Riots in France: Why there is a Karmic aspect to this mindless violence gripping the nation

I’m a Frenchman and there are extremely violent riots happening at this very moment in France, which look more like an insurrection. Now, there are three aspects to these riots, and I want to dwell on them because many people do not understand the reason for this extreme violence. The first, of course, is that this violence happened because of the death of a young Muslim boy of 17, called Nahel in Nanterre, a Paris suburb, last Tuesday. This boy was known to the police. He used to drive cars without a licence and several times, when the police asked him to stop, he refused and sped away. He was also caught using and peddling drugs and was known to steal. On Tuesday last, he was asked to stop two times and the third time the police shot him dead. Now the French President chose to disown his own police force and the gentleman who is awaiting trial. After that, entire France erupted. So, the first aspect is that there’s a section of the Muslim population in France that is rioting, battling the police, stealing from shops, and burning public transport and private cars. A few white French people might have joined them, because they’re extreme Left or they’re sympathetic to the cause. But mostly this is happening with the Muslims of France. Not only the French Muslims but the immigrants that France has accepted in the last two-three years. So the first aspect is this violence is: The violence is primarily the handwork of Muslims. The second aspect is that of course, there is anger among Muslims. You see, these Muslim French today who have French nationality and are mostly or partly educated, are the great-grandsons of the cheap labour Arabs that France imported from North African countries to do what Frenchmen would not do anymore in the 1950s and ’60s. Of course, these coolies, labourers, cleaners, and maids, were underpaid and not always treated well. When I was a kid, they were called “bicots”. Bicot is a negative term for Arabs, and in those days nobody thought it was wrong to label them so. Thus, there was disrespect and contempt for these people. Today, their grandchildren, great grandchildren register their protest — and rightly so. However, if this anger can be understood on the part of the French Muslims, it cannot be accepted coming from immigrants, because France has welcomed these immigrants, they’ve been given social security, stipends, money, and housing, often. So, they’re biting the hands that are helping them. The third aspect is karma. Of course, if you’re Hindu or a Buddhist, you know about karma. The Dalai Lama explains very clearly that not only an individual is bound by karma but also a nation has collective karma. He said that in the case of Tibet for example, there was feudalism, for many, many centuries, and the high priests, rimpoches, etc., exploited the simple Tibetan people. This feudalism led to bad karma at the hands of the Chinese. As you know, China invaded Tibet in 1959, killed directly or indirectly nearly a million Tibetans and is still holding it, while the Dalai Lama and his followers had to flee and take refuge in India. So this is the karma of a nation. In the same way, France colonised ruthlessly and exploited North African countries, particularly Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. And today they’re paying for that karma. Therefore, France is also suffering the consequences of that ‘black karma’. But we know that eventually, karma burns out through suffering. It’s crucial when you look at the riots — any riot, any insurrection, any mass killing — you see these three aspects, so you get a holistic, fulsome picture. This said, rioting remains unacceptable, especially on the part of immigrants. And the French government should clamp down severely on this violence and bring the culprits to justice. The author is a French journalist and author of ‘A History of India as It Happened’ (Garudabooks.com). He is also building a museum of true Indian history in Pune. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.