It is indisputable that the world is becoming exponentially toxic, and the increasingly polluted environment is just one of the phenomena. Just this last week, our saffron-dyed government, which finds its origins in the anti-freedom and partisan movements that led to the partition of the Indian subcontinent, determined that the country was not divided enough. It has elevated the recanted verses of Vande Mataram to be sung in official settings and in schools before the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana.

This mandate comes on the heels of the recent debate in Parliament over the song, in which the Hindutva brigade sought to legitimise the disputed stanzas that the Constituent Assembly had unambiguously rejected as contrary to the secular spirit of the nascent nation. The controversial decision has evoked widespread reproach from all the political parties and constitutional activists for its polarising effects.

Such attempts at appropriation are unfortunately not confined to the realms of our nation but are seeing global utilisation in intra- and inter-national contexts. Nationals as well as emigrants are being hounded in countries the world over in an attempt to acquire legitimacy from majoritarian groups and retain power.

However, even amid this, it is heartening to know that there are people - individuals and groups who are working courageously towards countering these inhuman tendencies. Such was the case of Deepak Mohammad, who, even in a climate of state-sponsored distrust and antagonism, chose not to be blinded by propaganda and to stand for humanity and truth.

Even in the global context, ordinary people are rising to the occasion to restore human values, despite knowing they will be persecuted for their stand. These are not heroes manufactured by public relations machinery, nor icons propped up by power. They are everyday citizens who refuse to surrender their conscience.

The present moment is marked by a dangerous flattening of complexity. Nuance is dismissed as weakness, empathy as betrayal, and disagreement as treason. The citizens are encouraged to cease thinking and simply comply. In such an atmosphere, moral courage becomes an act of resistance, much like in the tradition of revolutionaries such as Gandhi and Bose. To refuse hatred and to extend solidarity across manufactured divides is now seen as subversive and anti-national.

The tragedy of our age is not that hatred exists; it always has. The tragedy is that hatred is now rewarded, amplified, and institutionalised. Democracies decay through a thousand small abdications. Citizens grow tired, cynical, or afraid, silence becomes a habit, and indifference masquerades as pragmatism because it is easier.

Many have come out in support of these people. Whether in the streets of our own cities or at distant borders, the machinery of the state too often responds to fear with force. Many more have realised the folly of supporting hostile visions or keeping to themselves, as in the case of Deepak or Alex Pretti, who was shot multiple times by US border agents. Voices have been raised; it is now important that these voices are not silenced by apathy or antipathy.