The people who created the phrase “free speech” are the very same who have created “hate speech”. It took some time for those promoting “free speech” to realise that not all speech is good, decent and respectful. Earlier, the whole world was full of victims who needed to express themselves. Now, the whole world is full of villains who need to be silenced.
This is the problem with western ideologies. Everything they believe in ends up as ‘Jesus’, the ultimate solution. They want everyone to be born again to a new way of thinking-their way. After all, it’s the white man’s mission to civilise the world.
Take the case of diversity and inclusion.
I was called by a European company to give a lecture on diversity and inclusion. But when I started talking about the diversity of language and diversity of religion, I was politely told to stick to matters of gender, sexuality and race. I was given no choice because my invoice was on their table. But it struck me that when the words ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ are used by major corporations, it is in alignment with what is considered diversity and inclusion in major American and European universities. Issues that matter to them like race, gender and sexuality that they insist is universal.
Language diversity is, therefore, not discussed. Religious diversity is not discussed. Caste diversity is not discussed, which is integral to local ecosystems like India, for example.
The West forgets the Chinese have walls: great walls and firewalls, that exist there for a reason. The Japanese people, despite being highly cultured and totally westernised, in terms of technology, fashion and dress, remain highly xenophobic. The reason is they want to keep outsiders away, because when the Europeans came to Japan, they did not just come to trade, they also came to convert people to Christianity. They had to be kept away.
Modern corporations behave no differently. They are not here to do business alone. They want to use the business as a vehicle for ideology. The current ideology is, of course, marketed as atheistic, rational, secular, scientific, and assumed to be universal when clearly, both in idea and implementation, they are Christian in nature. Inclusion is now becoming intrusion.
Culture, by definition, is based on boundaries and hierarchies. We keep certain things in and we keep certain things out. Wisdom is outgrowing these boundaries and hierarchies. Culture and wisdom are always at loggerheads.
Brahma’s son, Manu, for example, will speak of the fourfold categorisation of human beings in a society. And he will be challenged by Shiva, who rejects all categories. In Hindu lore, the tension between Manu and Shiva’s way reveals the tension not between nature and culture, but culture and wisdom. Most people aren’t wise. Most people are frightened. They need protection, which is why we create walls, which is why hierarchies come into being. Luxury goods themselves are a manifestation of human insecurities. Glamour is a function of human insecurities.
When Islam was a major global power during the Caliphate, they faced a huge problem. Do they convert people or not? Those converted had to pay lesser tax. Those who were not converted had to pay higher tax. It was good for the State, if people did not convert. And so while the missionaries went about converting people, the state did not promote the activity too much, which is why we see so much diversity. This is why we talk about great diversity in the golden age of Islam, which diminishes as the Islamic world becomes increasingly insecure.
The point is, how do we handle differences? That is the only skill that we need to learn. The idea that inclusion somehow makes you a better person will end up you including the wolf. The shepherd will never include the wolf. If the wolf imagines itself to be a sheep, that is the wolf’s problem. These complex human ideas are something that the simpletons promoting diversity and inclusion do not understand. The failure to understand is why many corporations are now facing a cultural backlash around the world. Because they end up hurting the people who genuinely need the support of diversity and inclusion.
