Saturday, October 19, 2024
Home Blog Page 874

Open letter to Mani Shankar Aiyar in response to his letter to Atal Bihari Vajpayee

madhurv1
-
0

Dear Maniji,

I read your letter to Atalji. Contrary to what some closed-minded Indians whom I spoke to feel, I don’t think it is entirely worthless. It does give some very important lessons in having an open mind. I say an ‘open mind’ because, we need to read it from your lens. From your perspective.

You rightly mentioned that your letter may not penetrate into Atalji’s mind as he is very ill. Chances are, even if you were to read this letter, it may still not penetrate into your mind. Because you have an open mind that challenges so many beliefs. So many times.

I can see that you are a man of principles. In your letter, I read the paean on non-violence, your unconditional praise of Mahatma Gandhi, your conditional praise of Atalji, the importance of resolving things in a peaceful manner. You tried to assault Samajwadi Party member, Naresh Agarwal in Rajya Sabha in August 2013. I can see that you have an open mind that challenges your own principles. Every now and then.

In your letter you mentioned that the last week has been the worst since Independence. Some closed-minded Indians think that the worst period was the imposition of Emergency in 1975. No, they are all wrong. These closed-minded fellows, they should know that your open mind is celebrating the Ruby Anniversary of Emergency. Yours is an open mind. A mind split wide open.

In your letter, you wrote about Atalji’s advice on Raj Dharma. You wrote about the emotional integration of minorities. With an open mind, you decided to start a career with a party that instigated the 1984 Sikh Riots. You decided to start a career with a party that reversed the Supreme Court judgement in the Shah Bano case under pressure. Under pressure from Islamic orthodoxy.

In 1993, your open mind wrote that the Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley because ‘they were corralled and herded out like cattle by the cowboy Governor of the day’. The Kashmiri separatists are of course, an invisible force. To your open mind.

When Afzal Guru attacked our Parliament, some closed-minded Indians called it an attack on our Democracy. You being the Hon. Member of Parliament, are sworn to the Constitution. A Constitution that grants the right of free speech. Your open mind spoke against the hanging of Afzal Guru.

I should warn you of these closed-minded Indians. These people, they are cracking jokes on you. Let me tell you one. It goes like this: What oath would Mani Shankar Aiyar take if he would have been a doctor? And they say it would be the Hypocritic Oath.

But never mind. You should continue to have an open mind. India is a Democracy that grants the right to freedom of speech. Democracy, you see, is alive. Alive and kicking. 🙂

Yours With An Open Mind,
Madhur Vaidya

India’s Surviving Approach: Harassing Neighbors

skbk
-
0

‘My enemy’s enemy is my friend’ looks absolute truth with regard to India’s neighbouring countries regardless of PM Modi’s extended more peace, less military ‘neighbour first’ initiative. China refers Pakistan as its irreplaceable friend. China is Nepal’s elder brother and some parts of Myanmar are like virtual China. One foot in a Chinese submarine to reach in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. Maldives is always opened for China. China is leasing out its uninhabited islands.

It is well identified that Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka fall to China because of financial assistances for much needed infrastructure developments ­– roads, power plants, ports, power lines, etc. China says that it is practising a ‘Cohesive strategy’ for the region to improve economic, military and diplomatic ties.

China sometimes raises concerns about security because of “border vulnerability’ in Tibet with Bhutan and Nepal – it is nothing other than a diplomatic obfuscation. Despite initial setback in relations, Bangladesh emerges as an strong economic and defence partner of China. Sri Lanka is ever grateful to China because it helped to annihilate the LTTE. It was also sought for India’s help but due to internal politics in Indian states, it did not receive any assistance.

However, Chinese analysts opine that these counties will fall in the trap of India due to its strong cultural, ethnic and historical ties. Although Pakistan is an exception. Indian analysts state that India’s foreign policies have been a success in Southeast Asia. It is a long term strategy for favourable gain. In Asia, China thinks India and Japan are the two countries need to check. For this reason, China helps Pakistan and North Korea to fight proxy wars against India and Japan respectively.

Pakistan’s relation with China has shown an upward trend since Xi Jinping became president. China entrusts to invest of $46 billion in Pakistan for construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. China supports to block charges on notorious terrorist Zaki-ur-Reheman Lakhvi, the mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attack.

There is a mixed-post war relation between Myanmar and China. Myanmar was the first non- communist country to recognize of People’s Republic of China. China seeks Myanmar to access more ports in the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean. Myanmar-China Oil and Gas Pipeline started operations in 2013 symbolizes China’s interest at large. So China always wanted to strengthen relation with Myanmar in the process.

India’s response is always moderate, measured and restrained towards external challenges. It deploys its power to prevent conflict and maintain peace. The Indian Government evolves its foreign policy philosophy of Five Pillars — dignity, engagement and dialogue, shared prosperity, security, cultural and civilizational linkages. Isolating Pakistan, which has traditional support of west Asia, on the terror issue and pushing hard to UN for adopt a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism which will compel Pakistan to rethink its strategy.

Militaries of all over the world always prepare for the worst case; but India’s appreciation is not good at all for worst case scenario. Anything less is going to be ‘goodwill’ of enemy.Anyway, militaries can’t be raised in a short span of time. But it’s time to think about Modern weapons, ammunitions. Preparing a strong military for future war is time-consuming process. Making a well-equipped and tech-savvy operationally ready military force is a big challenge for India. It is an expensive proposition for developing country like India. But security of the country is first and foremost. Freedom of the country is priceless. Need to protect at any cost with everything that nation have, its people have.

Media 2.0 – Disruption in public opinion space has begun

Sunil Mishra
-
0

I know many of my friends who don’t read the news article or opinion piece in mainstream media these days. They straightway go to the comment section to read the reaction to the story. The comments section is more democratized; there are counter-views for views and shrill extreme comments at times (not acceptable though), but still you get some sense of the public opinions which is less biased that the article itself. The main story you can very much predict if you know the media house, the author and topic. The mainstream media has become more predictable.

Has the mainstream media become biased?

The mainstream media was always supportive of particular narrative. The only difference is that earlier we accepted the narrative as people’s voice. Just before the last general election in India, the renowned publication Economist in one of their editorial openly endorsed one political party with a very scathing commentary on the rival. They went a step further and exhorted Indians to vote for Congress or face a disaster. What happened later, we all know but the Economist Editors were honest in making public their political leanings. Honesty aside, this puts a question mark on their reporting on selective news, ideologies and narratives. This is true with most of the media houses whether Indian or Foreign. People know the pattern and very well predict how a particular news would be reported by xyz publication news or TV channel.

Tribes of shrinking Independent Journalists?

I recall one of the heated discussion during a TV debate where one participant shouted “she is not an independent journalist, she is a stooge of xyz party masquerading as independent journalist”. This must have been so damning for the discourse, more than the person. The anchor of the debate since then started a new practice of introducing the journalist as “sympathizer of xyz party” – better safe than be sorry later.

Another prominent journalist last week on his prime time program lamented on the falling standard of journalism and TV debates. He painted a black screen with subtitles and voice-over that it is a crisis time for media discourse. He talked about various fears but did not mention the most important one – they, as mainstream media are no longer able to set the public agenda.

People are talking back?

The early days of TV there was a prescribed slot for news, the newsreader told us what happened around the world. They chose the news that they thought were important – that was the BBC model. Then came 24X7 news channels – which were more of the same. The news space became very noisy and more shrill. The media opinions started diverging and that’s when the masses realized that all that are told to us are not truth. There was something wrong for sure, there are selection biases. The real revolution came in the form of social media and the comments section. Social media are the platforms to talk back, to show the mirror at times and refusal to a plain consumer of what news the mainstream media feeds.

Media 2.0

The web 2.0 changed the shape of internet for good. The churning in Media 2.0 has just started. Last week there were several open letters by some prominent mainstream journalists with privileged voices. While one professed how fashionable it is being anti-national other wrote to prime minister in prominent media publication. Yes, many would have read them as they appeared in big publications.

However, the more surprising part was the numerous counter views, op-eds and videos that are circulating in social media post that open letter. Some of them are excellent fact based articulation and counter views – from ordinary citizens. They are not the best known journalists but common folks who have consumed these news earlier without expressing themselves.

Well, subjects are talking back while the mainstream media empires are panicking. We can call that they are intolerant of the reaction to the forced narratives that they created themselves.

Not all media and publications are at war with public views and the ongoing churn. Some read the public mood with changing times and not be sanctimonious. In the end, some debates set the twitter trends and some anchors discuss the good times when there was no twitter or social media.

Why is there is a blurring of space between activism and separatism?

dev13
-
0

“Bharat ki barbadi tak
Jung rahegi,jung rahegi!
Kashmir ki aazadi tak
Jung rahegi, jung rahegi!”

Typing these words took a pounding on my heart. I cannot imagine of the throats that had the gall to yell them.

Now sample this by a Sameirang Laikhuram:

“Calling RSS anti-national is as much nonsensical as calling this student from JNU anti-national. Which and what nation are we talking about here?”

And by the grace of Antarctica, Sameirang is not alone. A laundry-list of the intellectual elite backs him with all four limbs, and on occasion with a fifth. This fifth limb is what we are dealing with here – the limb of separatism. This one is unique; unique because the predominantly left-liberals employ it when the other four – dissent, ideology, activism and godlessness appear low-yield.

What happened in JNU should not have happened in the first place. But now that it has, it was really pleasant to see the Home Ministry swing into action, despite the apprehension of all the predictable ideological opposition that would be led by the media, and of course followed by people who construct instant tweets on innocence, guilt and cowardice.

Honestly, I do not have a problem with separatists. That is, so long as they do not tightly wrap the agenda under the veil of social, cultural or linguistic-equality activism. But when they do, they do so with an attitude of betrayal. They betray and contaminate the very cause that steers them into activism.

I will not stretch much on the JNU debacle and the section of the media that has turned equally anti-national. But let’s take a broader perspective here: why do so many activists tend to be separatists?

Ever heard of Arundhati Roy, the activist-writer? Yes, great sarees, prim hair and a balanced diet: regular slices of intellectualism, marinated in 30ml of Marx, stirred fired in Guevara oil and garnished with a fresh dash of Kashmiri leaves. But the real harvest comes from a consistent dose of separo tonic taken every morning before breakfast. That is the thing which makes her say super things in favor of terrorists and anti-India Pakistanis.

Now when I first heard words flow out of the mouth of Roy, I was like: “Boom, she knows immense things.” And that is the same feeling you have when you hear from most activists turned separatists. They know too many things. In fact, they know so much about so many realms that they almost feel they know everything that there is to know. And purportedly, one of these things is “India is not a nation.”

Activism vs Separatism

Look at Arvind; the man started out as an activist and has just voiced support for “innocent” students that raised Anti-India slogans. And Arvind is popular. There are many others that aren’t popular and do not run for Delhi elections. But they are no different. They start with activism and end up questioning the status of India as a nation. And they do so for India exclusively. No other nation, primarily because these lunatics consider ‘racial’ origin and ancestry a precondition for national identities. Of course, they cry racism every time there is a misdiagnosis between dengue and malaria. Spot the irony there?

Or is it the other way round? Maybe these folks are not activists in the first place and only take up certain causes to mask their otherwise blatant separatist agenda. While you cannot really tell if that is the case, keep an eye on how these people follow-up on issues they raise. Often, the backing up seems too weak to bring justice to the cause.

Then, look for similar lines/catchphrases/slogans in every speech they make and every post they write. Odds are these lie at the core of their ideologies and they coat it with a contextual cause, a ramble on why it is connected with the catchphrase and of course, why the idea of India as a nation is not relevant. And that catchphrase persists.

Mother tongue lovers

The case for those who love their mother tongues is genuinely sensitive and for the most part, right. If there is a demand for equal status for all languages, I do not see anything flawed there. I for one do not agree to the proposition that there is a national language of India. Much like philosophies, India abounds in languages. These are all regional languages. Some are spoken in smaller regions than others. Some are a little wider in reach. But democracy should not care about such categorical numbers. And that is enough to grant equal status to all languages. If this constitutes language activism, count me in.

But the color is a little different on some glasses. These are language activists that seek a different kind of status for their regions and homelands. This craving for a special status outside of the Indian Union is what drives me nuts. There is a delicate balance between superior federalism and separatism. And these so-called activists are champions of confusing the two.

West Bengal could be a unique case study. The cause of language equality is not as vehemently structured as it is in Kerala or Tamil Nadu. But the state shares its borders with Bangladesh and there are people who believe and dream of a United Bangladesh. Of course, most of them are as passionate about the cause as those who pursue an Akhand Bharat ideology and I really do not see any difference between the two sets of activists. But however utopian the idea may sound, these separatists masked as activists are willing to go the distance with their propaganda and PR machinery.

It is not as if the Bangladeshi economy beats the Indian economy hands down. The language unites, agreed. But let us not forget what happened to South Asian countries and states where the Muslim population attained majority.

How can we stop them? The question should have been “how should we tackle them?” But I am a tad ‘intolerant’ about a debate with separatists. They need to be nipped in the bud.

You cannot stop them unless you spot them. Once done, beat them at their own game: intellectualism. I have seen many such separatist ideological fundamentalists cry foul when you serve them a little helping from their own bottle of medicine. I will confess I have enjoyed that each time.

Race horses

That is what I call those who believe a common race is necessary for people to be part of a nation. So true! That makes the job a hell lot easier. China is such a vast and populous country – one race and for the most part, one language. It is a different story why China lost most of its languages and it is the same different story that explains why India is still the abode of so many languages. But hush, that explanation is so pro-national! Who talks about it? Phew!

Asian nations like China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam have their job cut out as far as the races go. So there are lesser calls for separatism. But how about Indonesia? What went wrong there? And is India’s diversity not the thing we had been bragging about since our Standard V history books?

It is amazing how there can be so different interpretations from the same set of facts!

Are you a separatist?

A quick test will do it. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘India’?

  1. A mere collection of states, or roughly this:
  2. There is the Arabian Sea on the west, the Bay of Bengal on the East, the Himalayas in the North and the Indian Ocean in the south. Everything enclosed within is pure bliss. And that is my India.

Separatists often find it hard to reach to the masses. Activism is the cherished wild card. And we cannot counter them unless we identify this trend.

Pampore – a tale of Valour. And Error.

prasunc
-
0

IMG-20160224-WA0112

Let me start with a story.

It was the third weekend of Sep 2013. The venue was Westgate in Nairobi, Kenya. A group of Al-Shabaab terrorists walked into the popular shopping mall and sprayed bullets indiscriminately at first, and then adding a religious quiz later to separate the believers from the kafirs. This went on for 2 hours before the elite Recce force came in. In a professional operation, they sanitised the first two floors of the building and were evacuating survivors.

In the meantime, the Government, unused to such situations, sent in the army to help out in the operation. Without a proper command and control, there was confusion as the army moved in position and the recce still inside. A recce officer was shot at in the mêlée. The recce sensed the failure and decided to exit. The army then moved in. This whole handover and takeover took a couple of hours. This was enough for the militants to regroup and they held the army for 3 days!

Why am I relating this story? To highlight the importance of Coordinated Line of Command in an operation and using the right force for the right job, else you end botching up an operation. Like Pampore.

The end count reads 5 soldiers martyred, 3 terrorists neutralised. For most Indians, that is the end of story. Pretty even. Right? Wrong. And here’s why:

1. The reading of hostages was seemed to have informed the strike and timing. The terrorists released the locals and smartly bought goodwill of the Azadi seekers. To the extent that locals stood behind our troops, sloganeering and stoning. What intelligence may have prompted the call of SF to launch an urgent operation, without enough planning?

2. With the General Officer Commanding (GoC) of regular army regulating affairs, the use of SF seemed to have been botched up partially, if not fully. The SF were not playing to their strength can be inferred by the casualties they bought.

3. What prevented the army to bring down the building? An RPG or a laser guided missile on the beams would have buried the terrorists the moment it was clear that no more hostages were indeed trapped. For sure, the political interference in counter terrorism ops border on unreasonable appeasement of the ungrateful locals. This prevents effective use of force with minimal loss.

4. Considering SF is specialised in minimum force maximum impact, unlike the regular army which works on the concept of formidable force, why doesn’t the Line of Command transition seamlessly to SF as they enter an ops? Is there turf war? Rivalries? Or incompetence?

5. The aspect of faulty intelligence, patrolling and possibility of treachery by insiders cannot be ruled out either. There seems to be high probability of insiders help, looking at the preparation of the terrorists who were adequately equipped with ammunition and other supplies to wear off an elite offense!

6. It is interesting to note that Both Lt Col Niranjan of NSG and Capt Pawan of 10 Para SF had one thing in common .. both the officers were injured with splinter and gun shot 7 to 10 days prior and were admitted in hospital. They were adviced to take rest and be on medical leave for a month. They both had refused to take leave and join operations. Both were under medications. Pain killers may slow down your reflexes and quick thinking, and it can be one of the causes for the casualties.

That we have been faced with similar hostage situations multiple times in last gew months, the effectiveness of our CI Ops is certainly a matter of inquiry.

How a Centrist became a Rightist

enlightenededitor
-
0

I count myself amongst the scores of Indians who used to be neutral or what we call ‘centrist’ today. Until a few years ago I actively disliked the saffron agenda folks as epitomized by LK Advani, MM Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and the rest of the so called Hindutva Gang. I believed in an “India Shining” and felt that India would prevail irrespective of whether the Congress or BJP were in power (after all, didn’t the congress have much more experience running the country and things weren’t so bad).

Infact I was one of those who believed that the seemingly educated and distinguished Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, who so obviously had the whole world at their feet would one day step in to take control of this mess called India and whip it back to shape. With their refined looks, elite background and proverbial golden spoon (Come on !! They had everything. Why wouldn’t they want to help the teeming masses) they seemed like the right people to do the job. Just like their father Rajiv Gandhi attempted to do before he was derailed by the likes of VP Singh (Castist loony), IK Gujral (Never knew what he did), HD Deve Gowda (holy cow, can he just be struck off the list please), Chandrashekar (Again, don’t even remember him?)

Let the Gandhi’s take care of India. They have years and generations of expertise. All I wanted was to get a decent education, go to work , buy a house and have a comfortable life with my friends and family. There were noises about this mass murderer Modi and what he did in Gujrat (Unacceptable but effective I thought) and about how the Saffron brigade was meddling in the IITs and NCERT by changing the syllabus to accommodate more and more Hindu bullcrap. I had an opinion, but frankly it wasn’t worth any effort discussing. After all decent people don’t follow politics. We are above all of that nonsense. The local Malls had all the American stuff you could want, eateries had very possible kind of cuisine, the latest Hollywood movies released within a week in India and our real estate investments looked real good. Meanwhile the government changed to Congress with a coalition. Democracy at its most democratic with virtually everyone a part of the Govt. Heck, even Laloo Prasad Yadav looked good with his Harvard speeches about the Indian Railways. All was well in India and I was confident we made the right move by deciding to stay in India and not go abroad like many of our friends.

And then slowly the economy started taking a nose dive. All the good stuff, including new companies entering India everyday and creating opportunities for people like me, started slowing down. The day was fraught with traffic jams and really bad roads. Basics became a problem, vegetable prices went crazy every now and then and getting anything done in any govt office became a nightmare.

Crooks lost all fear of the system and offenses right from mini ones like traffic offenses to petty thefts were conducted with impunity. After all if the Fooder Scam, 3G and Coal scam biggies could get away why not these petty offenders. The Jails were crowded and the police understaffed and demotivated.
We tolerated this and went on with our daily life. It became the in thing to make jokes about India. After all we were beaten and disrespected everywhere. Afraid of Pakistan and China, afraid of the terrorists, beaten up in literally every sport (except for an occasional saving grace with Cricket, Long Live Sachin). Why would it matter if our non-Indian co-workers make the odd jibe about india. After all the truth is the truth no matter how bitter
And then the scam floodgates opened. It seemed like there was a scam a day. If a scam wasn’t over a few thousand crores it barely got mentioned on the news. Possibly in the Scammer’s elite social circuits they had a minimum entry criteria. If you hadn’t scammed over a few thousand crores, you weren’t invited to the party. Why the heck were we paying taxes? It was an echo across the country and everyone looked for a way to evade taxes. Hey afterall everyone knows that Indian are essentially corrupt.

And then more stuff happened. Nirbhaya! The Common Wealth games! Indians getting beaten up in other parts of the world! The List was endless. People were dispensable and life was cheap in India. As an Indian, we really had no right to expect any respect. We didnt deserve it. Our so called spiritual leaders were despicable sex maniacs. Weren’t we lucky that we were occupied by the British for a 100 years. We wish they never left but atleast we got the Indian Railways and English when the British left. But things still hadn’t touched us personally until the piece of land we bought with painfully high monthly EMIs was encroached upon by someone. “Don’t try to fight it”, people told us, “They have political connections. The courts don’t work anyway. Try to settle with the encroachers. It’s just standard Goondagiri ”

We had lost all faith in the system. ‘Was it time to leave India and find a job outside?’ We asked ourselves a countless times à la Amir Khan? At least we could disassociate ourselves from the shame of being an Indian. But the answer was always a No… This is our land, our home. India is our Mother. The national anthem does bring a tear into my eyes when I hear it. But each time our conviction was less and less and we felt like idiotic saps hanging on to a sentimental love for a country that no one loved or respected anymore.

Then a few things happened. A movie called Rang De Basanti made the rounds with its decidedly inspiring theme of fighting the establishment. A few months later a whole group of people gathered besides Anna Hazare to fight corruption. We sat for a few hours at Freedom park and went back to work convinced that we did our bit to reform the country. Nothing really changed except for a few heated newsroom debates. And then the 2014 elections loomed in sight.

What’s the point? It’s the same old bunch? One party is the same as another. How is LK Advani different from Manmohan Singh. Both are equally likely to fall asleep at a state dinner. At least Manmohan Singh doesn’t spout vitriolic bile on Ram Mandir. But new voices were being heard over the rest. Arvind Kejriwal with his very appealing revolutionary pitch. And wait a moment. There was another. We had been reading small posts of him in Magazines. About how he transformed a small state called Gujrat. How there was peace and prosperity in Gujrat (even through the media told us that the minorities were being oppressed into silence). About how the VHP hated him because he smashed temples as indiscrimately as mosques to make way for wider roads.

We took notice. We read more about him. We now had two people who could change the country. Modi and Kejriwal. Maybe there could be more. Possibly India would shine again. And then Kejri dumped his Delhi CM Post and started spouting bile in Varanasi. Back to one, Just Modi. He better be our man or it was time to pack those bags. We listened to his speeches and his plans for development, marveled at his hologram appearances and felt inspired that finally here was a person who believed that India could be great again. The best part id he didnt speak a word of anything Hindutva despite all the noise around him. Hooray!! Maybe we could still stay on and give this country a chance even if he did a fraction of what he promised. After all we are a tolerant nation.

And he didn’t let us down. He brought in untainted people to head his cabinet. We don’t expect him to clean up all of BJP immediately (although we would like him to eventually). We saw that he made the right moves. Bringing in efficiency in the beauraucracy, not starting a witch hunt (despite cries to the contrary), Improving Economic reforms, focusing on Indian foreign policy, strengthening the Army and above all instilling a sense of pride in Indians. Imagine he actually evacuated a bunch of Indians in Yemen who were too stupid to leave in the first place and were probably best left behind. He showed he cared about what happened to Indians. Who has ever done that. He appealed to our better nature. Overnight he asked the nation to give up their gas subsidies and the nation responded. We are a NOT waste of space. We can be a great nation if we work towards it. Our past is a matter of pride and the future is for us to conquer. We will build a better India, a cleaner India and a stronger India. He gave us a glimpse of what may be and showed us that it wasn’t a pipe dream. The country bought it again. BJP won Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharastra (even with an unholy Shiv Sena alliance). Things were looking up again. India once again seemed that it would start shining. India and China were talked about in the same breath again. All would be well and Modi would take care of us.

And then the media attacks started. National and international press. Along with the so called Intellectuals and Elitists with cries of intolerance. Supported tacitly by the people who had disassociated themselves emotionally from the mess that was once upon a time India.

They were not talking the truth. It was distorted. We lived in India and we didn’t see intolerance, we didn’t see communal violence, and we thought the Govt was doing a good job.

‘We don’t believe you’ the disassociated others said. Down with the Hindutva inspired RSS mass murderer called Modi. Down with the suppressors of freedom of speech. Don’t believe in the meaningless rhetoric of the RSS. India was, has been and will be a mess of a nation that has no right to exist.

We protested mildly on Facebook, got shouted down and as always gave up thr fight and got busy with our lives. Modi will take care of it. And then the voices grew louder and BJPs electoral carnage at Delhi happened and then Bihar.

Now things are looking bleak. The land bill will not get passed. GST which we were looking forward to wouldn’t happen. Reforms would slow. Sonia and gang would have the last laugh.

It has gotten worse. There is open talk of dividing India. Anti-nationalism is becoming a word of sophistication and being a Patriot is a now a thing of shame. After all the dreaded RSS call themselves patriots and if you aren’t against the RSS sympathetic government you don’t stand for truth, liberty and tolerance.

It is time to wakeup. Modi is not a magician. He needs help. The forces that hate India are stronger than ever. And united like never before. If enemies like Laloo and Nitesh could join hands, the Maoists and Jihadists are not very far behind. And this time the stakes are higher. It’s a matter of survival. For those of us who still love the country and want to live here in peace and prosperity, its time to take sides.

Its time for the Centrist to move to the Right side of the debate!! India’s side of the debate !!

A Letter To Barkha Dutt From a Nationalist Rahul Sharma

Rahul Sharma
-
0

Dear Barkha:

I write to you today because like so many of my fellow citizens, I am both angry and anguished. I am aware that a missive from someone like me – “communal”, “sanghi”, “internet Hindu”, “troll” and worst of all, “pseudo-national” – will be most likely junked by your fraternity as not worthy of their time.

In any case, ever since media has reported on the 2002 riots in Gujarat, Narendra Modi is among the politicians media has clearly shunned and disliked (even after SIT report exonerating him) – that is, of course, entirely the media’s prerogative.

So I write this as a sentimental and proud Indian who is disturbed by what the ‘misguided’ youth of this country is doing. I am also worried about the way media has covered the JNU issue and tried to change the narrative by painting nationalists as hooligans.

As someone who believes in absolute freedom of speech, let me state at the beginning that I was absolutely fine with the JNU students protesting and raising anti-India slogans. You may accuse me of whataboutery but since we are discussing the right to freedom of speech, it’s important that I bring this on the table. One month back, cities like Malda and Purnea were burning with thousands of Muslims attacking police stations and demanding the head of a certain Kamlesh Tiwari (A news which you for some reason chose to ignore) because he had exercised his right to free speech & called Prophet Muhammed ‘gay’. The U.P. government invoked National Security Act (NSA) and today he is languishing in a jail. As someone who has often spoken about the way we treated M.F. Hussain when he painted nude Hindu Gods in objectionable positions; I expected you to stand up for Kamlesh’s right to free speech.

In our country, we grow up learning that ‘Nation’ comes before anything else. For example: I am an Indian first and a Hindu later. That’s why the paintings of M.F. Hussain don’t disturb me as much as the anti-India slogans. You tweeted that your stomach churned when Senior lawyer Rajeev Dhawan and his team were called ‘Pakistan ke Dalle’ and ‘Behenchod’ in the Patiala court. Weren’t those who abused Rajeev & his team were practicing their right to free speech? Also, how can you not be as angry as you are now when you hear a group of students calling for ‘Bharat ki barbadi’?

Coming to the point of arrest, while I support the right of JNU students to protest, I also support the police action after Mahesh Giri filed an FIR because as much as you or I may dislike; we DO have a sedition law at place and if the students had violated it then they deserve to be in the jail. Whether we need a law or not is a different debate altogether and ideally you should have written an open letter to all previous Prime Ministers asking them to revoke this law. You mention that we offered Kasab a fair trial and we take pride in that. But aren’t we doing the same with Kanhaiya? Has he been sentenced to death or imprisonment without a trial? The case is in the court and I am sure the judges will give a fair and wise decision in accordance with the Indian Law.

You share that HRD Minister Smriti Irani has said that the anti-India slogans were an insult to “Mother India” but Mothers are benign, forgiving, broad-minded and all embracing. One, she did not make any such comment as she clarified in a series of tweets to you. Two, what should a mother do when its children don’t consider her as a mother and want to destroy her into pieces? Three, mothers are many a times considered heartless when they punish their children. But, we should remember she does so only for the betterment of the children.

As far as the inaction of Delhi police towards the lawyers is concerned; Kiran Bedi talked about it your show where she said that given the situation at Patiala High Court; Police had two options – Either to lathi charge the agitating lawyers leading to a stampede which may have resulted in greater casualties (Something you expected them to do) or to let the lawyers protest. They chose the lesser evil.

What happened at Patiala court was shameful to say the least. But I am disturbed by you and the media at large who are equating the act of hooliganism by few lawyers with nationalism. You point out that hundreds of JNU students marched with a rose and Indian flag in support of Kanhaiya and conveniently ignore the anti-India slogans. Likewise, we had more than ten thousand people walking down the streets of Delhi and joining the ‘March for Unity’ to protest against the anti-national slogans at JNU. They were civilians who came out of their homes on a Sunday to show their love for the country and they did so peacefully. Interestingly, this march was led by ex-servicemen whom you greatly admire & respect. As someone who interviewed the ex-Navy chief when he said intolerance can hit armed forces; what would you say to Air Marshall P K Roy (Retired), who said that “anti-national” slogans “demoralize” the soldiers guarding the country’s frontiers?

Barkhaji, naturally, none of us like a couple of citizens who take law in their own hands and beat up people.

You question that is the Indian State so fragile that it would come undone by a clutch of “Hum Kya Chahate – Azaadi” cries? As someone who has covered Kashmir exhaustively, you would know that 25 years ago these very ‘slogans’ coming from the loudspeakers of the mosques in Kashmir forced an entire community into exile. It was the slogan ‘Ek Dhakka aur do; Babri masid ko tod do’ that resulted in the demolition of Babri. Yes, we are fragile, Barkha!

Did your heart not break, just a little bit, when you saw the news of a fellow journalist Jagendra Singh being burnt to death by a minister in UP or when you saw the pictures of the dead body of 27-year-old Sujith from Kerala who was killed because he was from the BJP or when Prashant Poojary was murdered in daylight because he was from the ABVP? You would be wondering why I ask you this. Since you along with many others make up the fourth pillar of democracy, I think it’s fair on my part to raise these questions.

As someone who voted for the Prime Minister in 2014; I agree with you that he should break his silence on these issues. But then I wonder why does the media and the liberal brigade at large never expect the Prime Minister to speak about Tuktuki Mondal or Prashant Poojary? Also, why wasn’t the earlier Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expected to speak up when Muslim fundamentalists chopped off the hand of a professor in Kerala?

You rightly say that a thought cannot be policed, and nationalism cannot be regimented; it’s for every Indian to define it for herself. But I wonder which Indian would define nationalism as something where slogans glorifying terrorists and calling for India’s destruction are considered okay; where singing Vande Matram is considered communal and you have the liberty to disrespect the National Anthem. I would never support this nationalism which was at display in HCU, JNU and Jadavpur.

As you said, for a moment I went back to my 6 years in university but sadly I couldn’t remember even a single incident when either me or my batch mates or my juniors and seniors rebelled in the way JNU did. Anti-establishmentarianism is may be a concept which is rooted in the left-leaning humanities students because even if I try; I cannot recollect if my friends from IIT/IIM and dozens of other engineering and management colleges resorted to anything like we are seeing in JNU or Jadavpur. You may romanticize with the notion of questioning the Nation-state but I can’t. You may even brush aside the slogans glorifying a terrorist as something which college kids do to rebel but I can’t. Is battling government because it is headed by a man whom you hate and a party that has an ideology different from yours is really the war the students at JNU, FTII or HCU want to lead into?

Whatever the media calculations were on converting the JNU crackdown into an incident where the government is made a villain and not the students has clearly dissipated. Beyond the lights of newsrooms; there is an India where if you ask 10 random people on the streets about the issue, I can pull my neck out and say that 7 would support the government and not the JNU students.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, one of our greatest freedom fighters wrote, “Nationalism is inspired by the highest ideals of the human race, satyam (the true), shivam (the god), sundaram (the beautiful). It is only on the basis of undiluted nationalism and of perfect justice and impartiality that the Indian Army of Liberation can be built up”.

Barkha ji, India indeed belongs to its young. The tricolor is in their hands. And so is our future. We must ensure it’s not torn apart!

From:

A fan of yours who is looking forward to attending your next show.

Confessions of a Left Liberal’s stomach

Abhishek Dwivedi
-
0

I am a stomach. But I am not just an ordinary stomach. I am “the” stomach of a left liberal intellectual. I will starve without beef. I survive on intolerance. I feed on death. I feed on anarchy. I feed on souls. I feed on you.

When I am not eating beef, I churn. I love churning. I can churn continuously and every issue but, as most of the Lutyen elites do, I have to maintain my sense of opportunism. You see, when my master cannot debate on facts, I come in handy to create a false sense of panic. I churn at regular intervals, in perfect coordination with my fellow revolutionaries. When do I churn? Is there a pattern? Well, I doubt if you Khaki wearing Sanghis can understand. Still, let me try.

I churned when Kanhaiya of JNU Student Union was arrested. I didn’t when Kamlesh Tiwari was. (Free speech, they said)

I churned when force was used against unarmed students. I didn’t when Rajbala, a woman protestor with Baba Ramdev was killed by Delhi Police at 3 in morning. (Saffron is fascist, they said)

I churned when lawyers attacked media in Patiyala House Court. I didn’t when a scribe was burnt alive in UP.

I churned when a doctored video was used to target Kanhaiya. I didn’t when a doctored video was used two days back to blame ABVP for the slogans.

I churned for Omar Khalid for him being targeted because he is a Muslim. I didn’t for Corp. Abhimanyu Gaud as he was killed in broad daylight by (Fill in the blanks).

I churned when Batla House encounter happened. I didn’t when 75 CRPF soldiers martyred in Dantewada. (Casualties of war, they said)

I churned when Rohith Vermula committed suicide. I didn’t when a dalit rag picker was burnt alive in Pune for being a Hindu.

I churned when Akhlaq was killed by a Hindutva mob. I didn’t when Sujith was killed by leftwing fanatics (CPM) in Kerala.

I churned when Rajendra Kumar was raided. I didn’t when everyone close to Modi was thrown in jail.

I churned when ink was thrown on Soni Sori (or Arvind Kejriwal). I didn’t when bombs were hurled at Narendra Modi in Bihar.

I churned when Ishrat Jahan was killed. I didn’t when Maj. Sandeep Unikrishnan died.

I churned for Yakoob. I am yet to Google who is Capt. Pawan Kumar.  (And they hanged Yakoob).

I churn for Palestine. I don’t for Kashmiri Pandits.

I churned for Mujaffarnagar. I didn’t for Malda. I don’t remember 1984.

I churned in 2002. I am still churning for 2002. I will always churn for 2002.

Long Live Revolution.

(Now can I have my Beef, well done please)

(It was heard in the studios of NDTV that the screen of Ravish’s studio is planning to write her side of story. “I wasn’t blackened when…)

Journalism 101 – suggestions to Barkha, Rajdeep, Sagarika and company

educatedgooner
-
0

Dear Barkha/Rajdeep/Sagarika and company,

If you can teach the government how to govern, why not take some advice about your own profession from a “social media junkie”?! After all, criticism is a two-way street.

I am not going to write a long love letter. But just putting a few points across that might help you save your career and/or your channel.

1. STOP picking and choosing what you report/tweet on within a particular incident/saga. Either show both sides of the story or none. E.g. you chose to focus more on Kamlesh Tiwari (action) more than the riots (reaction) in Malda or how Govt. responded (reaction) to the JNU incident than the incident itself. 2002 is a classic example as ever. A LOT of us see a dangerous pattern here. An awful lot. Some of us even see a propaganda here. It’s not good.

2. STOP picking and choosing the incidents you choose to report/tweet on. Like don’t forget the #MarchForUnity, don’t forget Bihar/Kerala slaughters of right wing leaders, don’t forget #RadiaTapes. More than anything else, don’t forget to glorify our soldiers and martyrs as much as you glorify goons or “differently patriotic” students. Show us more good stuff. Our nation needs it. It will sell, believe me. Cover Pampore as much as you do post-JNU or Dadri. Criticize government, ask questions but show some good stuff as well. You get it. It’s hypocrisy. Not good at all.

3. UNDERSTAND that people have access to first-hand information. They don’t have to rely on you anymore. Sad but true. You enjoyed the luxury of telling people what they needed to know for far too long. You don’t have to fear social media but try and adopt the change. I call it “awakening”. It is wrong that people abuse you and call you names. I wish it will change with mutual respect.

4. AGREED that the press needs to be free and our country needs to improve on freedom for press index. But understand that you are not above the government or the SC. The way you asked us to wait for court’s decision in case of JNU before labeling the students, I wish you waited in case of 2002 or Sohrabuddin before labeling some of our leaders. It’s like you didn’t believe in our judiciary system back then but now suddenly your faith on courts have come back, you see? Inconsistency is also not good.

5. Lastly, we get that you belong to a certain spot in our political spectrum and we don’t care whom you are married to and where you get the money from (Congress has a lot of money though) but remember that majority of us belong to the other side and are capable of comprehending the good vs. the bad. Don’t end up on wrong side of things every freaking time. Not at all good for you. Leave that for Pappu.

Yours untruly,

An awakened Indian citizen

Why Hinduphobia should not be the opposite of Islamophobia

prannaypathak
-
0

The right-liberal Hindu is today in grave danger. Barring his surname, anything that he does will be used to suggest that he is uneducated, sentimental, and orthodox, something which intellectualism has, from time immemorial, rejected. If he believes in his myths, he is deluded; if he avoids eggs on Tuesdays, he is the simplistic gau-bhakt. He upholds his religion, only as much partisan and sectarian as any other religion, and he is already an RSS-pig.

In the recent years, institutions with humanities departments in the metros have realised that a left-leaning conscience is for the collective good of the hitherto under-represented and dis-empowered minorities of the country. In the wake of such a realisation, Brahmin-bashing and a spirit of Hinduphobia has taken over these spaces. If not, why do we celebrate Mahishasur Diwas in premier institutions, but would wince at the slightest offence done to Prophet Muhammad? If not, why has there been incessant calling for the beheading of Kamlesh Tiwari, who unceremoniously called the Prophet, the ‘first homosexual of the world?’ Why, even worse, has the centre been rallied against for something said by a non-party element?

I’ve not even started with the whole argument that calling for Tiwari’s ‘beheading’ is objectionable, and should be protested. In a country that is so obsessed with criticizing beef bans, while horse meat and dog meat is banned in other so-called multicultural countries on religious grounds, such a demand is rather unreasonable, inhuman and brutish, among other things. Moreover, what if Tiwari is one of the many motor-mouths in the country, like Sadhvi Pragya, Yogi Adityanath and the inglorious Owaisi brothers?

But what has Kamlesh done? Surely, this is the post-homophobic age, and to cry out with such vengeance against a statement that was delivered to incite masses, is not only regressive, but very foolish of the orthodox Muslim masses. Behead Tiwari because he has called the Prophet gay? Not very gay, indeed. I’ll say the reasons will have to be homosexual-sensitive.

The right-liberal Hindu is afraid of divulging his mode of prayer, today, for it will be immediately understood that he still beats up certain members of his community for drinking from the same well, entering his sacred places of worship, and prays to an ape when he is scared. He immediately makes a show of being atheist, but even that is a liberty that the masses do not have. He will not wear threads and beads and should he have a tika on his forehead, it will immediately act as the record button to his backward, saffron-ist beliefs about Hinduism and its supposed polar-opposition with Islam.

But what of the open-flaunting of religion as a part of dress, even within the public sphere, that Islam indulges in? Should the tricolour be considered an instrument of hate-mongering among the different, diverse people of our country, the reason could well be that saffron is at the top and green at the bottom. Our conditioned privileging of the top vis-a-vis the bottom is another matter.

More and more Leftist-liberals are criticising Hinduism and are calling for the destruction of all its orders. The reasons look reasonable, with the best reason being Hinduism’s propensity for fostering caste hierarchies and patriarchy. And here, Hinduphobia begins. Do we not know of the extreme patriarchy that is found in the Catholicism and even later orders, or for that matter, the very characteristic Islamic patriarchy, of which the Burkha is the best example?

But it will be nonsensical to justify the upholding of the evils of a religion on grounds like these. Hinduism has to do away with Brahmanical politics and its share of patriarchy, but the castigation of a religion which has its share of extremists, is not only wrong, but bigoted and politically motivated. The liberal Hindu has as much a right to pray and follow the eccentricities of a religion because they provide psychological security, as any other liberal from another religion.

1...873874875...890Page 874 of 890

Contact: [email protected]

About us

User generated chapter of OpIndia. Selected articles submitted here are published at main English or Hindi websites of OpIndia.

ऑपइंडिया

OpIndia

© OpIndia.com