Do Bile & Rants Qualify As Genuine Criticism?

Usually, I don’t take hate-hags like Sagarika Ghose seriously, and hence don’t even bother to reply them. Nevertheless, I did rebut Sagarika Ghose when she came up with her nonsensical blog Su che? Saru che!. The same Sagarika Ghose has now come up with her piece of advice to BJP supporters. Her latest blog Letter to India’s Right: All critics aren’t leftists or ‘deshdrohis’ is sort of an open letter.

Dear Sagarika Ghose, let me begin by asking you a simple question- what are your political leanings? As you already have shot off a letter to India’s right, why am I not to believe that you are a leftist? This question was posed to just let you know that the title of your latest blog, as always, is as absurd as you.

Now let’s come to the point. Of course we have secured a MASSIVE electoral victory in the general elections DESPITE a vile campaign of propaganda by “news-traders” in the mainstream media and political opponents. The breakthrough victory in Haryana is remarkable as it has signaled the end of identity based politics in India, something your peers and you don’t like. And the victory in Maharashtra, despite the split in the Saffron alliance bears a testimony to the ever increasing popularity of the BJP in India. Do you believe that the left has gifted us these stunning victories? No, we have tirelessly fought for these victories and hence we are in this jubilant mood. To paraphrase Deepika Padukone, yes we are the Indian Right, we have swept the polls, and we are in a jubilant mood, #YouGotAProblem? And why are you even counting crimes of the UPA now? When you were supposed to take them on, you developed cold feet; you were rather busy in passing inane comments on the Right. Whenever we drew your attention to the crimes of Congress, you would tweet some article you wrote to criticize Congress somewhere around 2005. Let me quote Mark Twain – Loyalty to the country always, loyalty to the government when it deserves it. This may help you understand why the social media in India is not anti-establishment anymore.

No Sagarika, propaganda is not what you accuse the social media to indulge in; propaganda is what your tribe has been doing thus far and still continue to do on behalf of Congress. Propaganda is what your former colleague Ashutosh used to do for the Aam Aadmi Party when was the Managing Editor of IBN7. And of course you do have a right to disagree with anyone, but it does not mean that your disagreement only shall prevail. If you have the right to express your opinion or disagree with us, we too do have a right to express our opinions and disagree with you as well. And do I even need to remind you how desperately your husband Rajdeep Sardesai tried to evolve Arvind Kejriwal? Why don’t you come up with some substantial criticism of the government instead of such inane bile? Or is it beyond your skills to come up with substantial criticism of the present government?

Yeah Sagarika Ghose, it’s a war against the monopoly of a handful people as opinion makers and a political family which is touted as the messiah of India by those opinion makers. It’s a war against those who are dishonest to their respective professions and not loyal to India and its interests. And let me assure you, Sagarika Ghose, that we are determined to take this war to its conclusion and willing to pay whatever the price may be. We do respect constructive criticism and there’s definitely a place for such genuine critics of the government in current order of the establishment. The recent appointment of Arvind Subramanian as the Chief Economic Advisor is a testimony to our tolerant approach to genuine criticism and eagerness to improvise. By the way, if someone calls Dawood Ibrahim, a dreaded terrorist, who is responsible for countless terrorist attacks on India a patriot, we do consider him or her a ‘deshdrohi’. If someone tries to defame the Indian Prime Minister on foreign soil, we do call him a ‘deshdrohi’.  Is it just a matter of coincidence that your husband, Rajdeep Sardesai, too happens to be a ‘deshdrohi’?

And whenever someone has criticized you or posed a logical question which you could not answer, you have resorted to calling names and abused that person, Sagarika Ghose.

Dear Sagarika Ghose, we all know what the media has covered and what not. We know the exact number of op-eds and debates dedicated to 2002 riots, Ishrat encounter, Sohrabuddin encounter, snoopgate, and Gandhi’s assassination as well. When media was to cover Assam riots, the tyranny of distance was the hindrance. Surprisingly again, this shameless excuse was offered by none other than Rajdeep Sardesai. We also know how extensively media is covering whatever is happening in states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala. Surely, seizure of countless bombs, revelation of underground tunnels, links of the locals with global terrorist organizations don’t deserve extensive coverage, op-eds, and prime time debates! When a young and upright journalist Gaurav Sawant asked some uncomfortable question on Saharanpur riots, Caliph of the Indian media Rajdeep Sardesai was quick to announce that Sawant had lost his moral compass. Petitions were signed and finally the journalist was forced to delete his questions. So now I’m asking you, Sagarika Ghose, why cannot you sympathizers of the Congress take criticism? Why do you always intimidate and in some cases eliminate those who dare ask you uncomfortable and tough questions? So far as supporters of the left and Congress are concerned, they have been abusing us ever since India won her independence. They call us sanghi, knickerwallah, gaumutra (cow-piss) drinkers, and what not! Moreover, why would they call you names, as whatever expose and criticism that dethroned them mainly came from us only!

We don’t call ourselves Rightwingers or Conservatives; it’s only you and your peers who have bestowed many such adjectives upon us. Unlike you, we don’t import our political definitions and ideas from Europe or the US. We believe in Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s philosophy of Integral Humanism. We believe in Hindutva, i.e. Cultural Nationalism. And so far as issues like homosexuality are concerned, I suggest you to read S. Gurumurthy’s article Homosexuality is not a virtue. You can refer to his articles on the economy and other topics as well. And as you know, he is considered close to the RSS.

I really doubt your ability to comprehend and understand economic issues and hence advise you not to comment on things you don’t understand. So far as India’s stance at WTO is concerned, you’re advised to read this, this and this articles. Many more op-eds, other than those I quoted, are available on India’s stand at WTO. Talking about the economic reforms, of course, an illiterate of the subject like you would like to believe that until the government permits FDI in retail, it has not brought enough economic reforms. And so far as overhauling of the taxation policy is concerned, let me quickly remind you that the Finance Minister is yet to present his maiden full-time budget. Moreover, it’s not always about lowering taxes, dear Sagarika Ghose!

We are always ready to debate anything and everything, be it article 370 or UCC, Sagarika Ghose. Your allegation that the space for debate has suddenly become so restricted is laughable, and even you know that. What democracy are you talking about? Your husband was asking people on the foreign soil whether the Prime Minister was of BJP or India. The very democratic order you’re talking about was mocked by your peers when they came up with the absurd logic that the government does not represent the people of India as it has got only 31% of popular votes. That logic, besides being factually incorrect, is also an insult to the constitutionally adopted democratic procedure to elect representatives, and hence an insult to the constitution of India itself. The right to free speech, that the constitution bestowed upon the citizen of India, was curtailed and contained by none other than Nehru himself by introducing article 19(2) as the first amendment of the constitution. We have never seen your peers or you campaigning to repeal section 153A or 295A of the Indian Penal Code or article 19(2) of the Constitution of India, Sagarika Ghose. Yeah, the right to free speech must fundamentally include the right to dissent. So why were we deprived of that right whenever we expressed our dissent over the Marxist or Western version of the Indian history? Why were we not given enough space to express our contrarian views and present nationalist narrative of the Indian history? So, let’s first practise what we preach, Sagarika Ghose! Will you?

Diwali

One of the most important festivals for Hindus, Diwali, has just arrived. Nevertheless, I believe in living life like celebrating a festival every day. Yet there is special importance attached to this festival and memories to cherish.

When I was a child, Diwali for me meant crackers and new clothes. I used to start bursting crackers at least fifteen days before Diwali, as no one, at that time, was there to preach ‪#‎GreenDiwali‬ or ‪#‎NoiselessDiwali‬ to me.

I still remember that during early days of my school life I have crammed essays on Diwali as they were mostly likely to be asked in term exams to be conducted in a short while after the vacation.

As an adolescent, Diwali for me was all about meeting friends. We used to burst crackers together, as all of us were students of the high-school that taught us ungrammatical English. We used to visit one another’s place and that’s how a chord between families of friends was struck. Those flattering comments on food used to blush friends’ mothers.

During my college days, Diwali used to be one of the legitimate reasons for not studying, as our semester exams used to be conducted right after Diwali. Coming home from hostel, and having mummy’s food used to be the flavour of Diwali.

And now, amid myriad advisories, warnings or threats, - whatever you call it- of cracker-less or noiseless Diwali, it has become the ambassador of hope for me. Diwali is rightly called the festival of light as the light of Diya, lit in this festival, besides glowing surroundings is an epithet of hope as well. The cacophony of crackers to me is the present state of my life.

Censoring Doordarshan : The "liberal" face of fascism

On 3rd October 2014, Doordarshan aired the Vijaya Dashami speech of Dr Mohan Bhagwat, the Chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, i.e. RSS, live for the first time. Even during the NDA-I regime, when Atal Bihari Vajapayee was the Prime Minister of India, Doordarshan never deemed it fit to cover the RSS activities despite them being newsworthy. Doordarshan is facing vehement opposition for this move and predictably so. The media and social media space is full of opinions on this ‘bold’ move of Doordarshan. The usual suspects began lodging their protest even before the speech was actually aired. Usual suspects like the ‘historian’ Ramachandra Guha and ‘journalists’ Hartosh Singh Bal, Siddharth Varadarajan were among those ‘public intellectuals’ to lodge their strong protest against the move of Doordarshan to air the Vijaya Dashami speech of Dr Bhagwat. Later on political parties like INC and CPI(M), CPI(ML), DMK, etc jumped their guns and their spokespersons issued statements. What astonished me the most was that the broadcast of RSS Chief’s Vijaya Dashami speech on Doordarshan was a news item for the private news channels like NDTV and HeadlinesToday. Some channels even debated this topic during their prime-time talk shows.

So what prompted this mindless, undemocratic, hypocritical, and unethical criticism of Doordarshan?

That Doordarshan decided to broadcast a speech of the RSS Chief live was the reason enough for some to outrage. They have nothing to do with what the RSS chief actually said in that speech, as they would never care to watch his speech before airing their critical views about the speech. Similarly, they would never care to know anything about the RSS before airing their critical views on the organization. To them, RSS is the Indian equivalent of the dreaded Islamic terrorist organization ISIS. To argue with such people is the sheer waste of time as their protest is mindless.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is a Hindu Nationalist group whose areas of focus are charity, education, individual character building and nation building. It is arguably the biggest non government organization of the world, and undoubtedly the biggest of India. That it has more than 50000 Shakhas (branches where Swayamsevaks or volunteers of RSS gather daily) across the length and breadth of the nation and over 5 million active Swayamsevaks is a testimony of both popularity and reach of the RSS. As a tradition, the RSS Chief addresses the Swayamsevaks on its foundation day, i.e. Vijaya Dashami. And the address is not limited to the Swayamsevaks only as individuals like me, who are not members of the RSS, do take inspiration from the Vijaya Dashami speech of the RSS Chief. It is the right of the RSS Chief, bestowed by the democracy and the constitution of India, to be heard and of the individuals like me to hear him. Hence to protest against the broadcast of the Vijaya Dashmi speech is undemocratic.

As I said earlier, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is a Hindu Nationalist group and hence it is pro Hindu. But then, does being pro Hindu automatically mean anti Muslim, anti Christian or anti Sikh for that matter? Definitely not. As a part of the propaganda of falsehoods, being run by alleged public intellectuals like Ramachandra Guha, RSS is a sectarian Hindu group. This is a blatant lie. Unlike Vishwa Hindu Parishad which is a Hindu organization, or as Ramachandra Guha would say, a sectarian Hindu group, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is a cultural organization. Hence to oppose the broadcast of the Vijaya Dashami speech on this flimsy ground is the enormity of propaganda. Moreover, let us for a second believe that the RSS Chief, among Hindus, enjoys a position similar to that of the Pope among Christians. But then two things instantly come to my mind. Those who are now painting the RSS as a sectarian Hindu organization are the first ones to state that the RSS doesn’t represent Hindus whenever it raises its voice against the injustice that the Hindus have been subjected to during the Congress regime since the independence! Secondly, the Doordarshan, in the past, did live telecast the Pope, and religious events of Christians and Muslims. I don’t recall that any of those public intellectuals who are now protesting the live telecast of the RSS Chief’s speech lodged their protest then. So their pathological hatred for the RSS becomes a legitimate reason for these so-called public intellectuals to mindlessly oppose anything related to RSS, isn’t it? Why should the nation subscribe to their hatred?

Nothing astonished me more than the way the media other than Doordarshan reacted to the whole episode. Live streaming of the Vijaya Dashami speech of the RSS Chief by Doordarshan becomes a news item for the television and print media. Is it ethical to comment on the content a rival channel is airing? And if so, I have never heard any such display of ethics prior to this episode. When the entire media conspired to bury the Cash for Vote scam, Radia Gate and countless other scoops, where was this display of ethics? Rajdeep Sardesai, the sole moral navigator of the India media owing to his divine possession of the moral compass, bullied Gaurav Sawant when the latter asked some uncomfortable questions on the Saharanpur riots; the entire media ganged up against the young journalist and made him delete his tweets. The irony is- all those who were treating the live telecast of the Vijaya Dashami speech of the RSS Chief by Doordarshan as news item have also covered it and live streamed excerpts of it. So on what grounds do they question or criticize the Doordarshan’s decision of live streaming the RSS Chief’s speech? The media should be the last to comment on how Doordarshan should function. News channels better admit that DD News is one of their rival channels. The sooner they accept this reality, the better it is for them.

Some were foolish enough to suggest that no matter what Doordarshan, being the public broadcaster, should not have live streamed the Vijaya Dashami speech of the RSS Chief. This was the argument peddled by the outraged folks, when all other arguments of them were rendered futile. They are the same folks who always criticize the government enterprises for being sluggish, out of synchronism, incompetent, etc. While there can be a separate debate on whether we need a public broadcaster, the argument that DD should not have telecast the speech of RSS chief is naïve to say the least. Some folks are critical of the Prime Minister using the All India Radio to communicate with his own countrymen. Are we to subscribe this nonsense as well? Do these so called public intellectuals, who often pretend to be the expert on everything under the Sun, represent the people of India? Does the democratically elected Prime Minister not have the right to communicate with the people of India in the manner he deems fit? Who are these so-called opinion makers to suggest how the Prime Minister of an elected government should or shouldn’t communicate?

An average individual, living in a metro city like Mumbai, who perhaps has never watched any Doordarshan channel may think how foolish it is to attack Doordarshan while all other private channels are not only covering the same event but also live telecasting the excerpts of the RSS Chief’s speech? The answer is obvious- No TV network reaches rural as well as urban India like Doordarshan. ‘Doordarshan is the only channel with the widest terrestrial reach which caters to the remotest and border areas often neglected by the commercial interests of other channels’ were the words of former Union Minister of Information and Broadcast Ms Ambika Soni. The extent of the misinformation prevailing in remote villages of India can easily be gauged by the fact that many in those remotest villages believe that the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty was founded by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as the father of the nation. The interest of political parties like Congress and so called public intellectuals will be best served if this status-quo of the misinformation persists.  It is also no secret that some media houses like NDTV act as the mouthpieces of the Congress party and mostly all media houses were/are highly critical of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling BJP, and RSS. A competent rival in Doordarshan, which has the 100% reach through 24 hours satellite channels, 90.2% through terrestrial network of 1414 transmitters and a free to air DTH, DD Direct Plus, poses a grave threat to the propaganda peddled by the corrupt mainstream media on behest of their masters.

The real reason behind this blatantly mindless criticism and opposition is quite different from what they want us to believe. It is no secret that many political parties and public intellectuals are vehemently opposed to the ideology professed and preached by both RSS and BJP and rightly so. They are entitled to their belief that their ideology is best suited for nation and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But they want us to believe that ONLY their ideology is best suited for the nation and this is the principal reason behind their mindless criticism and protest. This fascist behaviour has no place in a vibrant democracy like India. While result of the Lok Sabha elections is still a riddle for them, the recent surge in online membership of the RSS has further panicked the pathological haters of the RSS and its ideology. They are afraid of the fact that people will reject their falsehoods when they come into the contact of RSS through such direct communication as there will, then, be little scope for distortion and out of context spin-doctoring.

The rules of the game have to be the same for all players, and cannot be changed overnight. Where were all these public intellectuals when Congress had blatantly abused both Doordarshan and All India Radio during the emergency? That blot on the democracy is never discussed by these so called intellectuals and opinion makers, but they have been passionately discussing all (factual and imaginary) angles of the riots that happened in 2002 in Gujarat as if those were the only riots in the history of independent India. They still spread the misinformation and propaganda that RSS was behind the plot to kill Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi despite the confession of the assassin of Gandhi Nathuram Godse himself and court ruling. If you had had no problem with blatantly anti-BJP slant of the media and motivated campaigns against the party and its ideological mentor RSS, you should not have any problem against BJP leveraging its influence over Doordarshan while it is in the office. I do not subscribe to the heavenly suggestion of those so called public intellectuals and some neutral observers that the onus of exemplary conduct while in the office is solely on the BJP. After all BJP is a political entity and it will cease to exist if it doesn’t adapt itself to the reality.

Let me remind all political parties, especially Congress, and public intellectuals that Prasar Bharti, which comprises of Doordarshan and All India Radio, is no longer the media unit of the ministry of Information & Broadcasting. That Prasar Bharti is an autonomous body is said for umpteen times by former I&B minister Sri Manish Tewari when the Congress led UPA was in power. By questioning the functioning of Doordarshan is Congress confessing that it had misused and abused the public broadcaster while the UPA was in power? Now someone would suggest that two wrongs don’t make a right. If you kept quiet or were beneficiary of the first wrong, you have the right to keep quiet now as well. And this by no means is admission that broadcast of the Vijaya Dashami speech of the RSS Chief by Doordarshan was wrong. I will reconsider my opinion if and when the Doordarshan starts spin doctoring in favour of the ruling BJP as it did in the Congress regime, or suppressing news  uncomfortable to the ruling party as it did during the emergency.

To sum up, public intellectuals and political parties need to exhibit mature behaviour and accept the reality that people are not fools as they expect them to be. Also, rendering platform to different opinions is a unique feature of the democracy and hence the democratic media. You can criticize or even loathe the RSS but you can’t silence its voice and the people of India have the right to know what the Chief of India’s biggest cultural organization has to say.

Title Courtesy- Rahul Roushan

Hello Sagarika Auntie! Trolling Gujaratis, eh?

Rejoinder or open letter to Sagarika Ghose for her nonsensical blog Su che? Saru che!. 

Dear Sagarika,

First of all let me draw your attention to the title of your article- Su Che? Saru Che!- and humbly submit that it’s an UNGRAMMATICAL title. I know that besides twitter, you do not know how to use the marvel of technology called internet. Not knowing perfect English grammar may be a crime, but being an illiterate of the technological advances certainly is not. So I would not unleash any Fafda eating demon Gujju (that’s the term you use for the people who live in Gujarat, right?) upon you. But on a serious note, let me tell you that it should have been “Shu Chhe!” and “Saru Chhe”. Nevertheless, your title would still not have made any sense. But I’d not hold any grudge over your buffoonery.

Now what kind of nonsense is, At home and abroad, Gujarat has never loomed larger? Let me introduce you, without taking the help of Google (You may wonder what the eff is this Google), to Gujarat. If you have seen the map of India, you must know that Gujarat is a coastal state. It may amuse you that it was a Gujarati sailor, (કખગઘચછજઝ), who guided Dom Vasco da Gama to India from the Cape of Good Hope. You may not appreciate (or understand either), but Gujarat has always believed in वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम, something which our Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Yeah He’s from BJP) has emphasized in his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly. It was Gujarat to grant refuge to Zoroastrians (Remember Fali Nariman?) who escaped from the onslaught of the sword of Islam. A north Gujarati boy, Khusro Khan, ruled the Sultanate of Delhi for a year at the age of only 19 years. You must know who Dadabhai Navroji is. Don’t you worry if your knowledge of history is poor; just take help of your dear friend Ramachandra Guha. Also ask him who Jamshed Tata was and what he contributed to the progress of India, you must also know about JRD Tata as well. Now you must have heard the name of Ambani, right? After all, how can you forget the one who was responsible for your removal from the channel your husband built from the scratch?

You must also know that both Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah were Gujarati. I know that you don’t like him, but the Bismarck of India (I know that you’re a champion of the European history) Vallabhbhai Zaverbhai Patel also was born in India only. Heard about Morarjibhai Desai? Oh just forget that, have you heard of Amul? You must know Mallika Sarabhai, but do you know her father, Dr Vikram Sarabhai? IIMs, PRLs, and ISRO (MOM, remember?) too were his vision. And guess what, he was a Gujjubhai only.

This much of introduction should suffice I believe. And as promised, I didn’t take the help of Google.

This much of introduction should suffice I believe. And as promised, I didn’t take the help of Google.

Now let’s come to Narendra Modi. May I ask you a simple question- Which parliamentary constituency does Mr Modi represent in the Lok Sabha? What??? Did you just say Vadodara? Wrong answer honey! Narendra Modi represents Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh (unfortunately people of India are no different from effete Gujarati people, you see) in the Lok Sabha. I am sure that you don’t want to talk about the nightmare called 16^th May, 2014 anymore. Yet just to refresh your memory, BJP won a whooping majority, securing 282 seats, in the Lok Sabha. Even your home state West Bengal elected two BJP MPs, namely S.S. Ahluwalia and Babul Supriyo. Now just tell me one thing- Would you vote for an effete Gujjubhai, who according to you, can connect only to Gujjus? Or let me make it simpler to you- Do you think that people would have preferred Narendra Modi over Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar in Bihar if he was only a Gujju sensation? Let alone Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, even Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh too preferred Narendra Modi over whatever other options they had. So was it all because of his Gujjuness? When will you grow up, Sagarika auntie?

You may loath your grandparents, but NRGs don’t. They know that whatever they are is only because of their parents’ and grandparents’ hard work and hence they try their best to render all the comforts of the world they can afford to their aging parents and grandparents. But in order to understand the family values, you must know what a happy family means. Someone who is still craving for an orgasm would never be able to understand it. By the way, I heard that Rajdeep was used to beat you up and you guys had to change your address quite often as you guys used to create scenes. Is it true?

Neither Rajdeep nor you really deserve the ‘stature’ and ‘position’ that you’re enjoying. I do remember that your father was an influential person who managed to launch careers of Rajdeep and you. So to expect that you’ll respect the hard work is like expecting peace from Pakistan. Hey, don’t take it personal honey; it’s just my freedom of expression. By the way, I’m just wondering whether your ‘jerkometer’ would blast if at all you come to read this rejoinder.

You must be remembering your proud coinage “Internet Hindus”. I’m glad to inform you that Hindu Nationalists wear that title as a badge of honour. And you were right in a way; internet is one of the reasons of the resurgence of Hindutva. Nevertheless, I was saddened to learn that of late you’ve completely stopped using that phrase. I’m now glad that you’ve coined not one but two phrases- Long Distance Nationalism, and Internet Nationalism. Of the two of them, Internet Nationalism seems perfectly ordinary and hence I’ll not talk about it. I’d rather wear it as a badge of honour when you call me that name. But this Long Distance Nationalism has intrigued me. Tell me honestly Sagarika, have you ever been in an LDR (Long Distance Relationship you silly)? Anyway, let’s not get personal, and let me leave it to the twitter.

Now I am wondering why on the earth have I written a rejoinder to your stupid article! Off to do Yoga so that I can focus on important things and never again indulge in squandering time like this.

RUNNING A GOVERNMENT IS MORE COMPLEX A JOB THAN RUNNING AN NGO

This is the rejoinder to the article, The Modi government’s Hindu agenda ?, by Koenraad Elst in the Swarajya Magazine.

Let me begin by saying that not all the allegations leveled against the Bharatiya Janta Party, which is perceived to be the sole political representative of Hindus, are baseless. The party of course has failed to deliver what it has been promising thus far, i.e. abolition of the article 370, uniform civil code, and the construction of Ram Mandir. But is this what the Hindu agenda is all about? Which Hindu agenda will be furthered by calling BJP a B-team of Congress? Is it necessary to stoop to the level of Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party to criticize BJP or Narendra Modi, because calling BJP a B-team of the Congress will infer that Narendra Modi is a STOOGE of the very Nehru-Gandhi dynasty he’s so vehemently opposed to and Nehruvian consensus which he’s determined to dismantle? 

One of the most important slogans which, I think, helped the BJP immensely to secure as many as 282 Lok Sabha seats was- सब का साथ सब का विकास (Cooperation of all, development for all). Besides, "Development for all and appeasement for none" has been the stated position of the BJP so far as secularism and appeasement politics is concerned. And if this is not enough to convince you, let's discuss symbolism which the opposition often blames BJP and especially Narendra Modi to indulge in. Despite being his home constituency, Modi relinquished the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat and continued being the representative of the Varanasi, which he often calls the spiritual capital of India, in the Lok Sabha.

Soon after winning the General Elections with a thumping majority, one of the first things that Narendra Modi did was to attend the Ganga Aarti. That was, I believe, a strong signal to the core constituency of BJP that his government will not be cowed down by the secular rants and will do everything to uphold and restore the lost glory of India’s Hindu heritage. The sister-city agreement between Varanasi and Kyoto, during his Japan visit, reflects that the Hindutva constituency can rely upon Modi as a doer. Besides, Modi government has flagged the cleaning of Ganga as an issue of top priority. 

Narendra Modi, as the Prime Minister of India, did not host any Iftar party in his official residence. One should not forget that hosting Iftar parties was a precedent which even Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee deemed fit to follow. Moreover, Prime Minister Modi did not attend the Iftar Party hosted by the President of India.

Do you recall a Prime Minister of India, other than Narendra Modi, paying a visit to the Pashupatinath Mandir and flaunting the Tilak of Sandalwood on his forehead with pride? So what was that- a face saving gesture? It was the Congress to demand a debate on communal violence and BJP deployed one of its senior most MPs, Yogi Adityanath, as the principal speaker from the BJP. What’s so face saving gesture in this? Yeah, the Modi government did announce to allocate some resources to the Madrassas and while in the wake of rise of global Jihadist activities, one may tend to criticize it, is the criticism really justified? Did Modi not make it amply clear during the campaign trail itself when he said that let Muslims hold Koran in one hand and Computer in the other? So what is this fuss really all about? I do accept that the RTE on is a blatantly communal legislation and the Modi government must get rid of it as early as possible. I would go one step ahead and say that the government needs to do away with the article 30. But should I pass the judgment in mere three months, or say hundred days of the new government assuming the office?

I’m sure that people must have paid keen attention to the appointments approved by the Modi government so far. Be it the post of ICHR, or governors, or the chief of NCW; the appointments themselves are self-explanatory. What’s the use of speaking to people disgruntled for one or the other reason? It is the people of India, and not those individuals, who have elected Modi with such a thumping majority and Modi is answerable to them. The first thing Modi needs to focus on is the economy, because everything but the empty stomach can wait. Do I even need to explain why it is so important to create as many jobs as possible in a very short span of time? Unemployment first shakes the self-confidence and later on lures one to indulge in criminal and sometimes anti-national activities. In order to save the society from becoming a hub of the criminals, Modi has to prioritize the revival of economy and job creation.

While the op-ed space is full of content which amply shows that the work-culture under the Modi-regime has tremendously been improved, to call the BJP under Modi-Shah duo uninspiring one has to either belong to the opposition or disgruntled for whatever reason. From the presence of all ministries in the social media to the feedback mechanism in terms of MyGov portal, everything is exceptionally creative and inspiring.

I do believe that the Hindu temples must be freed from the clutches of the government. And the BJP must devise some way to ensure that the temple committees, while being autonomous bodies, consist of individuals of the highest integrity. But the demand that the government should simply handover the control of temples into the hands of a select people seems impractical and if that happens, the government of the day will be put in the fix over allegations of all kind. This is a serious issue which needs to be deal with extreme care. After all, it is about the wealth worth billions.

It will be an insult to the wisdom of the Indian electorate, who rose beyond caste, creed, language, and perhaps religion, to suggest that he did not vote for development which was the central theme of the entire election campaign spearheaded by Narendra Modi. Yes, Hindutva undercurrent was there, and no one is denying its contribution. But would the voters have voted in BJP by such an overwhelming majority had Hindutva been the central theme of the election campaign? I guess not.

I cannot resist laughing when someone talks about a Hindu lobby and that too to pressurize BJP to push for the Hindutva agenda. Unlike others, I do believe that RSS is quite competent to push for the Hindu agenda and VHP to provide the muscle necessary to pressurize at least the BJP government to push for the Hindutva agenda. Had it been that easy, I don’t think there was any reason for not penetrating the Congress through such a Hindu lobby; pressurize it to abandon its anti-Hindu policies. Let’s not talk about time till 1998; what stopped committed and influential group of Hindus to form a Hindu lobby and pressurize Congress during 2004 to 2014, i.e. during UPA-I or UPA-II regime? Please don’t tell me that no one could think of it before.

To sum up, the mandate that Modi government has secured is massive, and so are the expectations from the government. The first thing that even a devout Hindu would want the Prime Minister to mend is the economy. Moreover, one shouldn’t forget that the mandate is for 5 years, i.e. 1800 days; it’s hardly been 150 days, not even the 10 per cent of the time-span BJP has been authorized by the people of India to rule them.

PS: While I was about to blog this rejoinder, I came across the news that Rajasthan is undoing the RTE.

Democratic traditions of ancient India

India is the largest democracy in the world and continues to grow despite the predictions of the demons of gloom and doom. It is an ancient land of mind-boggling cultural diversity and plurality; an “eternal India juxtaposed against the India of today” as indicated by High Commissioner Malay Mishra in his recent lecture at UTT. Some commentators are prone to proclaiming that democracy in India is a British inheritance despite glaring evidence to the contrary. The Westminster style of democracy is, without doubt, a British inheritance but the principle of democracy existed as a core value in ancient India. 

A much touted feature of modern democracy is the meeting of citizens by leaders, existing and prospective, to discuss and to receive feedback on issues that impact on community and national life; be they town meeting or consultations. They were also a feature of ancient India. A clear example of this is described in the holy Ramayan of the poet/saint Tulsidas when Lord Ram assembled the citizens to engage in dialogue. He indicated very clearly that they, the citizens, were free to disagree with him but he would very much appreciate their reasons for so doing so as to enable him to fully understand and appreciate their point of view. 

Here is a king of what was probably the most powerful and prosperous kingdom of the ancient world listening to the views of his citizens, even if they disagreed with him. This represents the highest ideals of democracy as freedom of speech, which includes the right to criticise official policy, is the most fundamental democratic right, without which there can be no democracy.  This right to a dissenting view, not tolerated at all in monotheistic traditions, has been and continues to be a core feature of Hinduism which embraces spiritual democracy. 

It could come as no surprise then that Hindus feel very comfortable with democracy. This is evidenced by adherence to the ideals of democracy by Hindu communities wherever and in whichever countries they are domiciled, be they in the majority or minority. There is no founder of or starting date of Hinduism and hence it is named the Eternal Religion (Sanatan Dharma). The Rik Veda, the world’s oldest religious text, which is at least four to five thousand years old, is accepted as the authoritative source by Hindus. 

In light of this, attempts to separate or alienate the Vedas and Vedic traditions from Hinduism are incomprehensible and have no basis whatsoever. To say that there was no Shiva in Vedic times but Rudra, the representation of whom is not found in subsequent Hindu texts, is to display an incredible ignorance of the evolution of Hinduism, the prime mover of which is the right sacrosanct in Hinduism, the right to dissent. This led to the continuing evolution of the concept of the Supreme Being.

This would appear blasphemous to those who adhere to the monotheistic traditions who hold fixed inflexible positions. But the reality that mankind’s knowledge and understanding is ever increasing makes such a position “blasphemous” to those who believe in the right to dissenting views and acknowledge that we must update our views in light of new and irrefutable evidence and that the world is not static. 

Interestingly, the Dalai Lama has indicted that Buddhism should be prepared to accept new evidence even if it contradicts existing beliefs/practices. This is consistent with the position taken in Hinduism that our present knowledge is incomplete. This is vividly illustrated by the cautionary statement in the Vedas to the effect that what is contained in them is not all that there is to know. 

Ancient India, the fountain of the core democratic ideal of the right to dissent, provided the basis and foundation for the democratic India of today. The very idea of a Mother India, the axis upon which the independence movement sat, has its origins in Hinduism. Hindus, since time immemorial, have propagated and practised religious tolerance, even when they were subjected to the onslaught of intolerant invaders. 

It is both ironic and tragic that modern India, in seeking its place in the modern world, seems intent on denying and demeaning the very core values that made it what it is. It is the sincere plea emanating from the depths of the heart of this grandson of India that my glorious heritage be given its just due.

Prakash Persad is the director of Swaha Inc

THOUGHTS

Right to dissent is a core value of democracy.

The right to dissent is central to Hinduism.

Modern India must cease and desist from denying its Hindu roots.

Jab We Met

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month of August and folks, especially the youth, celebrate it as the friendship day. While I do not like to celebrate such ‘festivals’, I do not take any objection regarding the symbolism they brandish. On the contrary I believe that symbolism, to an extent, is essential in order to express your feelings and let your loved ones know how much you care for them. It is another matter that I don’t believe in doing things for the heck of it and hence refrain from greeting people on this day. However, I do reciprocate when someone wishes me. I know that the friendship day is over now; nevertheless, I am going to narrate a tale of friendship in order to celebrate the friendship day this year.

The internet, and especially the social media, has indeed made the world a global village. And the most beautiful part of it is- we can interact with people of our choice and befriend them even if they are thousands of miles away from us. It is not that I am fed up of people in my life and hence I seek refuge in the virtual world. Nevertheless, it is true that of all the people I know in my real life, no one likes to discuss the subjects or topics which intrigue me the most. Thanks to twitter, and to an extent Yahoo, I have come in contact with like-minded people and now I discuss those subjects or topics with them. Yeah we have a small group of like-minded people on twitter and we do enjoy interacting with one another.

But the tale of friendship is of Mr. Mahesh Jagga and me, and there is something which makes this friendship special, a very special one. Mahesh and I first met exactly a year back on twitter when I used to tweet from a parody account and that’s how all it started. I was anonymous to the world then. Many people, including Mahesh, thought that I was an aged person. And the funny part is- I used to believe that Mahesh must be in his late thirties or early forties. Both of us were wrong and that’s another funny thing. We interacted a lot with each other and eventually we discovered that on certain issues we were on the same wavelength. It wouldn't amount to exaggeration if I say that it was the #NaMo4PM campaign that brought us together. In fact, I owe all my friends on twitter to two things- one is that parody account and the other is #NaMo4PM campaign.

With the passage of time, we began to know each other personally and that was the time when I found a great friend in him. We met each other recently. It was indeed an experience I would never forget throughout my life. It is easy to interact with a person online as all you’re going to receive or send is words. But it’s not the same when you meet that person in real. Besides there was the generation gap to make both of us feel awkward. But to my surprise, that awkwardness didn't last even for five minutes. This was quite unusual for me, as I am not someone who goes on talking to people in the very first meeting. But then it was Mahesh. We went on and on and talked about many different subjects. But that wasn’t new for either of us, as we have been doing this for a year. Eventually he did ask me why I was demented; and he didn't stop there. He heard me out and then talked to me in a manner that boosted my morale. When I went to meet him, I was a bit deranged but after meeting him, I now feel a bit confident. Thanks to him, I am now rejuvenated and battle ready to face hardships of the life yet again. To say the least, he has rejuvenated the sanguine me.

This was the tale of friendship of two fellows who met each other on twitter and became good friends. I still do not know why I wrote this all, but as said in the beginning, I do not mind symbolism if it’s not for the heck of it.