Rashomon & Kashmir

I had heard of the term 'Rashomon effect' and the movie 'Rashomon' several times in the past, but it was only yesterday that after a student suggested that I watch this, did I try to search for it online.
It wasn't there on any of the popular on-demand-video platforms (e.g. Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Airtel Xstream), but I was able to find it on YouTube.

After watching the movie last night, I was able to understand why a 70 years old Japanese movie is so highly rated even today. The term 'Rashomon effect'  refers to a situation in which the 'eye witnesses' give different, and often conflicting descriptions or interpretations of the same event. For an onlooker, there is no single 'truth' but different 'truths' that come out of those descriptions.

Witnessing the events unfolding in Jammu & Kashmir after 5th August 2019, I find uncanny similarities with Rashomon effect and the movie Rashomon. Inspired by the movie Rashomon, the idea behind this blog is to draw similarities between Rashomon effect and the recent events. The point of this blog is not to share my thoughts on which description or interpretation do I agree with or which I do consider true/correct. 

Sitting here in Jamshedpur, I have tried to devour as much news as possible from diverse news sources: print newspapers, websites of newspapers, TV channels, blogs, and user generated forums like YouTube, Twitter. In doing so, I have tried to diversify the geographic base of those news sources and have therefore accessed
not just India based news sources (Zee News, NDTV, CNN-IBN, Economic Times, The Hindu, The Telegraph, Hindustan Times, Prabhat Khabar, The Wire, The Print),
but also Pakistan based news sources (Geo News, Ary News, Dunya News, Dawn, 24 News HD, Samaa TV, Hassan Nisar, Najam Sethi),
and foreign based news sources (The Guardian, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, BBC).
I have also gone through some official Acts and documents such as the Instrument of Accession, Government of India Act 1935, Indian Independence Act 1947, and J&K Constitution Act 1934.

Doing so has helped me learn about many historical incidents which I was unaware of, and enhance my understanding of the past and what is unfolding currently. However what has been the most valuable learning for me is the understanding of the different narratives, how different (and mostly competing and contradictory) narratives have been framed in the past and how those competing narratives are being framed even today.
If one were to largely limit their news consumption to India based news sources, one would get an impression that though there are numerous restriction to civil liberties in Jammu & Kashmir, the state has been largely incident free and peaceful. Further, many will perceive this to be a step that has bamboozled Pakistan and left it with limited options. Some news outlets report about the "excessives of the Indian state/government" and how the Indian state/government is not allowing information to flow from the state.
If, on the other hand, one were to largely limit their news consumption to Pakistan based news sources, one would get an impression that "curfew" has been imposed in J&K and that "fascist Indian state is committing or planning to commit a genocide in the state". One will also read about "rapes and murders being committed by the Indian Army and the Indian state".
When it comes to the foreign based news sources, though there is relatively more diversity in terms of tone and depiction, the general narrative has been that by restricting civil liberties, "Indian state is committing human rights abuse" and that it is a "humanitarian crisis of great magnitude". One will also read about how the "Hindu nationalist government of PM Modi is committing abuses in India's only Muslim majority state of J&K".

One media refers to a person as a terrorist, the other refers to it as an innocent civilian, and the third refers to it as militant. Same person, different descriptions.
One sees J&K as an Indian state, the other sees it as "Makbuza" (occupied) Kashmir, and the third sees it as "Indian's only Muslim majority state". Same region, different descriptions.
One sees the Indian government as Indian government, the other sees it as "Fascist Hindu government", and the third sees it as "Hindu majoritarian government". Same government, different descriptions.

Words evoke emotions and emotions shape our thoughts. The word terrorist evoke completely different emotions from an innocent civilian and militant. It is therefore no surprise that people consuming their news from these broadly three news sources will infer different meanings and their thoughts will be different, and very often contrast to each other.
While which news source do we access is influenced by various factors (e.g. available time, news access, cost of access etc.), quite often it is our existing beliefs and thoughts about the situation and/or the government/Prime Ministers etc that define which news source do we end up consuming the news from.
We see what we want to see.

There is one truth for those watching Indian based news sources, there is another truth for those limiting to Pakistan based news sources, and then there are different truths for those consuming foreign based news sources.
After all, isn't it what the Rashomon Effect is?

It's time to Go..(Revisited)

Seven years back, I had written a blog titled 'It's time to Go'.

Some incidents have of the last few weeks have led me to revisit that blog.

This blog is essentially a version 2 of that blog, a version in which most points of those blog are retained with some additions reflecting recent incidents.

When is the best time to go?

Rather, when is the time to go?

And, how do you go?

Difficult questions to answer. Isn't it?

It's said the first impression is the last impression.

But I also believe that last impression can also be the last impression.

There could be situations when no one remembers how you entered, or when you entered; but everyone will remember how and when you exited.

Not yet getting my point?

I am talking about drama.

I am talking about politics.

I am talking about sports.

I am talking about life.

We may not always control how and when we enter the stage (for example we do not control the time and manner of our birth), but we can often try to control how and when we exit the stage (for example through our deeds, actions, and words).

When we are in action, in whichever arena one may consider, it is very difficult to assess ourselves without any bias continuously/regularly and ascertain if we have had enough and if it's time to move on.
It is especially difficult when we have achieved something spectacular in the past and all our present achievements (or non-achievements) are compared with our spectacular past.

Individuals before us have faced this dilemma, and individuals after us will face this dilemma.

In politics, it happened with Jyoti Basu in the past (He continued to harbour dreams of being the Chief Minister of West Bengal, and possibly the Prime Minister of India, when he was well into his late 80s). It happened with Karunanidhi (When he stepped down from the post of CM of Tamil Nadu in 2011 after losing the state elections, he was 87).

In movies, it happened with Rajesh Khanna in latter years of his life (At the age of 68, he appeared in a 'B' grade movie in 2011, which disappointed many of his fans).

In sports, it happened with Sourav Ganguly in the past (He continued to consider himself 'indispensable' for the Indian Cricket team till the time he was shown the door), and it happened with Sachin Tendulkar (He continued to play for one year after the winning the World Cup Cricket in 2011, till he turned 39, many allege, for completing the feat of 100 international centuries).

In the last few days, it seems to have been happening with MS Dhoni and Eoin Morgan. Many, commentators and sports fans alike, have asked (directly or indirectly) for MS Dhoni to quit cricket. Some have even started asking for Eoin Morgan, the captain of the England Cricket Team that recently won the World Cup of Cricket, to step down.

I find the demands to quit, for these two cricketers, very interesting.
Those who have asked for MS Dhoni to retire cite reasons like his waning abilities, his inability to bat with a higher strike rate, and his inability to bat according to situations etc. Those who oppose this demand cite his past performance, cite non-performance from others in the team, and about his having earned the right to quit etc. 
On the other hand, the relatively few who have asked for Eoin Morgan to step down as captain or quit international cricket do not cite his waning abilities as much as much they cite the need to build team for 2023 Cricket World Cup and the opportunity to quit on a high.

I don't know which of those arguments are right or wrong, but there's a saying which I find very apt for these situations:

You should leave, not when people start saying that it's time for you to leave now; but rather when people ask: why leave now?

Now what could be the possible reasons for people, who have achieved a lot in life, to stay a bit longer and for such demands to surface?

One possible reason why it becomes difficult for those in action to retire/move behind the stage/exit is that they conjure an image/world of their own, where they think that they are indispensable for the state/sport/stage and that they can still match their heydays.

Another possible reason could be the lure of power/fame, and the fear of moving out of stage/fear of oblivion.

It could also be that deep within, these people are trying as hard as they have ever tried and believe that it is just a matter of time when their present becomes as illustrious as their past. Of all the people who would have been left disappointed by India's exit from the World Cup, MS Dhoni perhaps would be the most disappointed. He may have had the sincere belief that he still has within himself that temperament, that brute strength, and that charisma in his repertoire that were the reasons for most of his past achievements and accomplishments on the sports field. 

I don't know which of the above explanation is closer to what one would say reality, but there's one thing that I found fascinating in the demands to quit for Dhoni and Morgan.
Demands to quit for MS Dhoni are for reasons that his present is not as good as his past, while demands to quit for Eoin Morgan are for reasons that future needs to be as good as the present. 

Now, it is time for me to end this blog and go !

PS: The difficulty in quitting as mentioned in my blog is not only limited to the persons named in the blog. Their names were used just to illustrate the point.