But the leaders who have the responsibility to save the country from such communal flares are the ones who seem to be taking a definite side in order to fan the fire with their hidden agenda to usher in monopoly of one race, one nation-one religion-one culture-one language, dealing a deadly blow to the concept of unity in diversity.

Growing Communal unrest

The communal fire is slowly reaching all nook and corner of the country, and there seems to be too little effort on the part of the government at the Centre to nip the issue in the bud, so that the damage caused by such insinuating threats and counter-threats may not reach irreparable limits.

What had begun as an innocuous issue of loudspeakers from mosques blaring loud, disturbing the quiet atmosphere, the issue has turned into a communal issue. More and more states are joining hands with the saffron brigade to fan communal flames. The nation is reaching dangerous limits in inciting communal forces and it is high time that people wake up to raise their voice against forces which are threatening to create havoc to the unity of the nation, and the harmony of religious groups. One can see that religion when mixed with politics may make the worst cocktail which can demolish whatever good that is in the country today.

Louder than Loudspeakers

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has been shouting and screaming to ban loudspeakers in all mosques across the state, and he has given an ultimatum to the state government – May 3 -- and if the state fails to do so, then the warriors of MNS would play Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques.

It is important to remember that the use of loudspeakers in mosques has been primarily an invitation to pray (azaan) so that the people, who have been preoccupied with either household chores or otherwise, might leave such works behind and pray. The judiciary, which has been largely toeing the official line of the government in New Delhi, either wait and watch which way the wind is blowing, or come to the rescue of the saffron brigade, wherever they are.

The warning of the MNS to the state government should not be taken only as a brutal attack on the state machinery but as a ploy to divert the attention of the people to issues which are deeper than they appear to be.

When simple and ordinary people say something unintended, they are arrested and put behind bar under National Security Act, or Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. For those who think that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic address from Red Fort in Delhi on April 21 after sunset is going to strengthen the communal bonds between the citizens of the nation, then we should be living in fools’ paradise. 

The Sikhs should be rejoicing at the honour and respect accorded to one of their gurus, who apparently has been murdered by a Muslim emperor, and when the Prime Minister of the nation is the one to acknowledges the pain and agony caused by such a murder, surely the accusing fingers would point at the Muslims.

But one can be absolutely sure that no one would doubt the intentions of the Prime Minister because he ‘preached’ about communal peace and harmony between different religious groups in India. 

Fast-forwarding Fragmentation

Believe it or not, India as a nation is on the verge of gradual fragmentation, and though there would be many who would shed crocodile tears, deep down they would only rejoice, because when everything is in sixes and sevens, it would be the best opportunity to fish in muddied waters. There are religious leaders, especially from the majority group, who keep inciting the religious sentiments of the people, and the law enforcing mechanism might not take note of them, because they enjoy the patronage of high and mighty forces.

Even as the country is being fragmented on religious lines, very few come forward to raise his or her voice against the communal forces, which are there to break the communal fabrics of the nation and usher in a monolithic and monoculture, mono-religion to reign supreme. It is true that not all the people who belong to the majority community are part of the sinister move to oust the minorities to insignificance, so that the handful of the mighty majority might hog power and limelight.

It is true that mere resistance to the moves of the saffron brigade by the minority may be of no significance. Awakening the conscience and the consciousness of the majority, who are peace-loving, harmonious and appreciative of other religious minorities, is the need of the hour, and perhaps that alone can pave the way for a more peaceful, harmonious and cordial atmosphere for all to enjoy the fruits of democracy and secularism.