This date that year. The week that has gone by marked another 9/11 commemoration—a difficult week of unrest, mayhem, murder and instability. Unrest in peaceful and serene Nepal created unprecedented headlines when Gen Z ran riot on the streets of Kathmandu. Bangladesh continues to simmer with protests as Awami League activists took to the streets.
Israel attacked the Hamas Conclave in Qatar, setting off a diplomatic frenzy. Poland shot down Russian drones, which, according to their claim, invaded their airspace, and Romania wasn’t far behind. In the US, a key government aide was shot down by a sniper while addressing a rally, and an Indian immigrant doing his job was brutally beheaded by an illegal immigrant.
The week ended with an anti-immigration rally on the streets of London. Whether an astrological line-up, a lunar eclipse on a red moon, or a lunatic direction taken by humanity was the cause is a matter for astronomers and analytics to figure out or for historians to record.
“Amid the chaos of 9/11 week, an island of comparative shanti remained in the land of Swami Vivekananda — Bharat. The date now symbolic of towering terrorism was also the day Vivekananda addressed the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, opening with ‘Sisters and Brothers of America’ and delivering an impassioned call for tolerance that still resonates 132 years later. His message, ‘We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true,’ echoes India’s enduring ethos of vasudhaiva kutumbakam — ‘the world is one family’ — from the Maha Upanishad (Chapter 6, Verse 71).”
Nepal on the brink
Bangladesh-like riots erupted in the land of Pashupati Nath, a region that is generally peaceful, and the people are placid. Our neighbours poured out into the street to protest against the KP Oli government, resentful about alleged corruption. Ostensibly undertaken by Gen-Z protesters, the conflagration erupted and consumed the Nepal Parliament, the Hilton, Nepal’s tallest hotel, the wife of the Former PM, who was burned alive, and 50 people were left for dead.
It is hard to understand how Nepal’s citizens were up in arms against their elected government. This led to speculations and conspiracy theories, such as deep state, a ploy to bring instability in the region. “…The vandalism and the mindless violence that have taken place since then are clearly the handiwork of external and unknown actors,” stated Namrata Sharma, Nepal chapter of South Asian Women in Media.
Charles Kirk’s assassination
Charlie Kirk, a key Trump aide and the face of right-wing Christian supremacist youth Club Turning Point USA, was assassinated on 10 September, the eve of the anniversary of 9/11. His shooter stated that he shot Kirk because he “was full of hate and spreading hate”.
Murder or any other form of violence is unacceptable in any democracy; it has to be condemned unequivocally. But the irony is that Kirk fell victim to his own quagmire of hatred and bigotry—it was a white man who killed him. It happened when Kirk was answering questions on gun violence, being an avid supporter of gun policy. “It’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights…That is a prudent deal,” he had stated in 2023.
Kirk was also vociferous about white supremacy and anti-Martin Luther King Jr. “We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s,” he said at a Turning Points USA conference in December 2023. He was not in favour of women’s rights either and actively campaigned against them. At pop icon Taylor Swift’s engagement, he offered this piece of wisdom instead of congratulations, telling the singer to “reject feminism” and “submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.” There is an ancient B’ahai quote, “love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate is darkness, no matter where it may make its nest.”
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India as a promoter of world peace
In all this turmoil, India is attempting to consolidate its image as a peace broker for the world. India is determined to tap into its ancient culture to become a Shaktipeeth for global peace in the 21st Century. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated his friendship with all nations and their leadership, including Donald Trump, during the drama and upheaval caused by US tariffs. Bharat continues to walk a tightrope between their traditional friendship with the Middle East and sympathy for the Jewish State by “strongly urging restraint and diplomacy, so that peace and security in the region are not endangered”, after Israel struck Qatar in search of Hamas leadership cloistered there.
India also reiterated its strong distaste for terror and terror-supporting states. PM Modi urged that there should be no double standards in dealing with terrorism and urged the SCO countries to hold countries that perpetrate and support cross-border terrorism accountable.
“The need of the moment is not one religion but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of different religions,” said Guru Arjan Dev, who was the apostle of peace and preached religious and social tolerance.
Canada finally acknowledged that its soil is being used to support and create funding for Khalistani terror groups. Peace-loving countries that support and create pockets of terrorism in other countries are merely playing with fire. “One who eradicates cruelty from within his own mind, looks upon all the world as his friend” (Guru Granth Sahib, p. 266). And this is what India and its ethos are about. Tolerance and world peace.
The world continues to club India as “South Asia”, but India stands alone as a beacon of dharma and peace, and South Asia is a relatively new derivative of the Indian subcontinent. Let’s hope and pray that this region remains inspired by its ancient value system and works toward peaceful coexistence.
Meenakashi Lekhi is a BJP leader, lawyer and social activist. Her X handle is @M_Lekhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)