Hemangi Kadlak
This article is dedicated to the people who fought and are fighting to break different chains to make THE TRUTH ALONE VICTORIOUS. This article critically explores the symbolic connections aT the India-Pakistan border, the national emblem of India at this border, and the chain that is around the structure.
Very recently, I got a chance to visit the Kaman Aman Setu, which is a bridge between India and Pakistan near the border of India and Pakistan in Kashmir. The tourist guide, Mr. Aarif, took me to this place. Near the Setu, on the critical and sensitive border, is a statue of our national emblem, and on that emblem is written in the Hindi language, ‘SATYA MEV JAYATE’ (TRUTH ALONE TRIUMPHS), and around that statue is a big and strong chain. This emblem statue surrounded by a chain is a powerful metaphor for the challenges that truth faces in the face of various societal constraints. This statue has a lot more to tell, and I could relate to the number of many different socio-political and cultural situations in India and globally. This emblem forced me to write.
The statue depicts that truth alone is victorious, but very interestingly, the truth is rounded with a big and strong chain. In real life, the truth is controlled by different chains, and because of that, a lot more truth is hidden, or not discussed or disclosed. These chains can be social inequalities that exist in societies based on caste, gender, class, religion, etc. The chain can symbolise border issues; the people who live in the border states face a lot of uncertainty, sudden wars, and related problems. The chain can relate to the individuals who speak the truth and have righteousness in their deeds, but because the socio-political and cultural situation of the country forces them shut their mouths, such people are either sent to jail or put themselves in threatening situations that force them to shut their mouths.
Such chains have always kept the truth hidden. Such chains exist not only in India or any other country, but also on a global scale. Whether it is a war between two countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, or Israel and Palestine, those who support such wars or do not speak out against such wars also play the role of such a chain. It has been observed throughout history and in the present day that truth has always been held in various chains, and as a result, society remains unequal and unjust.
Such chains can be broken if the people of that country are given the authority to live with their rights, desires, feelings, and aspirations, and their futures are protected and respected. Such an ideal society could exist within the framework of ‘utopias,’ ‘the sorrowless society,’ etc. The author Herbert Dittgen (1999) has criticised borders, calling them artificial and incompatible with universal humanity, and demarcations as mankind’s greatest evils.
Gail Omvedt (2021) discussed the concept of ‘Begumpura’ envisioned by Sant Ravidas, a place with no pain, no taxes, no personal property, no wrongdoing, worry, terror, or torture and where everything is in order. That imperial kingdom is prosperous and secure, with no second or third place and those who live there are content and wealthy. They walk wherever they want and do as they please. Those who walk alongside them are their friends. There is prosperity and equality. Begumpura was a place idealised by Ravidas, with no geographical location or history; it was a later task to build it in space and time.
It is an ideal society that would free the mind from shackles and enable all to realise their capabilities. Where equality of opportunity will be exercised and where success will be determined by talent and energy. Sant Ravidas argued for a cooperative system, with “the acceptance of joint responsibility both by the labour and the capitalist for the efficient conduct of industry.’’ Finally, he criticised the “spirit of nationality”. In his argument, the goal should be the development of the whole human race rather than a world of separate nations.
It is everyone’s responsibility to strive hard to build ‘Begumpura’, a place where ‘SATYA MEV JAYATE’ (TRUTH ALONE TRIUMPHS) and remove the chains surrounding the truth.
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References
Herbert Dittgen (1999) World without Borders? Reflections on the Future of the Nation-State. Cambridge University Press, 34 (2), 161-179.
Omvedt G. (2021). Seeking Begumpura: The Social Vision of Anticaste Intellectuals. Navayana Publishing PVT Ltd, New Delhi.
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Dr Hemangi Kadlak works as a Faculty Member at Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India. She is an active member of the Phule-Ambedkarite movement.
