I Say No To Divorce-3
In an age whe modern education and unremitting exposure to electronic media that create waves
in the minds of combustible youngsters, agriculture is no more a respectable profession. They are flooded with new ideas, many a times distorted ones! The farmer's son doesn't wish to be a farmer. A cobbler's son hates his father's profesion. He sees and rightly so, subjugating caste equations in that profession and wishes to come out of it and carries a sense of grudge against those who nurtured that system , which had hurt and harmed them for centuries! Many a youth have begun to hate the very word village...its geography, its history, its chemistry and its present politics! They see no future for them and for growth of their personality in the villages! So is the case with the young educated village girls! Those wishing to marry would like to get married to city boys! Their voice and opinions are being heard and respected by their parents, if not fully complied with. The male-dominated society is still male-dominated, but the female section is not afraid to speak! The final verdict is still that of a man, but women have advanced up to the stage of arguments! They cross-examine and are not afraid to get cross-examined!
Political upheavels and democratic convulsions have damaged the psyche of the vilage life and they will continue the damaging exercise. The reason is, conflicting plays of self-interest!--and that is true of every village. But the relations between Palen and Meran were unique--thanks to commanding individuals like Pandit and Meru Pahelwan. The moral authority they exercised in the cause unity and togetherness, made every other difference look insignificant! But the problem they faced and failed to offer a fair solution quickly was not the issue between two individuals, families or villages--it was the problem of an era! The villages will never be the same again--thanks to the heat, velocity and intensity of feelings generated and legal complications created by this incident, which you must have read with shock in the national newspapers--because the incident unfortunately concerns your own village! How soon it happened and what collosal consequences it left behind! Only women,
children and disabled are in Meran--most of the male members have fled Meran. Forty persons, including Meru Pahelwan and Golgol Seth are behind the bars! The armed police force ran amok in Meran beating and bruising all those whom they encountered including women and children. Even Pandit left the village for some days until the brutal force unleashed by the poice subsided and law-respecting authorities took control of the situation! But arrests, interrogations and enquiries continue to be made in Meran until this date and nobody knows how, when and whether they will end!
The villagers are paying the collective price for their collective sin!--those who have not committed any sin do ned to make payment!.
More than a month now--two
unfortunate lovers were hanged--but the situation in the village is still grim. Nobody is able to sleep at night--whose door will be knocked, who will be dragged out, nobody knows! The very sight of the lathi-wielding and gun-trotting policemen sends shivers in their spine! The mute tree and its unfortunate branches have become the photographer's 'delightful--sorrow'--everyday, new teams of photographers and investigators arrive and depart --and none goes without visiting the unfortunate girl's house at Palen, interview Pandit and ask for his views and opinions about the event! Will such serious incidents recur in future! Is there anything wrong in the system of functioning and justice administration by Five Elders? Frankly, it is a simple love affair ! Sucn inter-caste marriages are an everyday affair in the cities! Who cares for them or who is bothered? There may be mild protests and murmurs within their close family circle, but with the actual marriage, the protest dies down soon! The city populace does not react as a whole--nor there are any trees left in the cities,for hanging loves!