Two news articles
that came in the Electronic Media caught my attention and they called to my
convictions, my opinions. The topics are at an instant, different issues, but
looking at the big picture, it is the same underlying issue. One article by M
Surendra Nath (‘Mumbai based Lawyer and Law Lecturer’) on Kerala’s
‘Ungodliness’ and the other by Anish Kapoor, the Noted British-Indian Sculptor
on Hindu “Taliban”, and the BJP. It represents two extremes, one the possible
view of the “Sangha Parivar” and other the view of all “Right thinking
Liberals”. I vehemently disagree with both. I am caught between a rock and a
hard place. My view is that I will not agree with either.
At this point, I
feel that my beliefs are being hijacked by the “Hindutva” agenda, and on the
other end, I feel the effects of a “Colour Blind” Secularism. The issue of “Beef
Ban” highlighted day in and day out by the media houses is something that has
been a divisive issue for centuries. The controversy acquires more relevance
considering that even the Indian Constitution endorses the regulation of cattle
slaughter. I believe that “Beef Ban” or whatever movement that seeks to
regulate the platter of anyone is against liberty. If I want to eat beef, I
shall. If I want to eat pork, I shall. Nobody, be it the Government, any
Political Party, any Religion, can tell me what to eat, what to drink, how to
live my life. Nobody has the right to do so, and that right is the most
essential to me. I oppose anyone who says that Beef should not be eaten
according to Hindu beliefs. Hindu beliefs are varied and ever evolving. Cow is
regarded as a symbol for its selflessness, kindness, and love. Whatever reason
it be, it is precisely my right not to eat beef that is your right to eat beef.
I oppose all sorts of bans on beef, pork or mutton, not questioning its
legality (which is a different matter) but its arbitrariness. I also oppose
those who say it is a source for ‘protein’ for whomsoever. I don’t care whether
it is a source of protein or fibre or whatever, it is my right to eat.
But I cannot
agree with the views that many “progressive liberals” have come up with: that
the Dadri lynching was the fault of the Prime Minister. How could it possibly
be? The cancelling of Ghulam Ali’s show was a ‘Political’ one, caused by the
Shiva Sena, But the Fatwa by Barelvi group Raza Academy against A.R. Rahman was
swept under the dust. The reasons, I believe, are self-apparent.
Anish Kapoor’s
article heading scared me – it was titled “India is being ruled by Hindu
Taliban”. The tone of his article is exceedingly alarmist. The title itself
conveys imagery of a horde of fundamentalists ruling this nation. Let me assure
you that the nation is being ruled by a democratically elected government held
accountable to the nation. The activities of a few fringe elements do not
define us. The Speeches of Yogi Adithyanath are not the views of Hindus, or
Asaduddin Owaisi of Muslims.
Returning to the
article:-
“All this is good
news for Prime Minister Modi, who flew into London today. He won’t be seriously
called to account for human rights abuses or systematic thuggery. “
I don’t
understand. What Human Right abuses our prime Minister is to be held
responsible for?
He further says:
“I’ll be joining
protesters outside Downing Street today. Following the lead of India’s
opposition groups, we have a duty to speak out for the people Modi is trying to
silence, precisely because we are free to do so.”
I do not
understand which people Modi or the Government of India is trying to silence.
The article is built on a misguided view, and the fact that it appeared in The
Guardian goes on to show the continued negative portrayal of India in the
foreign media.
I've been (I was)
forced to believe that India had become intolerant. That our nation was
creeping to a theocracy under the "Hindutva" forces- BJP, RSS, Sangh
Parivar etc. The "Award wapsi" movement did not help either. Eminent
Intellectuals from all spheres of life relinquishing awards to register their
protest. But a part of me remained unconvinced. How could stray incidents (that
happened all the time) make India intolerant suddenly?
Turning to
history, India has been a nation of refuge for Parsis and the Jews. We are the
birthplace of Four Great Religions- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Modern India harbours all three of the world's largest religions- Hinduism,
Islam and Christianity. There has never been a continuous persecution of any
community based on their religion in India. Yes, there have been riots, there
have been incidents which would shame us as Indians. But suddenly now, all
communal incidents in this nation was the responsibility of the Union
Government. The murder of MM Kalburgi is, apparently, the full
responsibility of the BJP, or more specifically of our Prime Minister.
The activities of
bigoted, stupid, idiotic, ignoramuses now define my nation.
Yes, we are a
society that overwhelmingly is conservative. Yes, People will judge me for how
I look, who I go out with, where I go to, when I go out. That hasn't
changed much. I'm talking about the intolerance alleged by countless
debates and articles over the last month or so.
The incident in
Dadri or the murder of MM Kalburgi must be condemned, no doubt. But to blame
this on the Union Government is well, to say, farfetched. The stupid and
idiotic pronouncements of Yogi Adityanand and others did not help the situation
either. Asmentioned earlier, criticize where it is necessary, not make
statements that fly off the rational mind. My point is simple, the so called
liberals are as bigoted and stupid as the "Hindutva" agents they
oppose.
If you blame the
Dadri incident on the Union Government, please, blame the Muzaffarnagar riots
of 2012 on our then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Blame every single violent
act done in the soil of India on the Government of India.
Now to Award wapsi.
awards, such as those given by the Sahithya Akademi, and Padmas especially, are
recognition of ones service to the nation. If you're returning them to protest
intolerance (something I don't see, but it goes what goes) aren’t you
dishonouring the nation? The way to protest, according to me, is to write,
write and write, as Vikram Sampath noted. I saw a cartoon on Facebook
comparing the return of awards by our intellectuals to the return of Knighthood
by Tagore and Kaiser-i-Hind by Gandhi in the wake of the Jallianwala Bagh
massacre to the current award returnees. Well, I do admire the ingenuity. But
the cartoon could not be more off the mark. Gandhi and Tagore protested against
the massacre by a colonial government. You're comparing that to the incidents
that happened, and our government to a repressive colonial one, that suppresses
all forms of dissent (Remind you of something? (***Emergency***)) Anish
Kapoor might have represented at least some when he compared the current
Government to Taliban. Okay great. What comparison is next?(Daesh?)
Going back to the
intolerance debate, I don't think our Indian media was gracious enough to
report this incident:
Where the sacred
symbol of Aum was compared to the Nazi swastika, and Modi to Hitler. Branding
every Hindu a supporter of extremists, equating them to a regime which is the
most despicable the world has ever seen. And no, not a single finger was raised
in India. NOT A SINGLE FINGER. Ah well, it seems the intolerance has suddenly
died. I am offended and antagonized by the incident. (Suppose the same happened
to any other religion? What would be the response of Indian media then?)
Whatever message these people are trying to push through, it has been
counterproductive.
When you take a
stand against intolerance, please, mention this too.
Now, to Aamir
Khan. I have no clue why suddenly, his wife decided India was unsafe. I'm not
making any further judgements, he can say what he wants to.
Political &
Communal Violence is a staple in India, we're a land of a Billion people.
There's bound to be incidents. But rather than trying to stay on track, these
intellectuals seem to be working for political capital.
But the arguments
and the provocations by the other side, have been equally saddening. The
Anti-Sikh riots of 1984 does not validate BJP molesting us now. (They ain't,
and which has earlier been tackled)
The rhetoric of
the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal was so irrational and stupid. (One lakh for
slapping Aamir Khan? Are you Serious?) They replied to accusations of
intolerance with intolerance, but then again, those who protested against the
inclusion of Vikram Sampath in the Banglore Lit Fest on the basis that he
did not support "Award Wapsi" is well, intolerant. (Protesting
against intolerance by not tolerating someone who has a divergent view? Go
figure that out.)
I’m disappointed
by both sides of the coin- both are not letting each other be, both refuse to
be objective.
In conclusion, I'm
dismayed. I'll tell you one thing though:
The solution to
bigotry, stupidity, extremism, idiocy and fanaticism is not to crib about this.
The solution is
not to say "This is Bad, so we're gonna leave." NO.
It's to say,
"Look we have these problems, we need to solve this."
NO PLACE IS
PERFECT.
It's time we stood
up and said, "Enough is enough".
And not just to crib about this one day and move on.
And not just to crib about this one day and move on.
Raise your voice when it is necessary, when it is needed, not when it helps yourself, when our
freedom is being suppressed Always.
I conclude with
APJ's words, which I hope will guide us:
"We must think
and act like a nation of a billion people and not like that of a million
people"
~
First Posted on wordpress:snsblthghts.wordpress.com
By Ananth Krishna S
Credits for cartoon: R Prasad (https://twitter.com/rprasad66?lang=en)
"India is being ruled by a Hindu Taliban" by Anish Kapoor as seen on 17:58, 06-12-2015
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/12/india-hindu-taliban-narendra-modi
"Kerala : God’s Own Country Or Godless Country?" by M Surendra Nath as seen on 17:59,06-12-2015
http://organiser.org/Encyc/2015/11/9/Kerala---God-s-Own-Country-Or--Godless-Country-.aspx
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