Sanjay Verma, an Indore-based businessman, says participating in Bharat Jodo Yatra gave him fresh insights to understand the country and its plurality better
I saw the mass frenzy that Bharat Jodo Yatra public meetings are generating from my own eyes in Bellary, Karnataka. Almost one lakh people were present at that meeting. The ground was muddy due to the rain some hours back, but the crowd stood undeterred.
I am from the Hindi Belt and could not understand what the people around me were talking in Kannada but I was reading their facial expressions. Those faces had a rush of adrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, and all sorts of hormones that produce joy. This was a wonderful sight after a long time.
Initially, I thought that the crowd was there due to a charismatic effect of Rahul Gandhi but no! The people had come to see and hear Siddaramaiah, their leader. When his name was announced, the crowd suddenly came to life. People started whistling, shouting slogans and stood up on their chairs to catch a glimpse of the stage. Siddharamaiya had to request for silence but no one seemed ready to hold their excitement. Once he had delivered his speech, people left the site. Thus I see the contribution of regional leaders in making Bharat Jodo Yatra a memorable connect.
I was compelled to think why this sort of mass hysteria is not found in the Hindi belt. Is this a sign that we are more of a mature constituency or it shows a lack of collective empathy on our part? Is it also a sign of intense love in the South Indian people as compared to ours? It has always been a mystery for psychologists why people behave in a specific manner in person and mobs. Why do they make a leader out of someone and a villain out of others?
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People’s sentiments have no mathematical explanation as such. It is a question of internal realization that I felt after attending the Bharat Jodo Yatra event. Like any other travel experience this Yatra gave me fresh insights which helped me understand myself and the world better.
Was that hysterical mass behavior genetic? Or something that has to do with the collective memory that may be different from ours? Can this be regarded as a failure of the leaders from North India?
My identity is a maze. By birth, I am a Sindhi but my Hindi is like a resident of Uttar Pradesh. My surname speaks of coming from a lower caste. My friends tell me I can pass off as a South Indian in looks. My hobbies and companionship are literary but by profession, I am an industrialist. My wife is a Punjabi Sardar and my daughter-in-law is a Marwadi. I am an atheist though I participate in all religious festivals with my family.
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I live through multiple identities simultaneously. It seems as if I am perpetually experiencing a Bharat Jodo Yatra inside me. That is how I am. That is what India is where all sorts of identities coexist in harmony. It cannot be painted in one color. This is why Bharat Jodo Yatra seemed important to me and I joined it.
As told to Abhishek Srivastava