(This took place in Virtualia.)
“Good morning, sir!” shouted the students of
class 6A as their class teacher announced himself at the front door of the
classroom the exact moment when the minute hand of the wall clock touched 12,
leaving the hour hand behind at 9.
With a wave of hand, he acknowledged their
greetings and asked them to be seated. The class teacher also taught them
history. The way he dressed seemed to suggest that he himself had come from the
past.
“Does anyone of you remember where we had
stopped our discussion yesterday?”
“Yesterday was a holiday, sir.”
“Yesterday means the last working day, smarty.”
“We had stopped at the thirteenth chapter, sir.
The turn of the millennia, and the beginning of chaos.”
“Aah, very well. Let us pick it up from there. Thirteen,
did you say? Like the number, the time period under question is widely
considered as an unlucky phase of the history of our nation. As you might
already know, Virtualia was at the zenith of prosperity during the last centuries
of the previous millennium. We were a deeply religious people, with priests of
the shrines enjoying royal status. Our rulers seldom did anything sans the
blessings of Gods, and that reflected in every walks of our lives. Years went
on, and the status quo was disrupted.”
“Are you referring to the rise of the liberals,
sir?” asked an imaginative mind.
“Yes yes. Do not jump guns, dear. Let me
complete what I got to say, and then we would discuss, alright?”
The head of the imaginative mind nodded, the
mind still wondering about the incidents that happened about three hundred
years ago.
“By the end of the millennium, there was a new
set of ideology brewing. They based predominantly on logic, and questioned
anything and everything they could not contemplate. Many young minds were
impressed by this charade, and joined the new bandwagon. The very foundations
of religion backed administration were at stake. A spree of feuds and battles
eventually led up to an ultimate war for power. The once united citizens were
now divided and up in arms against each other. The war that lasted almost a
decade culminated in the fall of the faithful and to the rise of the anarchic,
who denounced god and religion. Priests no longer enjoyed royal status, and people
started pursuing science with a new earnest. The moral standards of the society
degraded, often resulting in chaos.”
The teacher rambled on for some more time, and
then asked his students to share their views. As expected, some rued the change
while others defended it. Virtualia is a democracy today, and people were free
to voice their opinions.
That evening, the teacher reached his home by
five and switched on the television. The news reporter from one of those 24*7 news
channel was debating on the outcomes of the just concluded parliamentary
elections, the results of which were declared today.
‘Upholding the trends predicted by various exit
polls survey, the leftist union has emerged victorious in the elections,
effectively displacing the incumbent right wing government. Talks are going on,
and a clearer picture regarding who is to head the new government is expected
to emerge soon.’
A year later.
“Good morning, sir!” shouted the students of
class 6A as their class teacher announced himself at the front door of the
classroom the exact moment when the minute hand of the wall clock touched 12,
leaving the hour hand behind at 9.
With a wave of hand, he acknowledged their
greetings and asked them to be seated. The class teacher also taught them
history.
“Welcome back, children. Did you all enjoy the monsoon break?”
A collective yes rocked the class.
“Good. Since a new term begins today, let us
start with a fresh chapter. Go to chapter ten and read the title aloud.”
“Millennium 2: the age of reasoning.”
“Okay. I believe you would agree with me when I
say that Virtualia is a democracy.” He paused for response.
Many students nodded in agreement.
“Virtualia was not always like this and some of
the historical events that occurred around the beginning of the present
millennium had a major say in shaping up our country the way we see it today.
Like most of the countries to the south of the Mirage Ocean, Virtualia too had
its laws and principles based on religious texts and words of the god-men. People
attributed regards of the highest order to the commandments from the
theological institutions, and lived their lives in accordance. A set of
superstitions were prevalent at those times, and majority of the lot tended to
lap those up without feeling for the need of verifying the truth behind all
those. Even in such times, a few lived who could not blindly believe whatever
was fed to them. Let us call them radicals, shall we?”
And he continued without waiting for any reply.
“This small, exclusive group was convinced of
the significance of applying thought and deciding what was to be followed, and
what was to be done away with. They knew they would have to rebel against the
establishments some day. They maintained a low profile, and met regularly to
decide upon agenda. Soon enough they started recruiting like minds, who voiced
their supports for the cause they deemed noble.”
The teacher went on to explain how the rulers
cracked down on the rebels, and how the protesters fought back, finally bringing
the power wielders to their knees. What followed was the regime of the liberal
forces, whose onus was centered on logic rather than beliefs. They started
rewarding men of science while thinkers and philosophers replaced preachers as
the new elite class.
He would have ignored the school bell and
continued with the lecture, but the faces of his students indicated that they
had enough for the day.
“Al right. Let us resume the discussion
tomorrow. Have all of you completed the assignment on Napoleon Bonaparte?”
“Excuse me, sir?” the right hand of a front
bencher shot up.
“Yes.”
“Did Napoleon really say that history is
nothing but a fable commonly agreed upon?”
“I cannot say for sure, but many seem to concur
on that.”
(Remember I never said this took place only
in Virtualia.)
Comments
Post a Comment