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Eminent jurist, Retd. Supreme Court Judge Justice B. N. Srikrishna talks about defusing divisive situations

Scholar, jurist, administrator, Justice B. N. Srikrishna is a man of many worlds. Whether in a boardroom or engaged with the government, Justice Srikrishna speaks many languages fluently. Known for his fair assessment of tricky situations, his contribution in assessing the Bombay riots as well as the creation of Telangana has been unmatchable. Justice Srikrishna’s sensibilities are the product of years of scholarly study as well as his first-hand experiences in court where, it could be said, the true nature of mankind is revealed.

There could be no one better suited to speak on ‘Depolarising India’ than Justice Srikrishna as was evidenced at last Tuesday’s Rotary meeting. Depolarisation, Justice Srikrishna said, was defined in physics as ensuring that light waves operate in a particular direction and not randomly – as happens normally – by a mechanism.

This understanding, said Justice Srikrishna, brings us to depolarisation in socio-political philosophy. “Normally,
society has random distribution which leads to chaos. When there is such a random distribution by an external force,
one tries to rearrange the distribution in such a manner that certain elements get grouped in one fashion and other
elements get grouped in another. This is polarisation in society.”

How does this effect an individual or a stakeholder, asked Justice Srikrishna. He suggested that it is through their own mindset which is influenced by external forces like politicians injecting poison among the people. “It breaks up the unity in society,” he said, adding, “This has been happening right from 1947 till date.”

Resolution of this is very simple, he said, quoting a prayer from The Rigveda which says ‘May all our minds think alike; May all our intentions also be alike; May all think in the same wavelength, so that all of us can be happy’. This is a teaching from thousands of years ago, said Justice Srikrishna, which people are now forgetting.

It was Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, he reminded all, who taught us that a lie repeated a hundred
times comes to be accepted as the truth. Therefore, when one changes one’s behaviour due to external factors, this is where the society gets affected and this is the real danger of polarisation, he said.

This happens because of two reasons, said Justice Srikrishna: “One, we tend to emphasise the difference which becomes much larger than integrating factors.” Being multilingual himself, Justice Srikrishna said he is no less Indian or Maharashtrian than others. “The Indianness is the integrating factor. Indians and Pakistanis are good friends abroad but enemies here; one tends to forget that we were a part of the same nation. This is because the divisive factor
is emphasised.”

Justice Srikrishna shared a beautiful, personal experience with the listening Rotarians. During his childhood, his
grandfather performed prayers early in the morning. Always, someone in their neighbourhood would begin to sing the azaan at the same time. Instead of quarrelling with that person, his grandfather would sit there and meditate till the azaan was over and then resume his prayers. “This is the lesson that needs to be learnt,” said Justice Srikrishna, “This is the real integrating factor where ‘the good lord in you is no different from the good lord in me’ is emphasised.”

When the destination is the same, the route one uses to reach it should not effect one’s behaviour, felt Justice Srikrishna. A change in attitude will help depolarise society. “Short-term political goals or agendas on the basis of religion pose a problem towards a change in the attitude towards polarisation,” he said, “as one divides the country into agglomerations of religion rather than integrating it into one.”

He concluded by saying, “Forget the differences and generate happiness for all because the good in you is not different from the good in me, so there is no point of argument, no need for polarisation.”

The first question posed to him was by Rtn. Sitaram Shah who said that one tended to forget these ideas when one stepped out, so what was the solution for that? In response, Justice Srikrishna referred to an anecdote by Swami Samartha Ramdas, “Practise it; don’t preach it! If one has it in their heart, it will automatically come in their behaviour.”

The next question by PE Rtn. Preeti Mehta was that while the audience listening to him there understood what he is saying, what about the masses outside? “Each one, teach one,” answered Justice Srikrishna, “percolate the idea. It is easier to be bad and difficult to be good!”

Another Rotarian referred to the Bombay riots of 1992-93 where virtually no justice had been meted out, and asked
what was Justice Srikrishna’s take on it? Highlighting a verse from The Bhagwad Gita, Justice Srikrishna answered:
“Your job is to do what is required. What happens afterwards is none of your business. Somebody else will take care of it. This is exactly what I did, I did my job. I was not accused except by Bal Thackeray but when I met him personally, he said that it was good to hear outsiders. So, ultimately, you do your work consciously.”

The last question was asked by PP Rtn. Sandip Agarwalla who wanted to know which period in India, thought Justice Srikrishna, from its 70 years of Independence was the most depolarized? Pat came the answer: “Prior to Independence when we were British subjects, people had allegiance to the King. This unity which should have percolated into the pride of Indian citizens but rather, what we got into was the Hindu-Muslim polarisation in 1947. So I think that was the period.”

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