Is throwing ink on the faces a right way
of showing resentment?
By Harish Monga
The person, whose feelings have been hurt with
anybody’s action or statement, can go to any extent from pelting stones to
throwing ink but don’t have intention to kill.
We write for others and to keep it as a record
otherwise there is no necessity to write. Gone are the days when ink involved
us in a relationship with the written word which is sensuous, immediate and
individual. It opens our personality out to the world, and gives us a means of
reading other people.
Hensher is a British author, a popular columnist
for The Independent and an arts critic for The Spectator. In his latest book
“The Missing Ink”, he enlivens his musings about penmanship's demise with
sharp insights and wry wit. Hensher has also listed how ink has long
occupied a strong symbolism in literature.
However, its use in violent political protests
must be an Indian invention entirely.
Recently, we have seen anger in Punjab over the
desecration of a ‘Bir’ of the Guru Granth Sahib and the entire nation has
proliferated social media, usually accompanied with cringing images of the dead
and injured. We go through our Facebook of What’sApp feed, looking for what to share,
like, post or may create new hash (#) tag.
In the past, we have seen incidents
of ink being thrown on political leaders including prominent figures,
with an alarming frequency.
In January 2012, Yoga guru Ramdev had become the
target of an ink attack. A man, identified as Kamran Siddiqui, threw black ink on
his face at a press conference he was addressing on his plans to campaign
against black money in the coming Assembly elections. Seated along with Janata
Party leader Subramanian Swamy at the Constitution Club in the heart of the capital,
Ramdev's right eye was blackened with ink.
In November last year, a man, claiming to be a
supporter of Anna Hazare and the BJP, had thrown black ink at Arvind
Kejriwal during a press conference.
Shouting 'Arvind Kejriwal Murdabad', Nachiketa, who claimed to be BJP
general secretary of the Ahmednagar unit in Maharashtra, entered the venue and
threw a can of ink on him. Some drops of the paint fell on Kejriwal's
face.
People whose religious feelings have been hurt can
go to the extent of pelting stones what to talk of throwing ink and in
another case, angry protesters threw ink on Jammu and Kashmir
Independent legislator Engineer Rashid in Delhi and
After a peaceful ride to Delhi in a Mercedes Benz,
arrested Sahara Chairman Subrata Roy had to face an ink attack on
Tuesday as he arrived at the Supreme Court. A man who identified himself as
Manoj Sharma, a lawyer from Gwalior, managed to get close to Roy outside the
apex court and threw black ink at him,
Frankly speaking, ink on your face is really a
big disgrace and it is not the right way
to show resentment. But making cautionary use paper masks to thwart such
attacks on such occasions would not be a bad idea.
At the same time, on the thrower’s side, let us
hope that a good sense prevails over them and they put the ink into its
original use and write inn protest rather than indulge in such violent
practices.
Since most of these incidents have occurred during
press conferences or in court premises, making cautionary use of paper masks to
thwart such attacks on such occasions would not be a bad idea. On the thrower's
side, let us hope good sense prevails over them and they put the ink to
its original use and write in protest rather than indulge in violent practices.
Sign up here with your email