BLAST FROM THE PAST

               THE    BODY SEARCH AND THE PHOTO SESSION

Throughout history the peoples of the world have migrated and
intermixed, but still national boundaries do coincide with discrete
sub-races in the modern world. Blacks of the United States and
elsewhere in the New World are mixed. The Aryan mix in the Indian
context too is very much relevant. Racial mixing has been going on for
centuries but at a pace which we do not yearn. The superiority complex
of some races, based mainly on the pigmentation of the skin is so
thick that it refuses to get thinned. Wars have been fought physically
and psychologically to sustain this assumption or demolish the myth
but both have met with failure as the groups that support or oppose
the  decadent theory   are still in a majority. 'Man alone is vile',
is being proved by man in day in and day out. The talk of 'global
village' backed by the resurgent IT and communication revolution
recedes into backdrop when the original ogre of racial differences
raises it's ugly head.

The 'body search' carried out on the erstwhile Indian defense minister
by the American immigration authorities and the 'unfriendly push'
given to the ICC President  by the Australian gentlemen during the
photo session  carry the traces of racial complexes that do exist.
Outright condemnations of such occasional instances, holding
demonstrations and boycott calls may add strength to both groups'
stands but yield little to achieve any realistic goals. Crimes are
conceived by many but only the perpetrator becomes the criminal. In
the instances cited, the anger of the insulted goes against the
individuals, whereas the real culprit is the community's perceptions
in which he is a member. These unsavory instances actually help
communities to comprehend the ground realities and show them the long
distance, which they all have to walk to establish a 'real global
village'.

The American authorities tried to apply the law in letter but not in
it's spirit and thus sacrificed the soul of civilization at the altar
of barbarism. In their zealous application of rules, triggered by
mounting insecurity, the humanity has become the victim. Suspicions
lead to false alarms, false encounters and help build false
conceptions. It's true that the physical distances have shrunk but the
emotional differences have grown.

Unity is not achieved by holding together, but in thinking together.
The players of the winning team mounted on one another before the
crowd to be cheered by them. But they forgot the appreciating crowd
consisted none of their clan. In the elation that surrounded them,
they forgot the noble men of their country Don Bradman or the other
compatriot who has made Calcutta his place of pilgrimage. Ugly things
are not often exhibited. Even in their millisecond presence they cause
maximum damage that lasts for many generations.
A player of this winning team, if left out for the next series will
seethe in anger and spit venom on the selectors forgetting the
'holding together' of the trophy and the champagne bath they had. The
powerful emotions are always short-lived and won't last long.

Knowledge- the modern man has acquired may have helped him to increase
his intelligence but definitely not his inner sense. The best ground
grains make the best flour: the best beaten track makes the best
track. Grains or roads do not think on their own; whereas man does.
Let us leave the momentary outbursts of a minuscule minority into the
oblivion and move on further to build a society that will have many
faces but one unitary heart.