In Earth's Silence Lives Ghosts Of Tiananmen By Srestha Banerjee

In Earth's Silence Lives Ghosts Of Tiananmen

By Srestha Banerjee

03 June, 2014
Countercurrents.org

Two very important days approach us, one carrying the torch of democratic rights, the other advocating the rights of environment and the people who live with it. On the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen square on June 4, and the 41st anniversary of the World Environment Day on June 5, we possibly need to reflect on both with much deference.

The Tiananmen observation possibly has never been more pertinent to India than today. Tiananmen of 1989 stands as en emblem where the voices of a “minority of troublemakers”, needed to be silenced to ensure future growth of an established order. The complex democratic equation was to be reduced to linearity. As India strongly aspires to realize a development model, much ordained by the Chinese success, a linear growth equation dominates most public debates. The catalytic additions targeting a nearly 10 per cent GDP growth is altogether apparent. The perpetrators of the growth model have already started sharing their generous wish lists with the government. And why not! A gift has already been promised by the genie in its manifesto. What is possibly awaited is a speedy delivery of the gift. And in this process of wishing and gifting- a large section remains uncalled, and earth remains a silent observer. The ghosts of Tienanmen breathe in the silence.

Development is not a crime- the dream of a better life is the yearning of all, the rich and the poor. A dignified survival is the right of every human and the very resources that sustain them. But the caveat of the dream also lies in the “right of all”. Thus we need to listen closely to the whispers that are lost in the development slogan. The unscripted claims need to be recognized that are not necessarily endorsed by official seals, but are more fundamental than many. Else a dream realized through plunder and subversion will remain the fulfillment of a few, and recalled as the nightmare of many.

Srestha Banerjee is a researcher at the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi working with the Policy Research & Community Support