We are living in the age of moral dystopia, a norm-less era where it is difficult for men and women to be human and convenient for the state to be less than neutral, just, and fair. Leaders not only fail to keep their pledges, but they are not even expected to keep them. The government wears its majoritarian colours with pride, unabashed and unedifying. In a tragic case of downward filtration, it all percolates down to everyday lived experience of the faceless multitudes. Monuments, offices, and houses all seem to be judged by the faith or political predilections of their builders and occupants. If you question the actions of the government or the actions of non-state actors taking out hate marches, you become the most vulnerable. Conformism is the norm today. Humanism, justice, and freedom have all been consigned to the deep freeze, to be retrieved at some indefinable point in future.
A changed value system
Take the case of activist-public speaker Yogita Bhayana, who helped rebuild the shop of an old Muslim man days after goons had set it on fire in Gurugram. The moment this news was shared on social media along with the video of the grateful man, many trolled Ms. Bhayana. Some advised her, rather sarcastically, to go and help another 50-60 men down the road who had suffered too. Others reminded her of the Hindu women in the neighbourhood. In a not-too-distant past, Ms. Bhayana would have been hailed for promoting communal harmony. But not today.
