A few days back Ram Guha was caught lying. Within a week, he did it again. Opportunity for the same was provided by fellow his Left Liberal and well known Gandhi dynasty loyalist Karan Thapar in an interview for The Wire on 25th Apr
Right at the start, Thapar not only belittles the current Corona pandemic but provides an opening for Guha to slander Hindus and BJP Government. He asks “At the time when India faces Economic and Health crisis, there is a worrying spike in anti-Muslim sentiment and Islamophobia. It has physically manifested itself against Muslim vegetable vendors, patients going to a hospital in Meerut, and Ahmedabad (names cities only from BJP states). How do you explain this?” Guha like a classic leftie (pun intended) accepts the chance gleefully and compares the current crisis with Black Death (also known as Bubonic Plague), which ravaged Europe during 1347-1351. Further, he adds “Majority Christians treated minority Jews in the same way. They demonized them, attacked them, and falsely blamed them for the problem”.
Now this is a complete lie. Firstly, Anti-Semitism in Europe is as old as the 11th century and had nothing to with the Black Death as such. Importantly it continued well beyond this pandemic well into the 19th century. Secondly comparing Jews from those times with Indian Muslims is downright immoral, intellectually deceitful, and aimed at harming Hindus. Let me explain why.
Muslims in India are equal citizens and have the same rights as Hindus. Whereas Jews were treated in a barbaric manner in the Middle Ages in Europe. As if periodic pogroms against Jews were not enough England, France and other countries expelled and readmitted Jews several times between 1290 and 1550. This meant a loss of lives, property, and livelihood many times. With no law or complaint redressal system in place imagine the misery of those at the wrong end of the strife. Now contrast this condition of Jews with Indian Muslims of today, and understand what enormous falsehood Guha is trying to propagate.
The interview trundles along familiar lines for a while and within 4 minutes Guha manages to come up with another fiction. He says media, especially Hindi media must stop blaming Tablighi Jamaat for Covid-19 infections. After all why target the whole Muslim community for one single event? The fact is, most of the Media is questioning Jamaatis for their defiance of law and their radical chief Maulana Saad. Jamaat here is guilty of breaking the law on multiple counts. Firstly they got Muslim Clerics from overseas into India on Tourist Visas. Whereas they come here to preach and convert. Secondly because of animosity towards Indian Law and enforcement agencies the Jamaatis are hiding from the Government. When they were required to undergo a medical exam. Hundreds of them have been found in Mosques, Dargahs and at relatives’ homes. Indore, Moradabad, Kolhapur, Nagpur, city after city Doctors and Health workers have been attacked by Jamaatis. Lastly it may be useful to remind Mr. Guha that the Maulana Saad even today is fugitive. Conveniently the erudite Professor refuses to comment on these finer points.
Answering another question on the Media, Guha almost absolves it of propagating the communal divide and instead blames the top political leader of the country. He further explains that in 1947 when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, to save Muslims Nehru let the truth out. Truth, that, it’s a Hindu who has killed Gandhi. And by doing that per Guha, Nehru avoided a potential pogrom against Muslims. Now this is only a half-truth. Congress leadership, to save its vote bank directed the murderous crowd’s ire towards Marathi Brahmins. In several cities of Maharashtra Congress leaders connived with anti-social elements to target Brahmins. Their houses were attacked, properties vandalized and many people lynched. Another detail Guha avoids to mention.
This discussion between Thapar and Guha is full of deceits and pretenses. And I can go on and on with this rebuttal. But I would end it with this last point. Guha in one of the replies, says, due to intense criticism of Muslims during Corona outbreak, state heads of Oil producing countries have ‘Rightly admonished’ our Government. That left me aghast. Those countries who don’t even allow other than Muslims to practice their faiths openly are sermonising a Secular state? Countries that have enacted laws to treat women as lesser individuals, are passing judgments? This indeed is a case of Devil reading scriptures. You should also know here, Women in Saudi Arabia don’t have complete freedom. Even today they have to adhere to strict guardianship laws. And activists who fought for women’s Driving Rights are languishing behind bars!
Covid-19 pandemic is once in a century crisis. Worldwide it has already infected more than three million and killed more than two hundred thousand people. In India close to 30000 have been affected and accounted for more than 800 lives. Had an event in Nizamuddin and subsequent non-cooperation by Jamaatis been avoided this number would have been even smaller. Modi Government is doing all it can to minimize the damage. But Left Liberals like Guha who are hell-bent of driving agenda will try to weaken this effort by bringing the communal angle. They must be called to account at all costs.
