Acting Morally Superior

Shiv Visvanathan wrote this article saying that the killing of the writer, MM Kalburgi, and the lynching in Dadri strike at the “very idea of India”. He describes Nayantara Sahgal’s returns of her Sahitya Akademi award thus:
“The idea of India is threatened when an innocent man can be lynched with impunity merely on the suspicion of cooking beef.”
Really? Is India so fragile an idea? He means that the “idea of India” could withstand the assaults of the Ghazni’s and the Aurungzeb’s, the savagery of Partition, the countless riots since Independence and the butchering of 3,000 Sikhs in 1984 but not the lynching of one man today? Really?

Next, says Visvanathan:
“The India of ideas is threatened when writers lose the right to creativity.”
I don’t remember such outpouring when Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses was banned.

He goes on to say:
“One sees a fascism that uses food, sexuality and books as targets of a philistine government.”
Fascism? What does he have to say about Indira Gandhi’s emergency? Not one word.

At another point, he writes:
“A majoritarian regime then becomes an act of policing as classifications are created to prohibit or ban activities that the majority does not like. “
But it was OK when the then PM of India, Rajiv Gandhi overruled the court ruling in the Shah Bano case to allow the minority to do what they liked? So it’s OK to rule to suit the minorities but not the majority? What form of democracy is that?

I agree with those who say that India should be for everyone, not just the Hindus. But why the deafening silence among the so-called intellectuals on this tweet from Anupam Kher:
“No country for Kashmiri Pandits. Even after 25 years.:)”

I am amused when people say that pointing to non-BJP instances of the exact same kind of acts makes me a politician who keep saying “The other party did the same thing.” Guess what? The blatant inconsistency of those scream every time the BJP is in power and maintain pin drop silence when any non-BJP party does the exact same thing doesn’t make them morally superior in any way. Worse, it is this very inconsistency which disgusts other Hindus and drives them into the waiting arms of the BJP.

Shiv Visvanathan is very typical of the inconsistent-yet-acting-like-they-are-morally-superior crowd in India. Sadly, they are all too numerous.

Comments

  1. Ramiah KumarOctober 18, 2015 at 3:25 PM

    From my collage days on, somehow I acquired a character of taking the side of the oppressed or downtrodden. Instead of mixing up with issues, I try to gauge if there is the truth or higher probability of exploitation by a stronger person or group of someone or some group. The weaker tend to be more often defenseless against the onslaught. I always address exploitation issue only from the fundamentals. The habit is not waning with time.

    In any communal issue, therefore, I am more wary of the majority doing the exploitation more than the minority doing it. The truth is: minorities doing exploitation is very much painful indeed. To my conscience, I am not -repeat, NOT- silently siding the reverse-exploiters. Reverse exploitation is evil - absolutely. In that sense, I am impartial. But this point is difficult understood, much less accept as being genuine. Not generally believed at all.

    If your blog emerges from your conviction that there is unfairness in many people's opinions as coming out in the media, I am sure there are evidences in your favor. Many writers do lash out with partiality favoring the minority groups and dumping unfairness on the majority. I have seen much of this myself. They violate both truth and justice in doing so.

    Having said that, HAVING AGREED with the point of your blog, instead of stopping I feel like saying something different but in a way relevant to the overall issue.

    Seeing the way the majority Christians wrecked the lives of so many innocent Jews, seeing the way countries which declare their State as Islamic take it as a licence for unquestioned persecution/exploitation of non-Muslims who happen to be the minority, seeing the unacceptability of minority Tamils in Sri Lanka to the point they never could get equality of citizenship there so far, seeing many many such situations are -and were- this way all over the world........ some people believe in greater responsibility, insist on fair-doings and demand the avoidance of discrimination on the part of the majorities.

    That is not an unethical approach intrinsically and not valueless in a universal way. The stronger and bigger wield more power that can damage more. As Batman in the movie says, "With power comes responsibility". True, isn't it?

    But, once the debate on this matter starts, movement occurs away from the purpose of RIGHT BALANCE. It has no option but to take a back-seat. Ideas start swinging to extremes and anger starts taking over, "I am right and you are both wrong and unfair" by all the debaters so to speak. In truth, increasingly we believe less and less in course corrections by virtue of setting wrongs through right actions, which are not without sacrifice. We believe increasingly that harm needs answers through harm, i.e. setting wrongs through equal or more wrongs. Vengeance has a point in its favor I admit, and, this is an eternal human emotion too.

    That is not the Buddha way however. I still believe in the Buddha because he doesn't recommend caving in to any minority exploitation of the majority either. He affirms, "Act to defend yourself with great strength". He adds one thing further which is bitter for us all - do not act with a hate filled mind. Act with calmness and determination - that is the principal component of strength. Not all may agree though.

    I am convinced that the Buddha solution is bitter but it is better medicine. It is for us to to decide if we need cure with bitter medicines or side-effect after side-effect after side-effect due to turbulence-causing medicines tempting us towards fast cure. The choice is ours.

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