YESTERDAY I was asked to speak at the Nirmala Niketan College in Mumbai about, “Giving a Voice to the Voiceless’. It seemed as I began to speak, I heard a whisper, “What If, you Bob should not be the speaker here today, but the speaker be we the so called voiceless!”
“What?” I nearly cried out. “What we need Bob,” the imaginary voice continued, “is not you trying to speak for us, but you and your friends equipping, enabling and empowering us the voiceless people of our country to speak for ourselves?” Well it wasn’t really a voice, but suppose that is what the silent ones in our country, the poor and downtrodden are trying to say?
That our role is to give them a voice! What if, that instead of a silent billion accepting the dole their masters in Delhi or Mumbai hand over to them, their voices, once freed by us, clamour, demand and receive what is their rightful inheritance, because we equipped them with a voice that would demand their fair and equal share? Our job I believe is akin to an ENT surgeon or throat doctor, or voice trainer. Our job I believe is to open their mouths, widen their vocal cords, and let them speak.
For this to happen, you and I have a duty: Our job is to remove the shackles that have driven them to silence. To not just show them that our nation is a democracy, not just take the heavy bound Constitution we love brandishing and place it on their laps, saying, ‘here this is yours,’ but to show them how to use laws in their panchayats, housing societies and work places that in watching themselves win, and seeing justice is delivered in these small attempts they will be emboldened to use bigger laws and bigger legal fights for their fair and rightful share to equality and their rightful share of roti, kapada and makan!
Our task is to remove the muzzles placed on them by an oppressive police force. To gradually take away their fear of the police, the fear of government servants and to explain to them what these government servants actually are supposed to be — servants, meant to serve them, not loud-mouthed bullies who want to be served and bribed.
Our job also is to remove the thought from their minds that if they are of a religion which is not of the majority that they have lesser rights, and to explain they have the same rights of any other Indian in this country.
Our job is show them their right to protest! A fundamental right that today unfortunately is branded as activism, and thought of as sedition. “Yes,” I said as I finished my new speech, “Our job is not to be the voice of our people but to teach our people to use their voice..!”
