“Born in Argentina, fought in Cuba, became a revolutionary
in Guatemala, died fighting for the oppressed in Bolivia…” The very thought
paints a picture of perfect liberation and emancipation of the conscious mind,
intoxicated by a quixotic notion like that of a free-fall from a cliff while
still being attached to a cause deep-rooted in your heart. The whole idea of
gathering dry foliage; starting a fire with the deepest and most selfless of
intents; nurturing it till it engulfs the whole forest; and eventually marching
on to new grounds while passing the torch to the worthy fascinates and drives
me each day.
Ernesto Guevara and the likes are metaphors for a deeper
concept that continues to sweep away young, rebellious, non-conformist minds
across the globe. Call it the lack of an established nomenclature for this
phenomenon, or my ignorance of it; I am forced to coin a terminology for this.
I would call it- being a Contract Revolutionary. I am discounting the likes of
other great revolutionaries such as Simon Bolivar, or even Nelson Mandela who fought
for a wide variety of causes and a wider class of people and nations, but stayed
back in power for a long term development and unification of people. Here I
only refer to the ones whose origins are very apolitical and more to do with
matters close to their hearts. They are all around us, within us, amongst us,
challenging the conventional, picking their heart over head, and moving on.
A compassionate mind is promptly drawn to any act that
irradiates injustice, loss of human dignity or attempts of dehumanizing fellow souls
in its very essence. Be it the oppressive regime of a dictatorship, the plight
of farmers and the landless, denial of basic health and hygiene for the dignified
living of a commoner, or even prejudices at work environment –all of these act
as tiny pollens that germinate into rebels who choose either to strategically
solve the issue and plan long term or into the ones who play the spontaneous,
impulsive contractors. While the former may eventually turn into a conservative
or a revisionary or even a reactionary; the latter remains an uncompromising revolutionary
till the very end.
The likes of contract revolutionaries are driven by the very
cause and the stir it causes in their souls. Never is power sought after or
pursued, since it never was about attaining power or supremacy or proving a
point. It always is a purely emotional decision taken by an unshackled heart that
envisions the world to be a place of unchained existence, liberated thoughts
and basic human rights. There’s a cause that hits your conscience and makes
your heart bleed (the origin of which might be several thousand miles away). You
put all your conviction and your very existence on the line, face your deepest
fears head on, overcome the issue, move on and find the next cause. You don’t
wait to rest under the shadow of the tree you would have planted. You walk on.
Communism and socialism were mere tools that certain
revolutionaries (only the apolitical, non-power hungry ones here) would have
used at different points of history to fight for a cause. Countless stories of revolutionaries
joining popular uprisings in a foreign country to bring down an unjust system,
or start relief work for a country hit by a natural disaster, or set up health
posts in poverty and epidemic stricken nations, leaving the comforts of a
stable life behind is commonplace. In a more routine context, I see the likes
of contract revolutionaries using tools such as music, social media, poetry, or
even their freedom of speech in a closed meeting room to express the voice of
liberated minds.
