‘I can’t breathe!’ the dying call of a blackman, brutally killed in US has aroused an iconic response. It has consolidated all the human lovers in USA and other countries to revolt against the Black racial discrimination.When the entire world has been fighting against the COVID – 19 pandemic, in the land that claims ensuring freedom and equality, racial discrimination was explicitly shown and inhuman treatments were brutally practised by the United States’ authorities.
In North America, when human migration started in the 17th century the majority of them were from European countries. Migration of Black people from African countries was also encouraged to sustain the social slavery system for the convenience of the White population. Since the days of Whites maintaining Blacks as slaves with the support of US courts pronouncing, ‘Blacks cannot come within the definition of man’, the Blacks have been revolting against their slavery. As years passed by the laws were enacted that Blacks were equal but separate from the Whites and ultimately the segregation clause was also erased in the letter of law. But the mentality of subjugating the Blacks endured. The episode of killing George Floyd by US police man pressing his leg around the neck of Floyd crying out, ‘I can’t breathe!’ is the latest. It is noteworthy and it still continues that many of White population are supportive to the cause of Blacks by joining their struggle against racial discrimination.
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The worrisome part of the recent agitation and struggle of Blacks is they are ridiculed by the duly elected head of US talking the historical tone of, ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts’. The reaction of the agitated Blacks are focused as original action for which counter action is encouraged by the States’ authority. But the consciousness of the entire US is not with the oppressive States. The projected continental country that progressed much on development front is lagging behind on civilizational matters of treating fellow citizens equally.
While the birth based racial discrimination is showing its inhuman face in US, the social conditions in our country are not better, in fact steadily worsening. There is no ideological basis for the racial discrimination only the mindset of the segregating and subjugating the Blacks has to be changed. But the birth based varna (a)dharma that prevails in our country has the ideological backing of Manusmriti. Despite the social toiling of the revolutionaries Mahatma Jothirao Phule, Thanthai Periyar, Babasaheb Ambedkar the liberation of the socially suppressed has not been completed.
The panchamas, sudras and women are subject to inhuman treatments and a few of them are covered in the social media and many go unnoticed. The caste menace and discrimination continue to remain hurdle for the progress of societies. Caste discrimination is indeed seen on par with race. Yet world-wide protest against caste discrimination is yet to be seen. Many who condemn racial discrimination do not come forward to talk against the caste system of this land; the reason being God almighty has declared that the fourfold division in the society was created by himself and that is the unique protection, anti-protest shield for the caste system to survive.
The Black leader of US Civil Rights Movement of 1960s, Marti Luther King Junior has revolted thus:
“We are not wrong, we are not wrong in what we are doing. If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer that never came down to earth. If we are wrong, justice is a lie”.
But the almighty has not created racial discrimination against Blacks. Like the opposition that has erupted world-wide against the racial discrimination of US, more vehement opposition must emerge against a worse form of discrimination i.e. discrimination based on caste identity of our land. The racial discrimination against Blacks has to be condemned by all means. Similarly the caste discrimination has also to be condemned widely. Discrimination in any form (except of compensatory nature) has to be condemned. Let the public opinion on this humanistic cause be mobilized throughout the world and the law will come limping behind for its strict enforcement in the respective countries! Enlightening the enslaved is the need of the hour so that we can breathe!
