Slavery

Slavery, for me, is molestation. Molestation of a person’s birth rights, his feelings and sometimes, even his entire life. Sadly however, it is still quite rampant today- although in a vastly more subtle form than what it used to be even a century ago.
Its career across human history, to say the least, has been constantly evolving. It goes back perhaps as far as human civilisation does; and there seems to be quite a good reason for that as well. Insecurity, along with the fear that accompanies it, is one of the most common human emotions. Which is why, it is just as universal to try and be ‘in control’, to be masters of our own ships; in reaction to that insecurity. Perhaps it is exactly for this reason that many of us derive pleasure from gaining control over others. To be able to dictate the life of another, gives us a diluted feeling of godliness; it gives us an illusion of invincibility. People have given reality to that very impulse over the years, and have sought to dehumanise men of other cultures sighting almost every reason under the sun: be it colour, race, language or sex; the direct fall out being enslavement. Of course, no one would admit to that; and have hence, tried their level best to rationalise it, attempting to quell an uneasy conscience. For we know in our hearts, just as surely as we know pleasure from agony, that slavery is simply wrong.
I believe that this entire world is a celebration of Divinity; of its power and the magnificence of its perfection. And humans, all humans, form an integral part of that grand design; and are hence, according to me, divine. Divine in the power of their intellect, and divine in the power of their actions. To reduce one such perfect creation to the position of a commodity, to the position of something inanimate, is as sacrilegious as slandering a Deity in his own shrine. Would a Christian walk into a Church and mar the Cross that adorns it? Would a Hindu enter a temple and desecrate the idol that sits within? Would a Muslim set the Quran ablaze? No. We would not besmirch that what we hold holy with impunity. It must be kept in mind, then; that every man, woman or child is sacred: as sacred, if not more, than any object, or place or shrine.
In antiquity, bondage was something as blatant as State Policy, and therefore, as unashamed as a fact of life. When we behold the Egyptian pyramids today, we remember, perhaps, the monarchs and aristocrats whom they entomb. At best, we recall the architects behind the contrivance of these majestic monuments. But do we remember the people who actually built these masterpieces? Do we remember the uncountable slaves whose blood and sweat went into their realisation? Like their mortal remains, their names too, have been blown away by the sands of time and oblivion. In Ancient Egypt, the subjugation of the slaves could be perpetuated indefinitely- leading to a large section of the population living under enslavement; bereft of dignity, freedom and respect. The Great Wall of China, a structure no less monumental than the Pyramids, too, was the product of slave labour. In fact, the military practice of retaining prisoners of war as slaves was followed all over Old World, be it in Greece, China, Egypt, India or Rome. In Homer’s Troy, we find unambiguous references to Achilles claming women of the defeated Trojans as his property. In the Vedic period of Indian history, the lower castes (particularly the ‘Shudras’ or the servant class) were, from all practical angles, living under bondage. During the Delhi Sultanate in India, it was a common practice for the aristocracy and nobility to own a large number of slaves as personal property. For example, the Sultan Ala-Ud-Din had a shocking 50,000 slaves, and by the time of Firoz Shah Tughlak, this number had risen to 200,000. Besides the ones from India, slaves were also imported from China, Turkistan and Persia. The Mughal reign, as did Feudal Europe, saw the peasant class being harassed ceaselessly by the Imperial officers. They were slaves in the sense that there wages were all but non existent, and nor was their work not voluntary. Slavery in the Unites States of America sparked one of the longest, most violent and ugliest conflicts in human history. The freedom of the African Americans was one of the reasons that the North gave for waging war with the South in the Civil War of 1865.
However, from these events we are separated by a gap of years, centuries, and even millennia. What of slavery in today’s world? What of slavery in this so called ‘free’ world? Does it still exist today? Sadly, yes, slavery still lives on amidst us. It lives on in a form so subtle that it is barely recognizable. The people of today have become slaves of their prejudices, of their fears and self doubts. Primarily, they have become slaves of the society, its expectations and its norms. In so many families world wide, children become the slaves of their parents’ dreams and ambitions. The goals people cannot achieve in their own lives, they seek to experience vicariously through their kids; completely forgetting in the process, that each person has his or her own personal, individual dream; a unique skill. In trying to keep their dreams intact, they shatter those of their sons and daughters. It is quite justified, of course, for any parent to have expectations pinned to their child- they have every right to have them. But when those very expectations become too specific, when they become oriented primarily to the wants of the parent, completely disregarding the wants of the child, that is when it stops being desirable. Nothing can function out of its element. Similarly, a person can only be good at something he or she likes, or was born to do. I have not only heard of, but also come across several parents who push their kids near to the point of insanity to do well; in most cases, academically. Unfortunately, that is what they want, not what the child wants. And people wonder why teenagers are such a depressed lot these days.
I believe that we live in a very cowardly age today. Accustomed to comfort and regularity, we are fearful of taking risks, of exploring the world around us, we are afraid of even exploring ourselves, the infinite facets that make us what we are. The fear of unacceptance enslaves our minds, forcing us to plunge a dagger into our dreams, into our passions and talents; into our very souls- looking towards the approval of society, of complete strangers. Shorn of our fire and vitality, of happiness and spontaneity; we drag our way through life. We do not live, we merely exist. We let all our potential and skills go to waste; bestowing nothing to the world. In today’s age, people equate originality with rebellion and do their level best to smother it. Only a brave few have been able to break away from the fetters of convention, and proclaim proudly, “I am different from the rest!”
Prejudice, like its uncle fear, can reduce men to the state of bondage like almost nothing else can; and the worst part is: it is next to impossible to eradicate. There exists, for example, a widespread prejudice within the Western world that people of Asian origin are illiterate, ignorant and inferior; and, especially after the 9/11 attacks, (to quote the Television show, ER) ‘TWA’s’- Third World Assassins. Or take, for instance, the recent Shilpa Shetty issue on the controversial ‘Big Brother.’ I do not, of course, seek to generalise people of any nation. Indeed, if a Briton called Ms. Shetty a ‘paki’ and abused her racially; it was also the British people who voted in her favour. Similarly, many people of India and other Asian countries perceive the populace of Europe and the USA to be racial, arrogant and condescending. Thankfully, neither is that truly the case, nor is every Asian man or woman possessed of this misconception.
There has always traditionally been a prejudice in human society between the two sexes. Although both men and women play complementary and equally important roles in daily life, females have always gotten the shorter end of the proverbial stick when it comes to opportunities and decision making. Granted, things have improved dramatically in this scenario; but the seeds of discrimination still remain. Much still needs to be done, for in developing countries, girls are still slaves-slaves of their parents during the initial stages of their lives, and then the slaves of their husbands.
One of the worst ramifications of slavery is the fact that it is capable of perpetuating year after year, generation after generation. A country or kingdom that once held another under its sway will forever carry that feeling of superiority in relation to the enslaved State - even after they have lost their influence politically. What does that lead to? Unjustified arrogance (arrogance, regardless of the reason is always unjustified) on one side, and resentment on the other. As it is, we already have too much animosity in this world, without this adding to it. Slavery disallows acknowledging merit’s true worth- it attaches importance to a person’s lineage instead of his ability. Like a leech, it gorges itself on the blood of society, undermining the quality of human life, mocking human ideals and values.
The relationship between freedom and slavery is a complicated one. Perhaps this is because of the fact that there is no such thing as absolute freedom or absolute slavery. Even within seemingly complete freedom, we still remain slaves of certain norms that cannot be ignored or disobeyed; we are still fettered by inhibitions that we cannot forget. In much the same way, amidst total subjugation, physical or otherwise, a tiny sliver of freedom remains- no one can impose restrictions on our thoughts.
Although human kind has come a long way in eradicating slavery, we have not been completely successful. I am of the opinion that, slavery may it be in whatever form, should be rooted out from the very core. We should all make amends to the hurts that we have wrought. Aptly, Rabindranath Tagore’s words from his poem entitled ‘Africa’ echo in my mind:
“Amidst the cacophony of human violence, if you have even a tiny grain of humanity left within you, you will stand next to the person you have wronged, and you will tell him, ‘Forgive me.’ ”