Time for introspection

The heart-wrenching scenes of George Floyd’s killing has created outcry across the globe. The apocalyptic incident has triggered a flood of protests across the second largest democracy, rekindling hope in the hearts of millions that now the brutalities and atrocities committed against people from the black community will finally be discussed and a way forward explored.

The furious protesters are determined to topple all symbols of slavery, oppression and injustice. Last Wednesday night, they tore down a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis along Richmond, Virginia's famed Monument Avenue. Richmond police were on the scene and videos on social media showed the monument being towed away as a crowd cheered.

About 80 miles away, protesters in Portsmouth beheaded and then pulled down four statues that were part of a Confederate monument on the same day. The crowd was frustrated by the Portsmouth City Council's decision to put off moving the monument. They switched to throwing bricks from the post that held the plaque they had pulled down as they initially worked to bring down the statue. Media reports said they then started to dismantle the monument one piece at a time as a marching band played in the streets and other protesters danced. On Tuesday a mob pulled down the statue of Christopher Columbus, who many native people consider a mass-murderer, in Richmond, setting it on and then submerging it into a lake.

These acts have not only scared white supremacists in America but are also upsetting English racists in the UK where protesters toppled the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol on June 7. Born to a rich merchant family in 1636, Colston was a notorious slave trader, who became prominently involved in England's sole official slaving company at the time, the Royal African Company. The company transported tens of thousands of Africans across the Atlantic Ocean, mainly to work the sugar plantations in the Caribbean and cultivate the tobacco fields that were burgeoning in the new North American colony of Virginia. Each enslaved person had the company's initials branded on their chest. Bristol, as an international port, was at the centre of the slave trade and profited hugely financially – through nnot just shipbuilders and slavers, but also investors like Colston.

Demands for the removal of more statues in the UK are now raging across the country. The removal of the statue has infuriated ultra-right wing elements but the mass majority of the British people seem to be euphoric over the erasing of this symbol of slavery. Some elements are trying to ignite nationalist feelings over the incident, equating the toppling of statue to an affront to British national honour but in reality it was not the common English people who benefited greatly from slavery, colonization or ruthless exploitation perpetrated by white capitalists.

In fact, the indentured white labourers who were brought to the Americas as well as the black and Native Americans were all subjected to inhuman treatment with varying degrees. What is clear: when the wealth of the world was being brought to London, Bristol and other cities from the colonies, British women, men and children were working like animals in industries under inhuman conditions. So, the mass plundering that the British capitalist class committed across the globe immensely enriched the few families that are still ruling over the country directly and indirectly.

Should this movement prompt people all over the world to discuss all sorts of discrimination and explore the way forward. It was not only the US and the UK that were involved in slavery and ruthless exploitation but most European countries also benefited from this business. Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Turkey and Russia also committed one or the other type of exploitation to enrich their ruling elites. Who can forget the abduction of Christian boys by the Turkish ruling elite? Russian’s annexation of several small states and introduction of serfdom against their own people is part of history. Belgium’s rulers chopped off the hands of around a million people in Congo. Portugal looted Brazil while Spain ruthlessly plundered the wealth of the Inca, the Maya and the Aztecs. The French slaughtered millions in Indo China, Algeria and several parts of the world.

This is the time to question the plundering of India at the hands of the British who are believed to have looted over 40 trillion dollars from the giant country. This is the time to hold those responsible that caused the deaths of over 35 million souls in Bihar, Orissa, Bengal and Ireland. This is the time to raise questions over the ruthless exploitation of the Chinese at the hands of the Japanese. This is the time to give a sympathetic hearing to the demand of black authors, historians and activists that they be paid around five trillion dollars for the inhuman trade of slavery.

This raging anger should not confine itself to attacking mere symbols. It should also prompt activists to question the very essence of capitalism. This insatiable hunger not only prompted humans to enslave humans but also made them destroy the very means of life – nature. This system of greed, injustice and exploitation still continues to play havoc with the lives of millions. Therefore, the questions that this movement has created should also focus on all types of systems based on coercion and intimidation.

The movement has exposed the sanctimoniousness of many people. For instance, Bollywood actors and actresses who cannot summon enough courage to speak against the atrocities of the Indian state in Kashmir, mob attacks on Muslims, the killings of independent-minded persons at the hands of Hindu extremists or the oppression of the Dalits are lecturing America about its treatment of racial minorities. Pakistani stars, who are blind to the sufferings of Haseeba Qambrani and Bramsh Baloch and reluctant to discuss the missing souls of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, are bragging about their moral strength. They cannot dare debate the plight of religious minorities or the honour killings in the country but love to lecture America about its treatment of the African-American community.

There should not be any dichotomy between what one says and what one acts. Speaking against oppression is good but it should not be selective. In reality, this raging movement across the US and the UK should prompt us to account for all our wrongdoings. It should make us ponder the heinous crimes that we have committed against our fellow human beings. From Washington to New Delhi, London to Islamabad and Paris to Ankara, this is an opportunity for us to summon enough moral courage and confess any crimes that we may have committed against our own people or other nations.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Email: egalitarianism444@ gmail.com