There was a time when almost every large Indian family had a reclusive, often-unmarried uncle or aunt with a large heart and nasty temper. He or she was prone to violent outbursts but would mostly keep to oneself, and surprise the family with an act of being sociable or generous with the kids once in a while.

"He was such a sharp boy. God knows what has come over him," the elders would say, and let it rest there. This person would continue to enjoy space and affection in the family, and although some would not earn anything, others would quietly contribute a little more to make the cloth cover everybody.

Such families have long split up. Not just in India, but the world over, overly sensitive, withdrawn, 'fringe personalities' have been thrown into a race designed strictly for those who conform to mass culture, conventional job ethos, and homogenized faith. It is like sending an Arabian horse with tents on its back on a Himalayan trek, and making a mule run the Derby.


Illustration/ Satishu00a0Acharya

And modern society does not punish misfits by drilling hot rods into their eyes or nailing limbs on a crucifix. It has invented a far more sophisticated punishment: isolation. It is impossible to keep your corporate job for long if you are prone to wild outbursts or react to injustice around you. It is impossible to just sit at home and read books, as your retired parents may not be able to support you for long. The splintered larger family, instead of taking care of you, will be glad that you make their own mediocre sons and daughters look dazzlingly successful.

You cannot voice your radical opinions in a bar and embarrass your friends. You may be left with no friends at all. In short, there is just one course. You may be any breed of horse, you will have to either run on it or perish into ignominy, preferably oblivion. Yes, there is one more optionu00a0-- the Internetu00a0-- which we will discuss a little later.

After the recent Arizona shootout in which liberal US lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head (the good news is Giffords is miraculously responding to treatment), I read at least two respectable American newspapers describe Jared Loughner, the killer, variously as a "freak", "wacko", "psycho" and "weirdo".

Loughner, who is still maniacally laughing in the courts and had apparently posed in a G-string with a gun before going on the shooting spree, is most likely all that. But these are terms that are used widely and loosely in the West, and in Indian cities too.

Any youngster who decides to attend an international film festival runs the risk of being labelled "weirdo" in college. Anyone who obsesses over chess instead of cricket would be a "freak", and anybody who proposes to women far beyond his age is definitely a "psycho". We have learnt to kill with labels. If not kill, at least sentence people to lifelong solitary confinement.

These men and women then find a different world, the Internet, that's a bit kind to them. Some seriously dark, dubious alleys of the virtual world embrace them, give them society and anonymity. Most of these alleys are lorded over by terrorists, hackers and hate propagandists.

A number of shootouts on American supermarkets and campuses have been carried out by lonely misfits like Loughner, and a number of such youngsters from India and Pakistan have joined jihad or rightist hate propaganda. Whether it is Pakistan politician Salmaan Taseer's killer Mumtaz Qadri and his thousands of blogger supporters or youngsters in Mumbai who hailed banning of books and art, an increasingly large section of the young world is becoming intolerant to anything but their own faith, belief.

In short, our pretty, prosperous, globalised world is creating consumers of hate. Everywhere.
Something is wrong somewhere. And it is not about a flimsy, shallow thing like religion. It is bigger, far more influential, silently gnawing ... it is culture. This mass culture expects human beings to be one, without difference or quirks. Those who conform, enjoy its goodies. Those who don't, are left to consume hate, intolerance.

Abhijit Majumder is Executive Editor, Mid Day. Reach him at abhijit@mid-day.com