Thursday, September 23, 2010

Arrey Baba! BABRI!

Justice, though delayed, shall hopefully be delivered on the morrow. In anticipation, paranoid Babas have warned their children to stay put in their hostels and homes. Their anxiety on the subject is clearly, as any observer of communal trends in India would vouch, is justified.Meanwhile, the Respected Reverend (a character who should have featured in my writings a long long time ago) has declared that the spirit of Stephania shall not cower at the prospect of religious riots. We must all inexcusably attend lectures tomorrow. The academic show must go on.

While this declaration of bravado is romantic in the eyes of the fawning few, there is in truth nothing but hot air to back these words. If tomorrow, an innocent student is caught in a riot, will she remember the dear man's advice to live the Christian ethic- if you get slapped on one cheek, turn the other towards the offender!? (only wait, you'll probably get stoned to death).

College policy aside...I really wonder whether there shall be blood shed on the streets of Delhi (or Ayodhya for that matter) tomorrow. Are we being cynical or realistic in this expectation of violent outbursts? Furthermore, will expectation perhaps itself fuel undesirable outcomes?

Cliche though the next line will be- the only thing we can do is wait. Tomorrow will answer my question.