Newzealand's take

For many reasons the handling of the situation aftermath of New Zealand’s recent racial attack set examples for all the countries out there. First, as the NZ’s PM quoted in her parliament, “… the believers in their mutual kindness, compassion, and sympathy are just like one body. When any part of the body suffers, the whole body feels pain”…”New Zealand mourns with you”. How she projected all the 50 million people of NZ forming a strong community with no religion bounds, a multi-cultural yet a tolerant and sensitive society. In contrast to the world where religion and race are increasingly been seen as a way of looking at their country and making policy, election manifesto, fighting elections, giving reservations, it might be the time to reflect on this. Step on the crack and it will deepen. Leave it to nature, ignored and it will be filled peacefully. I think we are deliberately stepping on the crack; crack of self-made divisions.

As a compulsion for more likes and a journalist tendency, there might be a trend that a number of negative vibes instead of the positive vibes are shared in social media. People who condemn it with a good heart even end up doing the harm just by talking about it. At one end, ask people if they have ever encountered one such discrimination themselves in their surroundings, and they may probably give a down thumb, even though they have conflicting views deep-set in their minds. Well, this is no magic, but the many forwarded videos and articles we read that form our views and we start to look at even a trusted fellow with suspicion, or the least be conscious of their presence. We are yet to learn the social media ethics may be. Maybe we need to be more vocal about the thing. PM said, “…He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless”. I see it is some kind of Satyagraha.

India may be in the peak of its social division & many factors caused this – the Loksabha elections, the Pulwama attack, the Kashmir insurgencies. Social media has acted as a catalyst and carried the fire throughout the country. Many people reacted and it became an All-India reaction when the army commander captured at the other side of the border. I think many people did not realize how Indians came together after that. Hearts of all Indians beat together after a long time may be after the Cricket world cup; I think it was even greater than that. It was more patriotic, more emotional, more sensitive and more cautious.

It might be that whichever idea shadows the display screen more frequently, irrespective of its validity, it will win and that’s how the elephant is being bullied. Indian society is nonetheless a strong one. Its cultural history has made it resilient. We can say that because of its magnanimity and bigger challenges of socio-economic orient, our negative events are more visible, but there are unsaid, unquote daily 24x7 moments, working in the background and making us even stronger. We will do better than it seems.