The recent case of police brutality against the black man - George Floyd in the US caused the entire world to stand up against the discriminatory act, recognizing their role as a part of the global community. The Black Lives Matter Movement in support of the black community saw a rise in momentum across the world. Though the physical manifestation was confined to the streets of the US, the expressions of solidarity with the protestors and call for change was louder than ever on the social media platforms all over the world, including India.
While it is excellent to see such show of solidarity by the international community, we seem to have forgotten or sidelined the cases of police brutality we regularly witness and normalize in our own country. Discrimination against minorities runs rampant. And it remains an unfortunate fact that these people, who suffer in the face of violent police repression and are unable to garner any support for retaliation against these unjust acts, are conveniently overlooked by the same people who have jumped into the bandwagon of activism.
It was this irony that ushered the discussions on “selective activism” to the fore in all mainstream media platforms. While activists in India advocated intensely against racial injustice in the US, we chose to ignore similar, brutal events that transpired back home. The case of extensive police brutality in Rajasthan against a Dalit family was one of those many ongoing issues that failed to attract the activist fervor of Indians. The predicament over CAA and NRC too was left unexamined by many Indians. These were only some of the many matters that were unable to find the same support and discussions, Indians propelled the BLM movement with.
As a reminder of these regular atrocities especially amid the COVID 19 pandemic, that failed to attract enough discussions and call for remedial actions, the phrase “Migrant Lives Matter, Poor Lives Matter, Minority Lives Matter,” came to be widely circulated on the social media. Its essence points, how Indians have unsuccessfully and often selectively advocated against systemic violence in our country. This pandemic has rendered many jobless and homeless. With no transportation facilities or basic amenities at hand, migrants’ deaths have been on the rise.
Let us also look at other discriminatory practices that have been in existence and normalized, long before we were hit by this pandemic. While we recognize the diversity in a country as large as India, our society continues to be riddled with marginalization based on sex, caste, creed, religion, and socio-economic backgrounds. Deep-seated notions of casteism has led many to use lower caste names as a pejorative. The perpetuation of colorism too has its roots in the caste system, where upper castes were identified with fair skin while lower castes were identified with darker skin tones. Samples of selective activism were seen when celebrities endorse skin- whitening products while claiming to address the obsession of the Indian population with fairness and represent a progressive India. Another dimension of this is how many activists address the craze for fair skin without ever mentioning the origin of the issue, that is caste biases.
In another instance, we witnessed various organizations coming in support of the entry of women into the Sabarimala Temple. However, when the issue of Triple Talaq and the discussion on polygamy began, the same organizations remained inactive in speaking against these discriminatory practices. Therefore, while women of one community found support, the women of another were left to fend for themselves.
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| Source: Unsplash By: Clay Banks |
Let’s look at another example concerning feminism. The popularity of the Me-Too Movement grew with the voices of the urban upper-middle-class women. Domestic workers, rural women, and Dalit women were all underrepresented in the movement that claimed to speak for all silenced victims of sexual harassment. Hence, while one speaks up for the issue they are directly faced with, they often invalidate other dimensions of the very same problem, ignoring the intersectionality at play.
Selective activism has become a very relevant issue because we often only expend efforts advocating causes pertinent to the group we identify with and rank these issues to be more important than other. As a result, we ignore issues that feel irrelevant to us, and in this manner, we become a part of the problem. However, as a social justice advocate, it is essential that we fight for all these issues even though it may not have a direct impact on our lives. While it is not wrong to be drawn to one issue more, we must recognize the value of all other problems our country face. We must stand for social justice to be upheld at every instance and extend our empathy and support to those going through turbulent circumstances. If equality is our end goal, we must take a stand and fight together all inequalities and not only the inequalities that are convenient for us to fight.
India is the largest democracy in the world that promises all citizens the right to freedom of speech under the Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution. People are always welcome to raise their voice against any injustice they come across. Today, activism has evolved to address all issues of injustice in our day to day lives and activists are empowered to use this right efficiently by coming on to the streets to protest, spreading awareness, questioning authorities and using social media platforms effectively to garner support for the cause. While many instances of selective activism may have resulted from ignorance of issues, it remains a truth that often many activists remain prejudiced in their activism to benefit particular organizations, agencies or individuals and their agendas.
Another reason why individuals are reluctant to lend support to important issues may be due to the legal repercussions they are likely to face such as the possibility of being implicated with offences under the sedition law or the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), especially when the advocated issue is against the mainstream ideologies. In such cases, activists may tend to leave out extremely controversial issues and focus only on issues that may have easier solutions.
To conclude, we must strive to show solidarity towards all communities. We must recognize the discrimination each community faces and work in tandem with each other to address the injustice. Only then we can fight for justice as a society, collectively. We should let go of our biases and prevent challenges from setting limits on our capability to change the world for better. Battles for justice are not chosen based on convenience, but necessity.
Bibliography
● https://livewire.thewire.in/politics/the-selective-woke-ness-of-indians/
●https://www.asianage.com/entesrtainment/bollywood/310520/priyanka-slammed-forselective-activism.html
●https://www.theodysseyonline.com/500-words-on-selective-social-activism
●https://www.academia.edu/18338106/Selective_or_Generic_Activism_Types_of_Participants_Political_Action_Repertoires_and_Mobilization_Capacity_in_a_Post_Communist_ Society
WRITTEN BY AASHIKA PRABHAKAR
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