The Human Cohesion Project — 17 Apr 2021
#TheHumanCohesionProject
I am not sure how a long busy day filled with conversations tapered into a quiet reflective night. As I write, I have in mind the image of Queen Elizabeth sitting alone at the funeral of her husband today. It was a stark reminder of where the pandemic has left us: strangely alone in our collective journey. It’s a paradox we have created, not a natural phenomenon, unlike some of the beautifully enriching paradoxes in nature.
In another part of the world, the Sikh community mourns the loss of their brethren in an unfortunate shooting incident. The New York Times reports that the first 106 days of the year in 2021 have seen at least a 147 reported mass shootings in the US. Of course, we are still nowhere close to amending gun control laws.
And then there were these two tweets from 14 Apr 2021, by the same publication in India, on the same day, only a few hours apart: One said ‘Lakhs take holy dip to mark third Shahi Snan at #Mahakumbh at #Haridwar’. And the other read ‘Social distancing goes for a toss at Hyderabad’s Mecca masjid on Day 1 of Ramadan.’ Somehow, millions of people belonging to the majority community violating social distancing norms remains holy while a few hundred from the minority doing the same is reported as disturbing. Of course, we are not demanding conflict sensitive journalism yet.
I’m noticing my agitation, and I wonder what doors it may open.
What disturbs you about our world today?
Ramadan Kareem. May we have the courage to stay disturbed.
#RukminiIyer #ExultSolutions #peacebuilding #interfaith #religion #Islam
