by B. R. GOWANI
PHOTO/Pulse
vow of silence‘s power is a force to be reckoned with
for some it’s a potent tool to take advantage
to make fools of people, and
to play dirty politics …
i have personally experienced this
I once knew a South Asian family
a matriarch had three daughters-in-law in India
she wanted to unite them with resident husbands in US
she borrowed from me ticket money and thousands cash
she promised to return within certain time
but the promised period perished
and she didn’t contact me
I waited and waited and waited
then I went to their place
I was told she was observing “mauna vrat”
some Hindus and Buddhists practice “vow of silence”
this then became the ritual:
I would go to get my money: the lady would be observing silence
ultimately I took a vow of silence to not ask for my money anymore
Gandhi was a master of this mauna vrat bullshit
(hunger strike was another of Gandhi’s powerful tool)
which he used efficiently to get work done or undone
most politicians use the vow of silence but in a different manner
they avoid reporters and debates when possible
when not, they lie or tell half truths
or like Trump lie completely and wholeheartedly with a tinge of pride
Aung San Suu Kyi exposes her deceitful inner politician
although she has not taken a vow of silence
she continues nonetheless to observe one
in regards to the fate of hapless Rohingyas
her eerie silence over the violence of her coreligionists: Buddhists
whose main tenets are to lead moral life, be mindful of thoughts/actions
and develop wisdom and compassion to overcome suffering for all people!
Rohingya people are being massacred
Amartya Sen calls it a “slow genocide”
more than 700,000 have been forced to leave Myanmar
their womenfolk have been brutally raped
they’re now refugees in Bangladesh
Kyi has stopped her heart from feeling pain of burnt-to-death children
she has plugged off her conscience to the plight of the refugees
she has shut her eyes to the genocide of the Rohingya Muslims
she has closed her ears to the screams of the rape victims
she has refused to open her mouth
nothing moves the heart of this State Counsellor of Myanmar
(State Counsellor is equivalent to a prime minister)
some honors bestowed by foreign countries have been taken away
after witnessing Kyi’s callous behavior
she once broke her silence in 2013
not to show remorse for the Rohingya victims
but to defend the Buddhists – Myanmar’s majority
“It’s not ethnic cleansing.”
“What the world needs to understand [is]
that the fear is not just on the side of the Muslims,
but on the side of the Buddhists as well.”
for a nationalist power-hungry hypocrite politician power is everything
Aung San Suu Kyi is a bit different
she’s a Nobel Prize winner nationalist power-hungry hypocrite
she’s equating helpless minority victims to the powerful majority criminals
dropping the facade of compassion and morality …
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com