Conflict In Amartya Sen's 'Violence And Identity'

Loot. Murder. Stampede. Dacoity. Rape. Abduction. Corpse. Bloodshed. Abandonment. Turmoil.
These are all terms that bring to our minds a grotesque, dark and gory picture associated with any conflict in the history of mankind. Conflicts, whether arising out of deliberative or instinctive reasons, lead to the same end of loss, grief and many questions to which no one has ever had answers to. Why does a conflict take place? How can you resolve it? Can you resolve it at all? Can you evade from it? Conflicts after conflicts take place and are blocked as unforgettable dates in world calendars, but no institution or person ever found a satisfactory answer to their occurrences. Amartya Sen, in his book “Violence and Identity” said that given our inescapably
In the summer of 1947, innocent Indians were expected to forget every other aspect of their identity, leave behind their emotions, relationships, sentiments and take an integral decision of their lives only in the name of religion. What triggered this partition was a political upheaval, which permeated into the lives of many and led to the traumatic division of India and Pakistan. Partition wasn’t only geographical, it trickled down to many layers of many lives and is etched in memory for being unfair, unjust and forced upon majority who despised it and wanted to evade
In a conflict situation, the people who are the perpetrators of the most horrific crimes are goons and dacoits who pounce on such opportunities of disharmony to satisfy their gruesome desires. Juggut’s fellow dacoits (Malli and gang) are the ones who kill Lala Ram Lal and later participate in killing the passengers on their way to Pakistan. They also see this as a way to assert their power and strength to other men. Iqbal talks of the flaws of the state, injustice and poverty as the main reasons of the prevalent thirst for blood. He never is able to preach his high ideals to the villagers. Having sent by his party to this village, Iqbal does have a hidden self interest- To be seen in newspapers as a leader. When he is eventually released from the prison, he is shocked to hear the plan of the villagers regarding the ghost train. But when asked to do something about it, promptly says “Me? Why me? What have I to do with it? I do not know these people. Why should they listen to a stranger?” He felt “it was pointless. In a state of chaos, self preservation is the supreme duty”. We see the hypocrisy of the actors of social and political change in such times. But, can we really blame them? Given the circumstances where people didn’t spare their own neighbors would it be wise to interfere? “The doer must only do when the receiver is ready to receive.