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The rioting in London has evoked mixed reactions in the subcontinent. So I was not surprised to read fellow Dawn blogger Caroline Jaine say she was “staggered” by the number of her overseas friends who actually appear happy that London’s burning. She has the right to be staggered. What we’re witnessing is the temporary collapse of law-and-order in the most important city in recent human history. It’s nothing short of macabre to enjoy this spectacle. And yet, many of us seem to be doing exactly that. Why? Well, I have a tenuous theory regarding this, and if you have a taste for speculative psychology, read on.
The subcontinental individual, I believe, sifted the news from London through many subcutaneous layers of his or her soul. The news had to percolate through base layers of thought to reach more evolved and rational layers.
Layer I: Smug satisfaction
The basest layer – now you know how we feel when Mumbai and Karachi burn. You thought it could never happen to you, did you? Has your outlook changed? Are you groping for answers, like we are? It’s well established that a strong economy is a prerequisite for a stable society. Now that your economy is tottering, do you fear descending to our level?
Layer II: Historic oppressor
In this layer of thought, we’re incapable of seeing beyond the black-and-white mosaic of history. We revel in the classic oppressor-oppressed angle. We remind ourselves that you divided us to rule us. You succeeded beyond your wildest imagination, didn’t you? The divisiveness you fomented is evident not only in a tense, disputed international border between India and Pakistan, but also in the manner our society is fragmented within. Of course, we always had a potpourri of castes, languages, classes, religions and sects. You simply heightened our awareness of and taste for these labels. We silly creatures are still fighting over them. Are you happy?
You also looted us blind. We’re still waiting for the Kohinoor and a million other treasures to be returned to us. You built your glitzy nation on the money repatriated from the Raj. And your Queen stopped short of apologising for the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre. If Kevin Rudd could apologise to the Australian aboriginals, why can’t you apologise for your wrongdoings? A few years ago, when Tony Blair visited India and a young girl raised the issue of colonialism on a talk show, he suavely replied, ‘You aren’t going to blame me for everything that has happened, are you?’ We’re paraphrasing, but you get the gist.
Do you expect us to simply wipe the slate clean? Hey, you Western economies aren’t even willing to accept bottom-line responsibility for carbon emissions. You want to keep forgetting, but we remember everything. Everything. And like an irate, estranged spouse, we await opportunities to extract our pound of flesh.
Layer III: Rules changed
When we were the richest civilisation in the world, you sailed into our unsuspecting presence. When you became the richest, you erected a check-post; because you learnt from your conquests. Your 16th century mercenaries could get a toehold on us with their technological superiority on the war field. And now you’re afraid we’ll do the same with our IT prowess and whatnot. The royal boot is on the other foot, eh?
Layer IV: Concern
Positive thinking finally makes an appearance at this level. Let us ask you, dear Britons: why are you emulating our arson-skills? Why are so many of your youth foolishly sacrificing their futures to create token bonfires? Is it unemployment, a widening class divide, a crumbling education system, a crisis of identity or a larger, as-yet unfathomed despondency? Can you identify and implement a humane solution to address the issue?
We may not acknowledge it, but we want to see you implement wonderful solutions. This might help us escape the assumption that no stark problem can ever be solved. Can we not solve our own problems, you ask. Well, you thought you messed us up real good. But once you left, we demonstrated what a real mess up looks like! So, yeah, we can’t find magic bean solutions. You probably can.
Layer V: Adulation
Why do we expect you to find these solutions? Because your institutions are still in working order. Isn’t your society, too, riddled with corruption and greed? Of course, it is. But these issues are addressed in your electoral process. For us, they remain rhetorical themes. We therefore agree that, whatever your past, your society has reached a level of refinement wherein meaningful solutions are within reach. After all, your power centres are accountable. And a great majority of your civil society is responding with aplomb. They aren’t immune to chaos, the way we are. They’re prepared to do their bit to set things right.
Also, we operate on the frameworks you left behind, speak your language, play your sports, enjoy your sense of humour and build superstructures of thought on the literature your writers have created. London is not just a scene of recent violence for us. It reminds us of Dickens and Conan Doyle. (Of course, most of us maintain that we’re culturally superior, but that’s another story.)
In other words, most of us no longer admire your melanin deficiency – that’s just your weather playing a banal trick on your skin tone, we know that now. Meanwhile, our admiration has been redirected to things that matter.
Layer VI: Need for stability
At this level, we see the interconnectedness of the human tapestry. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that violence and chaos travel in a reinforcing spiral, especially in a planet bent upon globalisation. Only a feeble, unimaginative intellect would think that an unstable Occident is good for the Orient. Therefore, the riots in the UK must be condemned and extinguished in the short-term, and the root-causes analysed and resolved in the long-term, for the betterment of everybody.
Once this wholesome selfishness takes over, we paradoxically lose the desire to be petty and vengeful.
As you can see, each layer of thought is a natural progression from the one below it. Combine this with the fact that not all of us have acquired all these six layers of thought. Some of us aren’t able to escape the confines of Layer I. A few amongst us manage to operate at Layer IV and above. That should explain our mixed responses.
I’m not offering excuses or asking you to forgive us for how some of us have reacted. Instead, I’m saying that this is how it is. We’re all products of our history, geography and economy.
P.S: My intent is not to speak on behalf of everybody. I resorted to this technique simply to ponder about a historic relationship in a new context.
Eshwar Sundaresan is a Bangalore-based writer, freelance journalist, ideator and entrepreneur. His works are Googlable.
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
Well, this is a truly pathetic article which is totally void of any humanity. If you think like this then are u surprised that your on countries r in such states of desperateness?? Please remember that some businesses that got destroyed in London & other cities belonged Muslims and Indians also and 3 Muslim boys died and all u ppl r doing is cheap heckling. I am sorry to say but these were not the teaching of either ghandi or Jinnah. U truly should b ashamed and may Allah soften ur hearts towards ur fellow brothers whatever religion they are. Whatever happened in London Birmingham etc is tightly being dealt with. Thousands if arrests have been made and they r being reprimanded. The government has agreed to help businesses set up again (those that were damaged by the rioter) and r trying to understand y this happened and are looking to change a few government laws. If u want true camaraderie then know that in the riots while Muslims were praying taravee prayer sikh brothers were protecting the masjids and vice versa. This is what u call brotherhood and humanity.
Even after what happened in London last week, London is still thousand times better than any of the cities in the Indian sub continent.
India and Pakistan should form a confederation. Love not war.
Eshwar! You said something that we were afraid to put into words. I didn't enjoy anything that happened in London but for some reason i didn't feel sad. Still the riots are worthy of condemnation.
Good article, well written and highlights an angle that we all think but don't admit to.
I think some people will be happy at another's misery and a large number of such guys are always on the internet. Sundaresan has not mentioned one issue – jealousy. Jealousy motivates a lot of people to be happy when another suffers. In any case, the happenings in Britain are not good & deserve to be condemmed.
i think your article shows how many ppl think today about this….these so called civilized and powerful countries have carried alot of bloodshed on name of freedom….lives of their citizens outweigh our lives….i dont feel happy saying this but whatever is happening is good.
It should now be evident that the violence in Britain has affected the Pakistanis living there also. Loss of property and life anywhere in the world whether Karachi or London should be condemned.
Loss of life is not enjoyable no matter who dies this notion of enjoying London burning is nothing but "sick". I however, do look at the a different view now coming out of the british government and british media. Such as, in yesterday's news politicians stated that these individuals should behave. Well if that was happening in a Muslim country I am sure the British Media would be saying "the governments are cruel and the people have voiced their opinion against the government, now the government should step down". I think The British media should do the same for their own government and throw that government out. Again, today we see that the role of social media is being reviewed… WHY? why the same was not considered (rather enjoyed) when social media caused revolution in EGYPT.
So My conclusion is that no one enjoys destruction and loss of life. However, we also expect that UK and US governments should have restrained in promoting their own agendas in various countries either through direct interference (resulting in violence) or through instigating/ supporting one political group against the other.
Really, the ugly truth is that we are just sadist. We enjoy others' miseries. Simplest example, sb falls off his bicycle, we laugh at. Strange psychology we have but that is what it is. No rocket science needed here.
Very well said and a wonderful analysis, majority of Indian and Pakistanis are favoring whats happening in London, it was good that India had Sardar Patel and Pakistan had Jinnah that both the countries didn't get divided in smaller states like Baluchistan, Sind, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra etc, this was the British plan to divide Indian Sub continent like Europe, had they got a success in this there would have been some 30 small countries in our sub continent and we would have fought to death.
Like the write-up. well I remember distinctly, one of the placards displayed by the crowd during a demo in London, during the last racist attack on Asians during 1970s, "we are here because you were there" . So if Mumbai and Karachi are burning regularly and it is a non-issue for Brits, so let London burn now and then and why should we care?!!!
Absolutely fantabulous article. it reflects the parody of thoughts coming to minds of most Indians n Pakistanis who are settled there as well as in India n Pak. its history repeating itself and giving a taste of brits own medicine too them . Aha now they come full circle to break their own hegemony and shaken stirred that Indians n diaspora n sub continentals are outdoing them at their own language,game. As for culture they were always inferior.but to be fair we are also grateful to brits -One great thing of British rule in India was unification of India despite different Hindu n other religious demographics and cultures,race and creed.
Excellent piece, dont let the over the top "Brit-lovers" get you down or take away from the powerful way in which you wrote and the thought process that was so well defined. All that you wrote is true and why people refuse to acknowledge it is beyond me (perhaps they arent familiar with the concept of "history")
Spot on ! You managed to put in words what was in my heart, and was afraid to say. I know my Pakistani brothers and sisters are with me. We have suffered together.
Provocative piece. Not sure i fully gree but well articulated.
Bravo. Congratulations on a fantastic piece of creative writing. Thouroughly enjoyed…..:-)
aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! amazing stuff………. hatz off to you……..
Excellent view from an Asian on the so-called civilized and "proper' British Society. Reminds me of an Old Hindi Film Song : "Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke, EkDaal Ke" There's no political point scoring in any nation's tragedy. We must learn to get along with each other.
Bitter truth you just wrote. This is how it is, really. We cant help it!
A well thought out and nice compilation of record. Really enjoyed reading it.
An amusing read, but the schadenfreude is misplaced. Many of the shops that have been ransacked here in the UK are actually owned by Indians and Pakistanis.
Excellent piece of work Mr. Sundaresan..spot on narration of how we, south asians in general,actually feel. But on some level we do want things to get back to normal in london…a scenario we can only dream of for our own country.
absolutely beautiful blend of history and modern age, outstanding comparison and thought provocative in nature.
Yes, he has said all this so beautifully on behalf of all subcontinentals even though he stated at the end – "P.S: My intent is not to speak on behalf of everybody. I resorted to this technique simply to ponder about a historic relationship in a new context."
As an Indian I got in touch with “The Dawn” a tad late but have been avid reader of it now. Loved the piece above.
any loss of life, regardless, is a tragedy. please be human and stop making it a political issue. when will we ever have peace in this world, isn't that what we all want?
I was confused, what i was feeling but you inspired me . Now i know exactly what i am feeling.
uhh… glad you got a chance to let it out. but your piece is pretty ineffective. seems like you were just looking for an opportunity to let it out. what i particularly dislike about the article is that your layers don't make any sense. seems like a row of blocks depicting interconnected grievances rather than any deep depiction of psychological layers and stages. Caroline Jaine's article wasn't all that strong but yours is weaker…
Nobody is thinking about London violence. We have enough of ours to take care of…
I live in Europe, and it is not only Asians but also French, Dutch and German are tired with ‘’ we British syndrome’’. On our vacation we see British tourist trying to force their way of vacations in hotels, restaurant and on beaches throughout Europe. This is synonymous to explain why in Asia and Africa people are tired of some groups promoting themself better than others. Same like USA, in states people are killing each other every day, crime rate sores high, but if any American has problem anywhere in the world. Then the rest of the world can be pounded with bombs.
I am an avid follower of your work on Dawn, Eshwar. This too is spot on. You’ve said what many of us have been thinking and feeling; which doesn’t necessarily make us bad, insensitive people. It’s the truth. I’m not blaming anyone, but we have indeed been conditioned.
My city bleeds and burns every single day. What makes it more important than London, I will never know.
Its really a thought provoking n comprehensive, it really gives a true insight into understanding the exact reasons behind indo-pak street reaction to london happenings.
Excellent piece of thought. Thoroughly enjoyable!