By
Shandar Ahmad
SciWhyLab, School of Computational and Integrative Sciences,
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi
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The other day I had the privilege of being a panelist on the topic ‘The age of Aridity and insensitivity’. While reflecting on the subject, my thoughts drifted to the issue of hypersensitivity, found at the other end of the sensitivity spectrum. This social and personal behavior also poses a challenge to the harmony and peace between people holding different perspectives to life. Hypersensitivity may pertain to the statements which have been made by others either in an intentionally disparaging manner or innocuously as a part of critical analysis. These comments may be about the personalities, cultural attributes or our belief systems. Hypersensitivity towards them often betrays a sense of insecurity among the self-appointed custodians of these social heritages. Over reaction and hypersensitivity have resulted in a shrinking space for the scrutiny and evolution of ideas. Recent acts of violence and vociferous personal attacks in the social spaces across the world and right in our backyard are its manifestations. Such reactions pose a big threat to a free exchange of ideas and are likely to result in perpetuity of a less than perfect society and self-aggrandizement of successively more irrational thought processes.
Instead of heading towards a clash of civilisations. sincere believers, doubters and non believers should all come together to push for an inclusive society in which we do not mischievously offend each other but are also not easily offended.
Human pursuit of mutual respect and love, a knowledgeable and kind civilisation and collective efforts to find solutions for human challenges should top our priorities instead of insulting each other or finding insults in harmless intelligent discourses.
