Let’s just take a step back from mocking this story. It is not a funny story. Our mockery makes light of it and ignores (at our own, and our society’s, peril) the dangers of the thin wedge.
Here’s a more familiar scenario: A place of worship (temple or dargah mainly) comes up under a tree on the roadside next to our home. We ignore it, and some even fold their hands or bow in reverence when we pass it on our way to our daily chores. We don’t think much of it and dismiss it from our minds as any clear and present threat.
Soon, there’s a small brick construction, a priest/caretaker, and perhaps a fresh coat of paint. Then, on festival days, this corner under the tree is festooned with the material and spirit of the festivities. We let it go since we don’t want to see ourselves as killjoys. Even more quickly, there is a donation box, some holy scriptures/pictures on the adjacent walls, and a regular daily aarti/namaaz. Then, there is a yearly festival arranged by the neighbourhood’s pious people, with the initiation from the priest. And not long after that, you find loudspeakers sprouting on top of this structure. It is now a full-fledged temple/dargah and someone (smart) donates some money to build a permanent structure. The municipal corporation can no longer accuse them of encroachment. They collect “donations” with impunity. They even have a name now. They have transformed into a proper faith-based practice location.
Then, you wake up one day to realise this thing that has come up right next door, and you wonder how it could have happened so quickly. Others point to the same structure and claim it has stood there longer than they can remember, some going even so far as to connect the structure with some mythological happening. You are dumbfounded! And that’s understandable. But should you be surprised? Unless you are a special kind of stupidly naive, I don’t think so.
This is very similar, and before you dismiss it as fear-mongering, allow me a chance to explain. My own observations (from inside my own family & friends since childhood and now in the new India I find myself living in) are that the right wing has enough nutjobs to find a way to spin this. My prediction is that this is how it will pan out:
ESCALATION 1: DENIAL
“The learned judge misspoke. He never said anything like this.”
In effect: The liberal media is lying.
ESCALATION 2: DISMISSAL
“He said it in his personal capacity. And as a citizen of India, he has the freedom of expression. If you are raising it, you have an agenda.”
In effect: This is a trivial matter.
ESCALATION 3: JUSTIFICATION
“There is science in what he said. Some animals are asexual in their reproductive habits. Sexual reproduction is not the norm. Here are some scientific papers and some scientific-sounding terms thrown about just to convince you that you are a closed-minded idiot who knows nothing.”
In effect: What he said is partially true. You are taking it out of context.
ESCALATION 4: APPEAL TO FAITH
“We know this is not true, but if a billion people believe this on faith, who are you to tell them that they are wrong? By questioning the judge, you are questioning the judiciary and the deeply held beliefs of a billion people.”
In effect: You are insulting Hinduism and our sentiments.
ESCALATION 5: WHATABOUTERY/ANTI-NATIONALISM
“What about the other faiths and their claims? How come you never question those? Also, what about the great scientific research and breakthroughs conducted by Hindus 10,000 years ago? Are you negating them based on this? You cherry-picking liberals can’t see any good in a peaceful and ancient religion because you are paid trolls of the Catholic Church/CIA/KGB/Mossad/Arabs/Naxals/Kashmiris/take your pick.”
In effect: This is a conspiracy by anti-national forces to malign India/Hinduism (don’t attempt to explain to them that these are not synonyms; they honestly cannot tell).
ESCALATION 6: DEATH/RAPE THREATS/PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS/EFFIGY BURNING/LAW & ORDER PROBLEMS
Need I say more?
ESCALATION 7: ACCUSATION OF APPEASEMENT
This is the penultimate step, where this becomes a political issue, and elections can and will be fought, won, and/or lost on this. The world (and other thinking people) watches in horror as Indians discuss the sexual habits of peacocks on tv, social media, news, and even at parties. Leaders of various hues take stands. The court is approached to give judgement, which it keeps in abeyance since it concludes that it has no locus standi in matters concerning faith, but being as it is about people’s faith, they would side with the majority even if scientific consensus is overwhelmingly against it. Political parties bow to the court’s verdict.
ESCALATION 8: NORMALISATION
This is the last and final step, where it becomes commonly accepted that peacocks reproduce by crying and there is some sort of notification from the Ministry of Education for it to appear in science books at the school level, giving it equal weightage as sexual reproduction (which on amount of having the word ‘sex’ in it, would be the chapter your Biology teacher would very conveniently skip over with nary an explanation).
I believe parts of the escalation matrix are already in place, and those of you who haven’t yet gone completely mad will notice it in the coming days. At every step, the right-wingers test how much more traction there is in this issue. Only if there is enough flesh do they continue to the next level. If the issue dies a natural death, they move on to the next one. Different shit, same escalation matrix.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
