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India's Surreal "Secularism" For
several weeks, the nation's foreign-owned media channels have been
bombarding the Indian public with doctored tapes of election speeches
purported to have been made by BJP's candidate from Pilibhit - Varun
Gandhi. Just last year, when video-tape evidence emerged of a
vote-buying scandal of gargantuan proportions that implicated the
Congress in serious and criminal impromprieties, these same media
channels refused to air the videos or pass any judgement on the
criminal behaviour of the Congress-led government. But in the case of Varun Gandhi, the common dictum of "innocent until
proven guilty" was conveniently ignored. Not only was he given few
chances to respond, all the English translations (of even what he was
supposed to have said) were crude (and deliberate) distortions. Yet,
in interviews, Varun Gandhi appeared thoughtful, mature and intelligent
- hardly the crude rabble-rouser that was portrayed by the "secular"
media. Unlike the alarming spin that was put on the whole episode, he
came across as engagingly disarming and convincingly honest. He calmly noted how he had prefaced his remarks with the key word "aatank" which was cynically edited out from the broadcasted videos. "Aatank" - the hindi word for terrorism had set the context and tone for his election speech. Moreover,
he had pointedly targeted criminal and illegitmate elements of society
who dared to "raise their hand against Hindus". "Haath Uthana"
or raising ones hand is a commonly understood figure of speech that
typically refers to any hostile act that causes harm or violence. Hindi
speakers know fully well the use of (muhavaras) metaphors in colloquial speech. "Haath Katna" - "cutting the hand" - was a continuation of the metaphor. (Even in English there is an expression "don't cut off the hand that feeds you" where the act of cutting of the hand is entirely metaphorical and refers to terminating the relationship.) The meaning of Varun Gandhi's electoral remarks was quite clear. He was prepared to do what it took to prevent hostile acts by criminal terrorists. As he further
noted, he had never mentioned any specific community by name. Yet,
such was the guilty conscience of India's perverse political class that
they all heard the word "Muslim" even where it was never used. As the distortions grew, context disappeared: "Haath Uthana" was mysteriously translated into "Ungali Uthana" - i.e. raising ones finger - which means something entirely different. "Haath Katna" (cutting hand) became "Gala Katna" (cutting throat). Truth
in translation was abandoned, and outright lies were invented to the
point where suddenly everyone was talking about how Varun Gandhi had
spoken of cutting off the necks of all Muslims. The criminal terrorist
that Varun Gandhi had alluded to had now morphed into "all Muslims" and
Varun Gandhi's opposition to hostile acts against Hindus had been
diabolically projected as an unprovoked threat against "innocent" and
"helpless" Muslims. As
a groundswell of sympathy and enthusiasm emerged for the falsely
maligned young leader, "secular" political leaders scrambled to make
heard their calls for Varun Gandhi's immediate electoral disbarment and
arrest. The lynch mob was now ready - (not to tackle the very real and
debilitating scourge of Islamic terrorism) - but to emasculate any
Indian who dared confront the evil that lurked on Indian soil - that
had already taken the lives of thousands of hapless Indian citizens. Even
as known criminals such as Salman Khan and terrorist gun-runner Sanjay
Dutt were out on bail and campaigning or seeking permission to run as
electoral candidates, Varun Gandhi was denied bail and compelled to
surrender to judicial custody as though he were a common criminal. Notwithstanding the sentiments of millions of citizens who were consumed with
outrage against the vile shenanigans of the Indian "secular" mafia. Madam Mayawati chose to react with an iron fist. While
the numerous aiders and abbettors of Islamic terror were basking in the
fresh air and bright sun of Azamgarh, an Indian political leader who
had attempted to raise the issue of peoples security had been placed
behind bars on trumped up charges. In India's fiction of a "secular"
state, the whistle-blower was in jail - the criminals were free. But
this was not something that would consume the Indian media's attention.
If honest government workers were being coerced into paying
astronomical bribes to Mayawati's political agents, that was not news
during an election campaign. If Mayawati's achievements in office were
hard to spot - that too was not news. If the government of the Dalit
"Messiah" was failing in the provision of BPL (Below Poverty Line)
cards to the poor in UP - that too was not newsworthy. After all, she
had the blessing of Prakash Karat - India's "secular" Ayatollah. Instead
of exposing the abject poverty of ideas that benights India's
caste-obsessed politicians like Mayawati or Mulayam, or the Goonda Raj
that inevitably results from their political avarice, India's "secular"
brigade had behaved like pimps for the underworld. What
causes the Indian polity to degenerate into such depths of depravity?
Has the Indian psyche become so numbed by centuries of Islamic
invasions and conquest that the ghosts of their former marauders still
enslaves their better instincts? Did they become so inured to bowing
and groveling before their former masters that they cannot stop even
now? Why must every Hindu impulse for safety and security twisted into something contemptuous and dangerous? Why must every attempt at Hindu resurgence be squelched as though it were a psychopathic crime? Has any
leading Muslim politician spoken out against the growth of criminal
mafias and terror cells in Azamgarh? Has any "secular" Indian politician
demanded pro-active investigation into such and other terror cells
that have emerged throughout the Gangetic plain and elsewhere in the
nation. Have any hate-spewing Islamic clerics ever been called to justice? Yet
- every instance of Islamic obduracy and paranoia (vis-a-vis terror investigations) is given enormous
weight and importance. Pro-Jehadi politicians are at liberty to spread all
manner of rumors and conspiracy theories so as to obstruct even
unbiased and objective criminal investigations into links that some
Muslims have with terror cells and terrorist activities. Indian "Human
Rights" activists routinely side with Muslims who resist
questioning and refuse police cooperation as though the victims of
terror have no "human rights" whatsoever? In India's surreal "secularism" right is wrong and wrong is right. That
is why, perhaps, every gallery of modern art in India has on display
paintings of severed limbs and floating organs in hideously colored
space. The "secular" Indian artist may not quite know why he or she is
drawn to painting scenes - ghastly and nightmarish, but with a brain
full of surreal "truths" - it is little wonder. The
"secular" Indian has developed a taste for the surreal and the ugly.
And should the rare individual seek to present a hint of truth or
beauty, he or she had better develop nerves of steel, because in
India's surreal "secularism" nothing can be more seditious than
truth or beauty. Perhaps that is why another truth teller - Taslima Nasreen was turned away. Welcome to "Secular" India (but only if you are a surrealist). Related Essays: Vote Bank Politics Quotas Versus Merit Back for other selections from South Asian Voice for other articles on issues confronting India and the region. Also see South Asian History or Topics in Indian History for relevant essays that shed some light on the history of the subcontinent. (If you liked our site, or would like to help with the South Asian Voice project and help us expand our reach, please click here)
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