The term hijack invariably brings to our mind the pathetic condition of
hundreds of passengers in an aeroplane. Hijack happens in transit and so
far all major hijacks have been related to aeroplanes. But this need not
necessarily be the case. If we carefully analyse the conditions that
prevail in a hijacked aeroplane, we can draw up interesting similarities
that prevail in much bigger entities as well. For example, a whole state
or province or nation can be hijacked. And the state can be the mere
geographical entity or inclusive of its socio-economic and political
systems. One such state is Kerala which is credited as one of the most
‘progressive’ and ‘developed’ in the Indian union. Keralites are
celebrating the golden jubilee of Unified Kerala and time is appropriate
for such an analysis. The flight of Unified Kerala took off in the year
1956 and within 50 years the controls have been clearly hijacked.
Fifty years is nothing when we are talking about countries and
civilisations. It takes thousands of years to come a full circle. This
is evident when we consider the present condition of Bihar. When people
in the European and American continents were roaming naked, people of
Bihar were attending the world’s oldest university at Nalanda along with
international students from China and Japan. If it is acute Mandalism
that has brought Bihar to its pathetic condition now, it is a curious
mix of foreign ideologies that have hijacked Kerala. Hundreds got
martyred in the fight to get the erstwhile kingdoms of Travancore,
Cochin and Malabar merge into a unified state in 1956. It was almost
like a new flight in search of prosperity and development for millions
of Keralites. But barely 50 years into a glorious take off, UK1956 is
showing all symptoms of a frightful hijack. The hijack has been well
planned and brilliantly executed. More than one group have worked on it
and they are sharing the spoils at least temporarily.
Planned from Start
Unified Kerala which resembles an elongated aeroplane had an ‘assembling
defect’ right from the beginning. Joints that connected the three
compartments were predicted to develop a ‘technical’ snag in the near
future. The dominant southern part was deliberately weakened by cutting
off its very source of culture and history. Venad, which draws
inspiration from its temples and palaces in Kanyakumari district, was
stripped naked by deft manipulation. Thus the passengers at the rear end
were at a disadvantage right from take off time. As it happens in all
euphoric moments, everyone hoped that a bright and better future awaits
them in stable times ahead. And the overwhelming thrust that carried the
new entity up was provided by the powerful twin engines of nationalism
and secularism which was widespread in all the three compartments.
But once the initial euphoria got over and all passengers had settled
down, clear plans of action was rolled out by the entrants from the mid
and front parts. Each of the groups with ulterior motives had their own
agenda to implement. While one group wanted to consolidate the hold by
spreading their own people in a planned manner, another group did the
same by edging out all others from their areas. Conversion of innocents
to their own ideology was also adopted as a means to increase the
numbers. Those who got in with plenty of money used it as a means to
harvest the vulnerable. Hijackers have ‘successfully’ sabotaged the twin
engines of secularism and nationalism. UK1956 is now afloat without
engines and its ultimate destination is in unknown hands.
Symptoms of Hijack
The most important symptom of any hijack is the take over of control by
a few passengers against the will and wishes of others who are in
majority. The few hijackers might have same ideology, purpose and
reasons for the hijack. In UK1956, two or three different sets of
passengers have planned the hijack separately and came together to
implement it. They will stay together in the initial phase of hijack,
but will invariably fall apart when their interests start clashing. Fear
is already in the air and loud silence of the spineless majority is
deafening. By clever management of communications and muscle power, the
hijackers have successfully sidelined the will and wishes of the
majority.
Another symptom of a hijacked flight is the signals that emanate from it
for outsiders. Once the hijackers have taken over the control, the
signals too are controlled by them. To prolong the hijack and achieve
their ends, all the outward signals can be manipulated and made
misleading to the onlookers. When IC814 was hijacked, it was first flown
towards Punjab, then Pakistan and finally landed in Khandahar. No one
had any clue about who did it and where their masters are. Same is the
current situation with UK1956. The deft hijackers are coercing the
hijacked to give out positive signals about their conditions. For many
outsiders, UK1956 is God’s Own Country but the majority inside are
slowly realising that it is a goddamned flight where a small minority is
in absolute control.
Guess the Future
Ultimate end of the hijack saga is anybody’s guess. UK1956 is drifting
westwards without engines and wings. Its final landing can be anywhere
in the Arabian peninsula or in European / American heartlands. For any
hijacked flight, the three possible ultimate scenarios are crash
landing, commando operation from outside after landing or successful
coming together of the majority inside the aircraft. While a crash
landing that would wipe out the entire crowd is a distinct possibility,
any external help in the form of a commando operation is ruled out
because of unsympathetic environment in both the possible destinations.
For IC814, the hijackers (not passengers) got reinforced when they
landed in Khandahar. But the most desirable and deserving outcome would
be the coming together of majority to reinstate the rule of law and
democratic legitimacy. If there is the desired unity among majority, the
hijackers can be easily overpowered and shown their legitimate seats.
For that to happen there should be proper leadership and leaders with
visionary zeal. Fuel is running out fast and time still faster.
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The term hijack invariably brings to our mind the pathetic condition of
hundreds of passengers in an aeroplane. Hijack happens in transit and so
far all major hijacks have been related to aeroplanes. But this need not
necessarily be the case. If we carefully analyse the conditions that
prevail in a hijacked aeroplane, we can draw up interesting similarities
that prevail in much bigger entities as well. For example, a whole state
or province or nation can be hijacked. And the state can be the mere
geographical entity or inclusive of its socio-economic and political
systems. One such state is Kerala which is credited as one of the most
‘progressive’ and ‘developed’ in the Indian union. Keralites are
celebrating the golden jubilee of Unified Kerala and time is appropriate
for such an analysis. The flight of Unified Kerala took off in the year
1956 and within 50 years the controls have been clearly hijacked. 