Words To Remember

For those who are listening to Raj Thakarey and Bal Thakarey's continuous condemnation of "North Indians"and their calls for throwing them out from Maharashtra and yet are not vehemently opposing them... a poem:

"First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

His poem is well-known, frequently quoted, and is a popular model for describing the dangers of political apathy, as it often begins with specific and targeted fear and hatred which soon escalates out of control.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

The Nazis were extremely proud of the history of Germany - it's historical power, it's economic strength and cultural base in history. Nazi philosophy attributed much greatness to the "Vaterland" or the Fatherland. They claimed that certain "outsiders" were ruining their culture. They managed to create a popular base with this proto nationalist frenzy and win elections. Many of them also threatened non Nazis into submission and claimed that there would be "retaliation" if people did not adhere to their philosophy.

Please check and think for a moment if the word Nazi above can be replaced by Shiv Sainik and the word Germany replaced by Maharashtra.

The Nazis could not be stopped by mere good intentions, by paying them off or by ignoring them. If one were to check the history of the Nazi party, one will find many industrialists and businessmen, Jews and non Jews, the wealthy and the powerful who thought that paying off Nazi leaders would keep their families safe. Others thought that they were so entrenched in the economy that the Nazi party would not be able to touch them. History shows us otherwise.

While this message adds to the flurry of words and good intentions, one must also realize that words may not be enough.