About the author – The author of this article Subhendu Bikash Tahal is a Lecturer in Political Science.
From the lap of nature in Africa to the age of artificial intelligence, from chaos, barbarity, and anarchy to order, peace, and tranquility, from stone man to the age of complex civilization. The journey of ours is a fascinating tale of unfolding human imagination and increasing humanity. The tale is a tale of how human beings buried their horrific and barbaric tendency- the tendency of killing one another indiscriminately in the lap of nature, to give way to the polished urbanity characterized by respect for human dignity. But, under the veneer of humanity lay the hobbesian nature of Human beings- solitary, nasty, brutish, poor and horrific that appears frequently in testing times. The real and horrific nature of human beings we thought has been buried under the civilization seems to me like a deceptive outward appearance. The news, the news that appeared on 21st July in the Times of India with the headline that two women paraded naked in Manipur revealed and reinforced once again that prophetic statement which is repeated ad nauseam that human nature is bad.
Rape, murder and resorting to arms are not alien to human beings. They were once the most visible tendency when we had been wondering from the dawn to dusk in search of food in the jungles of Africa. They were the manifestations of the law of fisheries, were the symbol of power, strength and superiority. But that was the by-gone era of a state without the state and government, an era of anarchy, lawlessness and violence. Today, when we have a mighty and overarching state with a powerful government at the helm of affairs with the promise to protect the life and dignity of an individual, the scene of two tribal women being raped and paraded naked has not just shaken the collective conscience of the nation but at the same time betrays the promise made by the state, the promise to offer protection of the life, liberty and dignity of an individual.
This is blood curdling to see the contrasting and paradoxical picture in India. On the one hand we are witnessing and celebrating great feats in science and technology in the form of Chandrayan and on the other hand bloods are shed continuously in the form of ethnic conflict. Achievements in science and technology bring laurel to the nation as a whole, catapulting India into the elite club of few nations with such credible record, however, the inaction and apathy of the state to the most basic issue of protecting the dignity of women is something we must feel ashamed about. When the state fails to offer the basic protection, all achievements in other domains are insignificant.
If we scratch the surface of humanity, barbarity is what we will get to see underneath. The violence, irrationality and domineering attitude is deeply embedded within us. Suppression and oppression on the relatively weaker section is the norm. Look at the instances of how human beings treat the nature and women. The nature and women in a constructed and manufactured reality are treated as weaker and subordinate. They are the most adversely affected in times when the man let loose his barbarity. In the times of anarchic situation like war or in the event that is unfolding in Manipur, the dignity of women is taken as hostage; the weapons used wreck havoc in the nature. The nature has a way of responding, it expresses its fury in the form of natural calamity causing death, destruction and devastation. But, the women who constitute the half of human populace suffer silently in the hands of man.
What is the point of coming so far – from the Stone Age to this age of augmented reality and Artificial intelligence? The progress has no meaning if the same barbarity continues and the state stands as a mute spectator in the face of such heinous crimes against humanity. The issue of Manipur must not be treated as an isolated event occurring in silos, unrelated to the chain of events that take place regularly, rather the connection must be established – the connection that is there in each act of violence. The unconnected events are connected through the thread of human nature that is dominating and barbaric. The time is ripe to ponder over this issue of human nature and put a rein on it before it gets too late.
Subhendu's blog 