MR Lalu
As I write this, almost the entire world is under the frozen charm of December’s winter. It grants, in Ruskin Bond’s language, a certain amount of privacy. Concealing a large part of the world under its melancholic blanket, the season once again announces the culmination of an eventful year and extends an invitation to a new one filled with breathtaking hopes and aspirations.
It is unrealistic to make predictions about the upcoming year, and nobody, except perhaps participants in evening television debates, would be interested in spending time on a stocktaking of the past. The usual summary of the past twelve months would be something like “incredibly disappointing.” Of course, events and facts do not mean or reflect the same thing for everyone; their impact on each individual is different. There should be the freedom to draw comparisons and form independent intuitions about events that rattle the conscience of humanity.
For instance, wars between countries should be seen as inhuman and atrocious. Yet counter-intuitive narratives pour in from many sides. You will find some eulogizing the predator, while others vociferously appeal to their humane instincts and stand with the weak. The world often watches this tendency of people choosing sides in times of wars and confrontations.
Yet, there is a common acceptance of the idea that the globe should be a peaceful space. However, conflicting binaries continue to make this aspirational coexistence unrealistic. A skewed view of these conflicts prevents a clear and unpolluted understanding of the real dilemma. With advancements in technology, increasingly sophisticated know-how has brought the world closer virtually, but the real concerns run much deeper and grow more unfathomable with each passing day.
As mentioned earlier, every year, in its effect and impact, arrives bearing these conflicting binaries. Years marked by agonizing and hazardous waves of conflict create colossal distress. Whether it is binaries such as territorial sovereignty versus historical claims, religious identity versus secular governance, or democracy versus authoritarian stability, all ultimately fracture the congeniality necessary for human survival.
While globalization is an undeniable reality, intense efforts to preserve languages, traditions, and cultural identities continue to emerge as a parallel crisis; one that at times questions the very need for modernization and global cultural exchange. Similarly, the binary between resource exploration and environmental protection persists, as industrialization adds life-threatening risks to the planet.
Aspirations mount; they never wait for distress to settle. The more the waves of disruption and suffering, the more will be the aspirations that emerge in response. Human settlements across the world have witnessed this aspirational momentum of the mind; one that, in its relentless persistence, has remained the driving force behind human progress. The histories of civilizations are, in essence, stories of aspirations that grew beyond limitations and challenges.
Conflicting binaries existed, perhaps with even greater intensity and ripple effect. Yet moving forward with the momentum of time became the natural strategy for survival and growth. This, of course, remained the key principle behind many success stories. Devastating calamities consistently brought waves of misery, but they never endured for long.
Now, one more Christmas is in the offing, and it comes as a reminder of one of the most unsettling events in human civilization. Without being disillusioned, yet marching along with the wrath of time, one can say that the situation is no better. The loss of mutual trust among religious philosophies has turned them into acrimonious assemblies, and even today, with ulterior motives, truth is being crucified, like the son of God – not once, but numerous times. Violence in the name of religion is becoming legitimized. Terror unleashed on innocent people after their faith is probed is often intentionally sidelined, while counter-terror operations across borders are politicized and vituperated.
Nothing changes as people shift into new calendar years. Except for the change in numbers in calendar columns, everything remains the same. Religions and the conflicts their differing ethos unleash against one another, the lack of mutual acceptance for a neighbor’s faith, and the projection of differing practices as superior – all persist despite the fact that faiths across the planet are meant to chisel the best out of humanity as a whole. Irrevocable grudges and enmity even lead countries to fight to the last.
All this bounces and strikes normal human behavior in reprehensible ways. Such grudges and their ruthless implications can deliberately bring outrageous mobs into the streets. They can effortlessly destroy innocence with such brutality that even brutality itself seems ashamed of the ruthlessness with which it is displayed in the open. Innocent people are easily beaten to death or burned alive, while mobs ecstatically film the evil with monstrous audacity.
Nothing changes with the years, not even the slightest wink. Everything largely remains the same. The year 2025 has carried its share of good and bad, adding to the silent ledger of time. The day ahead looks like a mirage: visible, yet unreliable, present but never certain. A few more plane crashes, wars, mob lynching, and the like seem almost expected. Still, amid the relentless pace of time, the world prepares to welcome a new year, believing once again, that it will somehow change everything for the better.
Will the coming year also be wrapped in melancholy? I would not call myself a pessimist. Yet the frozen mist of winter and its comforting illusions often mask a deeper gloom. If the inhabitants of this tiny planet can rise above their sharply divided intentions, the future’s horizon can still become clear and compelling.
If, while reading this admittedly abstract reflection, the stark vulnerability of being human unsettles you, it may be because we are surrounded by a refined culture of dishonesty. The year we have lived through and the one we await will remain the same in experience and consequence unless we consciously remove the sediment of humanity’s moral decline. Change will not arrive with a calendar turn.
What we must truly wait for, and work toward, are stories of human camaraderie, empathy, and courage. Let the journey into a new year not be filled with blind hope, but with deliberate resolve; to be more humane than the years that came before us.
(Author is freelance journalist and social worker based in Kerala. The views expressed are personal opinion of the author.)
