Seeing Today in the Temporal Distance
By Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor
I am tearful. Mesmerised by the images I see of Palestine — desperation, despair, destruction of hospitals, and homes and lives, but weirdly not of hope, which is tottering but somehow resilient, dare I say even triumphant.
I am thoughtful. I remember Gandhi, the story of the Indian nation and freedom. A complicated man. Non-violence as a weapon. We CAN be free. Together we march — our own salt from our sea.¹ Yesterday imprisoned. Today, we are free.
I am truthful. Gandhi said that non-violence and truth were inseparable. The truth… where is it in today’s crisis. Who can I trust, but myself? And? I can witness children dying, their mothers crying. Israeli. Palestinian. Me.
I am fretful. Self-defence against a defenceless people? There is no truth in this. Numbers are pathetic but they make a point. One life on this side is worth … well… twenty on that side. Or more? What happened to empathy? It is dead, just like so many lives.
A colonial judge — no leniency. To make an example, a 23 year old is hung. His act forgotten, his name lives on. “Inquilab zindabad — Long live the revolution”
I am tearful, again. 1919 — a thousand killed. Soldiers ordered to fire, until they finished all their ammunition. The only exit barred by a veil of bullets. People…fathers, sons and brothers … just fell… dead.² A 100 years ago. History or is this today?
I am thoughtful — thinking is good, especially when truth is sparse. 1928, Bhagat Singh kills a British policeman for killing Rai. At least three lives are lost. A show trial and many pleas. A colonial judge — no leniency. To make an example, a 23 year old is hung. His act forgotten, his name lives on. “Inquilab zindabad — Long live the revolution”.³ Singh too, helped India be free.
Back to being truthful. History is useful. I can see clearly in the temporal distance. Labels are just labels, often written by the powerful.⁴ Mandela was a ‘terrorist’ until 2008, according to the US state. Singh, a gentleman terrorist⁵ or a hero in a thousand freedom songs? British culpability. Colonial lines.
Am I fretful? Yes I am. Ceasefire? Prisoners? Hostages? Loved ones are home. Relief or a red herring. The bombs are falling, all over again. We promised ourselves, never again.
Jallianwala Bagh — never again.
Auschwitz — never again.
Srebrenica — never again.
never again.
never again.
YET AGAIN.
Tearful, thoughtful, truthful, fretful….. what can I do but write …. at least I can. There are those who are dead. And others who are dying — justice, self-determination, the freedom to be. Hope is tottering but alive. Peace between two nations torn by a British line.
For now, I go back to history and to Gandhi who once said, “… according to the accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.” (Mahatma Gandhi, Published in the Harijan, 26–11–1938)⁶
This text is part of the anthology Reflections on US! compiled by researchers at Coventry University, The full volume can be downloaded here.
¹ Salt March, major nonviolent protest action in India led by Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi in March–April 1930. The march was the first act in an even-larger campaign of civil disobedience (satyagraha) Gandhi waged against British rule in India that extended into early 1931 and garnered Gandhi widespread support among the Indian populace and considerable worldwide attention. https://www.britannica.com/event/Salt-March
² Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, incident on April 13, 1919, in which British troops fired on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space known as the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in the Punjab region (now in Punjab state) of India, killing several hundred people and wounding many hundreds more. https://www.britannica.com/event/Jallianwala-Bagh-Massacre
³ Bhagat Singh was a revolutionary hero of the Indian independence movement. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bhagat-Singh[4]
⁴ Waxman, Olivia B. 2018. ‘The U.S. Government Had Nelson Mandela on Terrorist Watch Lists Until 2008. Here’s Why’, Time, 18 July, https://time.com/5338569/nelson-mandela-terror-list/
⁵ Glaser, Linda B. 2018. ‘Historian Examines India’s ‘Gentlemen’ Terrorists’, Cornell Chronicle, 29 January, https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2018/01/historian-examines-indias-gentlemen-terrorists
⁶ Mahatma, Ghandi. 1934. ‘The Jews In Palestine’, published in the Harijan, 26 November, https://www.countercurrents.org/pa-gandhi170903.htm
Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor is Professor in the Sociology of Islam at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University, UK. As a feminist sociologist, she interrogates the power dynamics within knowledge production and the implications of the processes and systems of knowledge on society as a whole. This is evidence in this animation created for and with vulnerable children in care. Her research portfolio currently includes research on digital religion, vulnerable children, definitions of security and inter-convictional dialogue. She has several publications including her latest title Muslim Women in Britain, 1850–1950: 100 Years of Hidden History (Hurst 2023), which has been reviewed favourably by the Morning Star and the BBC. She remains hopeful of one day witnessing a peaceful and just world.
