By Astrid Lobo Gajiwala

Mumbai, July 21, 2023: Like most of us I belong to WhatsApp groups that reflect my affections and affiliations. Of late, in groups that were started mainly to share lively banter and news of loved ones, I am faced with a vexing question: Should we talk about the disturbing events unfolding in the country?

It is a loaded question because it can polarize and even offend and anger, members in the group who have opposing political views. Even jokes and memes that would have passed muster some years ago can now cause an uproar if they have the hint of a religious or political hue. People exiting groups because of views expressed is not uncommon.

The question I have raised masks deeper issues. Do we want to sacrifice long-standing, precious friendships and hard won, family bonds at the altar of politics? Should we fall prey to the bidding of ruthless politicians who will cleverly pit us against each other to secure their vote banks? Should we divert our attention away from more pressing issues like poverty, lack of infrastructure and the massive loss of jobs that our young are struggling with? Should we not be content with the achievements that have put India on the global stage and forget about the concerns and fears of what is after all, just a small, some would say biased, section of citizens?

In the interest of protecting relationships and keeping the group together the gatekeepers of pluralist groups will insist, “No discussion on religion or politics!” But that is an injunction that was valid in another world when religion was a private affair. Today, religion is being dealt with in a political manner, bringing to mind the feminist adage, “The personal is political”.

Inevitably, the turmoil on the outside is affecting us and our communities and families, and we are faced with the dilemma: If I cannot share my angst, anger and despair with those closest to me whom can I share it with? Do we really want to live with compartments in our lives? Can we ever get close to each other with these barriers?

Some in these groups would like to maintain an oasis of normalcy in a nation gone berserk with violence and the insidious, systematic dismantling of democracy. “I laugh that I may not cry,” they are wont to say. Perhaps there is value in that too.

Group administrators understandably prefer to play safe. They are simply afraid of the repercussions on themselves and their families if the “watchdog” decides they have run foul of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) or are violating Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which penalises promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. There are enough cases of dissenters, young and old, held behind bars, sometimes on trumped up charges.

But can we play safe and remain on the fence?

Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Prize for Peace because of his work to end the apartheid system in South Africa, makes it clear: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

The oft-quoted Martin Niemoller places his personal experience before us: “I did not speak out (when they came for the Communists, the socialists, the trade unionists, the Jews) then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

Few know that in the early 1920s and early 1930s he sympathized with many Nazi ideas and supported radically right-wing political movements. But after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 he became an outspoken critic of Hitler’s interference in the Protestant Church. He spent the last eight years of Nazi rule in Nazi prisons and concentration camps. It is a grim reminder that there is no “safe” space. The fight will come home. We remain silent at our own peril.

In the Bible, we have the prophet Isaiah who points to a God who exhorts us to “Maintain justice and do what is right, for God’s salvation is close at hand and God’s righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this—the person who holds it fast…” (Isaiah 56:1,2).

So let the cries of humanity in pain reverberate in our WhatsApp groups. Take a call, take a risk, take a stand. Only when there is widespread outrage can the challenging process of truth telling, justice, healing and reconciliation begin.