The man is dead. Why speak evil of him? Asked a concerned friend.
Why does the right speak evil of dead Mahatma and dead Nehru?
Why is the right writing new fiction about a dead Savarkar?
Why do we not even remember which royalties sided up with the British when we visit their palaces and see their wealth in museums?
Death is not an end. It is the end of a man. It is the beginning of archive, memory, legacy and legend.
How will history remember death of Muslims who were killed because meat was found in their refrigerators? How many will remember that the meat was sent to the lab and it wasn’t beef?
Every death is a narrative. Every death is Lego piece that goes on a wall somewhere. Whose does is mourned by the state? Whose death do the powerful mourn on social media? Whose death is ignored by those in power? Remember Danish? If you ask Danish who, that is my point.
Speak no evil of the dead suits those in power or those who want power. How many of you intervene or feel aggrieved when you see the most vile things spoken about the Mahatma? Why is he dead but needs no defence?
Whose death do we consider sacrosanct about and whose not is also an indicator of where we stand. We may not have the power to set the record straight but should we be silent when a hero is painted a villain or a statue is built for a villain? Because death is not an end. It is the beginning of archives, memories and legends.
