Long back, when i was still in the habit of reading vociferously, a paragraph from a Robin Cook novel, caught my fancy. My love for words and phrases and concepts expressed beautifully with language leave a mark in my memory. I scoured the internet, since i didn't quite remember the title, and finally fount it, Fever. In the prologue, he elegantly described cancer cells.
The poisonous molecules of benzene arrived in the bone marrow in a crescendo. The foreign chemical surged with the blood and was carried between the narrow spicules of supporting bone into the farthest reaches of the delicate tissue. It was like a frenzied horde of barbarians descending into Rome. And the result was equally as disastrous. The complicated nature of the marrow, designed to make most of the cellular content of the blood, succumbed to the invaders. Every cell exposed to the benzene was assaulted.
After the benzene molecules had been washed away by repeated surges of clean blood, the marrow could have recovered except for one stem cell. This cell had been busy for years turning out an impressive progeny of white blood cells whose function, ironically enough, was to help the body fight against foreign invaders. When the benzene penetrated this cell’s nucleus, it damaged a very specific part of the DNA but did not kill the cell. It would have been better if the cell had died because the benzene destroyed the fine balance between reproduction and maturation. The cell instantly divided and the resulting daughter cells had the same defect. No longer did they listen to the mysterious central control and mature into normal white blood cells. Instead they responded to an unfettered urge to reproduce their altered selves. Although they appeared to be relatively normal within the marrow, they were different from other young white blood cells. The usual surface stickiness was absent, and they absorbed nutrients at analarmingly selfish rate. .
They had become parasites within their own house.
Today when i look around me, i see something very similar. Friends, family and ordinary people, in almost every way, they look or feel not any different from me. In all respect, they look almost a very good duplicate copy. But like the story above, there is something very different in their DNA now. They have been changed into a cancerous being, like the white blood cells that were laced with benzene.
Hindutva is cancer that is spreading in India, amongst the Hindus. Claiming to be exactly the same as Hindu religion, supposedly espousing the dharma of righteousness, these cancerous beings are actually seeking the blood of other populace, be it the Muslims, Dalits or rational thinkers. Akin to the cancer cells within the human body, Hindutva supporters are multiplying at a very fast rate, virtually taking over the thinking space.
How do you cure yourself of cancer? It is a tough fight, where you have to literally sacrifice parts of your own body, even if it only provides a slightly better chance of recovery. Hindutva eradication is possibly tougher and virtually impossible. Nazi Germany had to be cleansed through a world war. Hindutva cleansing will possibly require something very similar within India. The cancer is all prevading and multiplying at a great rate. Ironic as it seems, it only fair to say "God help us!"
