Absurd protests on intolerance

For the past close to one month there have been innumerable protests by secular intellectuals against the increasing intolerance of Hindu hardliners. The protesters include artists, painters, writers, film personalities and now the much celebrated national award winning film makers.

Before commenting on the Hindu hardliners, it would be worthwhile to check why is it happening only now? Why it did not happen earlier? Or did it happen earlier and nobody paid much of attention? There are so many dimensions to this. Let us take a deep dive in history.

Hindu religion or culture whatever it may be, dates back to over 5000 years. It was the only religion then. Rather it would not be wrong to say that nobody at that time knew what a religion really meant!!! It was only the culture and way of life which was developed by trial and error over long time of many centuries. Man learnt farming, started developing a kind of phobia for rains, floods, fire, strong winds, etc... and started to worship the "power" behind these natural phenomena. Cow was treated as a "best friend" as it gave almost everything mankind required. It gave milk to build health, cow dung and urine became good fertilizers. Bulls worked in farms to produce food grains. Thus a culture of not killing a "best friend" developed with man who otherwise was a carnivorous creature.

Over a period of time different religions flourished world over and in India Islam gained prominence along with Hinduism, Buddhism, etc... There were several invaders form middle east, the Ghaznis, the Abdallys, Timurs, etc... They came and looted the golden sparrow not only of its gold and wealth but also took back with them the women as their jananis. And then came Babur who established the Mughal dynasty way back in 15th century. The Mughal Dynasty ruled India for over 350 years till its last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. All this while the Hindu community in India was reluctant to resist as they were totally divided into princely states. They lacked the confidence and a divided India was easy to capture and other prominent reason that Mughals ruled India for so long was due the peace loving nature of the Hindus.

In 1947 with partition based on religious lines, many Muslims migrated to Pakistan. A few who loved India stayed back and decided that India was their homeland for many centuries and it will be forever. However the partition bought with it a genocide of people from both religions, mostly Hindus coming back from Pakistan to India. 

Congress government took over and ruled the country for over 85% time of past 68 years. In this period it not only became impossible to proudly say "I am a Hindu" but it became a national shame to admit to be Hindu. Talking about Hinduism attracted sharp criticism from all quarters. The policies of Congress government were clearly minority centric and majority Hindu who voted for Congress was the electorate who was illiterate, poor and heavily dependent on government food through the PDS system. However the so called poor Hindus became literate, well educated, well cultured and above all wealthy in past 68 years and gained a significant confidence which was dented all along in Congress rule. In between people like Shri Balasaheb Thakeray, LK Advani did try to unite Hindus under one flag with glimpses of success.

On the other hand, Muslims who ruled this country for over 350 years were probably frustrated at the sight that people on whom they ruled for so long are now in position of power. Muslims were not really at the mercy of these erstwhile servants or slaves but then the feeling slowly but steadily built in their minds. Further the policies of government were to protect the religious nature, personal law of Muslims which further pushed them to be more hardcore religious. All this has costed the Muslim community to a great deal as compared to the Hindus. Hindus chose to ignore the religion factor and focused on self development and gained power, status in the country by sheer hard work. Those Muslims who gave importance to self development rather than religion too are in a good shape however the number is quite small.

All the while for over 1000 years Hindus have been crushed by some or the other way and have actually tolerated the intolerance and atrocities of other communities. They went on tolerating till they found a messiah in form of Mr. Narendra Modi. This man changed it all. Hindus re-invented their strength, economical, intellectual and physical (count of Hindus) might after Godhra and slowly steadily started thinking otherwise. They were fed up with Congress and many other parties for their anti Hindu and pro minority policy. What happened in 2014 is history and in front of us.

Whatever religious intolerance if any is happening today from the hardliner Hindus is due to the frustration of past 1000 years of tolerance the Hindus have shown to various other religions. Does this mean that this so called intolerance is going to remain forever? A BIG NO!!! I am of the opinion that this intolerance will increase till there is a resistance from the so called intellectuals, seculars and liberals. And if at all this so called intolerance increases for some time, there is nothing to worry. Each country in its history faces such periods which are only a passing phase, surely for the tolerant Hindu culture. The more this intolerance is resisted, the more time it will prevail. Hindus today are too busy in developing themselves to be intolerant for long time. Therefore its only a short time when Hindus will realize that this cannot go on for long. But how long? That decision lies in the hands of the so called intellectuals, writers, film personalities who decide to resist and are hell bent to prove the Hindus wrong and are teaching Hindus, tolerance, who have tolerated injustice in their own country for over 1000 years.

The questions such as "why were these so called liberals, writers, etc... silent on 1984?" are being asked now from the hardliner Hindus as a counter to the lessons of tolerance. The double standards of these so called liberals and seculars stand exposed when they chose to keep silent when Taslima Nasreen was prevented in West Bengal, AR Rahman cancelled his concert in Delhi, some guy was murdered in Karnataka, there was no debate similar to Dadri and innumerable occasions in the past.

The more these liberals and seculars resist and return their awards, the more the Hindus will be provoked to be intolerant. Therefore it is my opinion that the intolerance from hardliner Hindus will fade as soon as the liberals and seculars start tolerating some of the intolerant Hindus for some time. Resistance creates more resistance and this time around the 1000 year steam has more power than liberals and seculars. Although the normal tolerant Hindu who is not a part of this Hindu intolerance physically, there is a sense of support in his mind for these hardliner Hindus. They may not come out in open and endorse these hardliners or even may oppose in public. But then they will have something different in mind to show in ballot box. Till there is intolerance towards the intolerance of hardliner Hindus, there is no threat to Modi government. The quicker the Congress and opposition of Modi realize this, the better chance they have to gain more seats in many upcoming elections. Otherwise all put together they will be reduced to number of seats which wont cross double digits.

Why is it necessary for BJP to lose Bihar election?

2015 cricket world cup was a disappointing affair for India. India won all their league matches, won also the quarter final. All the matches were won comprehensively without much of a scare from any team and Indian team was actually not tested for their vulnerabilities till semi final. In semifinal a determined Australia exposed all the short comings of team India and handed a heartbreaking and insulting defeat.

Now what connection does Indian politics or BJP or Bihar elections have with cricket world cup?

Though Bihar assembly election is not cricket world cup and BJP is not playing a cricket match with Nitish-Lalu grand alliance, there are some similarities.

BJP has been on a winning spree since last 3 years with wins in Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand and partly in Maharashtra, Punjab, AP and J&K.

Even if BJP is in a coalition government in various states, they never shied away from their ambition of being 100% on their own in those states. In J&K that seems remote possibility due to their ideology. They won almost entire Jammu but then Kashmir valley remains to be won and with all sort of happenings mostly bad, it seems highly unlikely for BJP to win a single seat in the valley.

Central government in captaincy of Mr. Narendra Modi has been taking various measures to revive the economy, few actions on black money, make in India, cleanup India, clean Ganga, etc... It is a fact that all the actions are yet to bear substantial fruits for BJP to show to the people.

However there are various happenings in the country which suggest that slowly and steadily BJP is gaining arrogance in their behavior. This is especially true in case of Maharashtra where they treat Shiv Sena in a manner as if they are not required. Interviews of CM and other BJP ministers suggest that they are least bothered about Sena. This was evident when the government did not invite Mr. Uddhav Thakeray for the stone laying function of memorial of Dr. Ambedkar. The venue was just at 10 minute drive from Matoshri and yet the invitation was not extended.

   

Similar treatment was handed to NDA member parties in Bihar. Not all parties were happy with the seat sharing formula still acceptance was almost snatched from these parties by BJP. The loyal guys like Shatrughan Sinha are kept out of the campaign which is going to hurt BJP like anything.

The captain of Bihar team, the BJP CM candidate was not announced before the elections. This is going to probably a big point as the grand alliance already has Nitish Kumar as a CM candidate.

Above all the campaigning is done by none other than PM himself. The BJP does not have a local regional face under whom they can claim to be fighting the election. Sushil Modi is a face which could have been announced but then the caste arithmetic does not fit. Moreover he looks more like a sober candidate who may not have the fire power to take on the likes of Nitish who is immensely popular among women. Most women feel they are secure under Nitish and even if Lalu has joined hands with Nitish, Nitish can keep a tight check on him.

On other hand, BJP's situation is just like team India in the world cup. They are completely leveraging on a miracle by Mr. Modi and expecting to win a tough battle. The 1.25Lac crore package announced by Modi has had little effect on people. People may tend to say, give the package to Nitish and he will do a better job for the people of Bihar.

BJP like team India did not face any tough opposition in past 3 years. Their ability to work against a formidable opposition is not tested in last 3 years. People were fedup of Congress and saw a choice of BJP and voted for them. They infact voted for none other than Modi.

BJP is in no mood to understand this and is over confident of their win. Just like team India left out Gambhir, Yuvraj, BJP team left out Shartrughan Sinha. And yet they are confident of winning.

By losing this election Mr. Amit Shah will come to terms to understand the ground reality and fast eroding support of Mr. Narendra Modi. Things will change in states like Maharashtra where partners like Shiv Sena are being looked down by BJP. The senior BJP team would have to rethink their strategy to win UP in 2017. The other states where BJP is in power would be compelled to give up controversial agenda and focus solely on development. 

To win UP, not lose other BJP ruled states and win 2019 Loksabha elections, its inevitable that BJP loses Bihar. Otherwise BJP will repeat team India's performance in cricket world cup.

Pakistan diplomacy at its best.

Pakistan Cricket Board is running through financial crisis for long time now. They need at least 30 Billion Pakistani Rupees for meeting their expenses on their domestic cricket in next 8 years. They are not generating enough as almost all countries have refused to visit Pakistan on security grounds and other political problems. With India – Pak series (6 to be played in Pak and 2 in India in next 8 years) they were to generate 300M$ in 8 years which would give them a very big financial boost. International fixtures particularly with India are of utmost importance for them as these matches are seen as a mini war and people, poor or rich throng to stadiums, watch matches on television and help boost revenues of PCB. These matches are their sole source of money. There is no doubt that some of the money will be spent on Indian reporters and Indian pro-Pak people who provide oxygen to Pakistani efforts of sports, cultural diplomacy. Now look at the revenue generated and finance they need for funding their domestic cricket. They are almost same. Means what? Pakistan is greatly dependent on India and other countries for keeping their domestic cricket alive. In other words, its Pakistan who need India and not India who need Pakistan.

However, the picture in India is different. It’s the BCCI who signed a MOU with PCB to play 8 series in coming 8 years. BCCI even promised that they won’t back out. Back out is possible only in case government denies permission. This was done during the Congress rule and mostly every person in BCCI and also Congress government knew that the next government will be a non-Congress government. Thus, a “good game” was played and entire onus of continuation or cancellation of any India-Pakistan bilateral series was conveniently put on would be BJP government.

Many people (including me) had questions about visa provided to these visitors. Shahryar Khan came on diplomatic visa and passport, Najam Sethi came on some old multiple entry visa which was still valid. Both these visas were provided by then Congress government. If Shahryar Khan was coming on a private visit on behalf of PCB, he should have come on his normal Pakistan citizen passport with either old valid visa or a fresh visa. The very fact that he came on diplomatic passport indicates that he was acting on behalf of Pakistan government.

Now why did these guys visit only now? That was due to the invitation of BCCI newly elected president Mr. Shashank Manohar. Such was the commitment of BCCI that they even promised to PCB that in any case BCCI won’t back out and cause a financial loss to PCB!!! Wow, what a great deal of friendship.

So it was not government of India lead by PM Modi who arranged these things. They were planned by then Congress government to happen during the BJP government.

Now let’s look at these events from Pakistan side.

Now that Pakistan is cornered in the world on various aspects such as cease fire violations, terrorism, etc… Nobody paid any attention to the K – rhetoric in UN meeting, they needed something to bail them out and cry of being victimized unnecessarily by Indian government or any other political party (mostly Shiv Sena). They caught hold of people like Sudheendra Kulkarni, bollywood actors, journalists and hatched a diplomatic conspiracy. They arranged shows of Ghulam Ali (already immensely popular in India due to his Gazals), book launch by another former diplomat Kasuri, plays of Pakistani artists, etc… They already knew that Shiv Sena is not going to spare them as they have seen the history of Sena. They also know that all news channels are mostly against Sena for their anti-north Indians stand. Thus clever Pakistani diplomats make use of this and hatch a plan to purposely schedule shows and meetings in Mumbai. BJP is fighting with Sena in Maharashtra on various issues even if they are in a coalition government. Pakistanis knew that BJP needs to settle scores with the Sena. BJP fall in the trap and simply don’t provide any security for any shows, BCCI headquarters, etc… They did provide security to Kasuri’s book launch but not before Sena blackened the face of Sudheendra. By doing that they wanted to score some points over Sena but what happened was completely different.

Pakistan made a huge hue and cry about Sena on international front. Indian media helped them do so. And eventually a message went to the world that Indian government won’t protect people whom they invited. Now on international front India goes on back foot against Pakistan and now has to either play or say we are not going to play. If we play, there is a backfiring from Sena and many other common citizens like me who ask government why they grant visa to Pakistanis. People even ask Mr. Narendra Modi about his election campaign promise to teach Pakistan an unforgettable lesson. One the other hand If we decide not to play, Indian government is seen as a non-co-operating government inspite of Indian people’s and “sincere and peaceful” efforts from Pakistan. Further they also cry that look there are many “sensible” Indian citizens who support our peace cause but Indian government is not co-operating.

Meanwhile Pakistan keep violating the ceasefire with cross border firing and killing our soldiers and civilians. They are also are free to tell to the international community that violations are made by Indian troops not from Pakistani army. By saying that they also tell the world how India is not at all worth trusting when it comes to sports and cultural diplomacy. We (Pakistan) are making every effort to normalize things with “liberal, sensible” Indian citizens and Indian government encourages Shiv Sena and other extreme parties. Further they also make issues of Dadri, rapes, and other incidents.

Indian media either does not understand or does not want to understand the conspiracy of Pakistan. And why does the Indian media not understand this? Well the Indian media is not Indian at all. Each and every news channel is owned by a multinational media company which is not Indian. They have their own agenda of business and making money. As long as the Indian government supports them to make money, they support the government. The moment they see that there are some restrictions on their money making, they start to talk negative about the government. In any case they are not at all concerned about India, common people, rapes, killings. Money is the sole factor.

Therefore, in the entire episode there is an unseen hand of Pakistan government who just by simple actions created a negative atmosphere about India to the world. Everyone, the media, Sudheendra, bollywood, even intelligent BJP fell for trap. Only and only Sena has been understanding this for long long time. And they retaliate fiercely against any such Pakistani effort.

All above points clearly indicate the root cause of the issue:

1.       Congress government granting long term visas to Pakistanis.

2.       BCCI’s unnecessary interest to arrange a bilateral series. They have enough money already.

3.       So called private citizens, bollywood, etc… being pro-PAK.

Shiv Sena’s act is just the fruit of all above wrong doings by somebody else.

How does Indian government prevent all this pro-Pak talks?

Simple measures can help prevent any kind of attempts by Pakistan to intervene in India.

1.        First of all, ban all the Pakistani artists coming to India. Don’t grant them visa. Any valid visas should be cancelled and all Pakistani artists should be sent back to their countries.

2.       Any civil communication with Pakistanis should be banned completely. No facebook friendships, no tweets, etc… No cultural, sports exchanges. No book launches. No Indians travelling to Pakistan for any private ceremonies.

3.       Other than Indian government, no private person, news channel, reporters, etc… should be allowed to do any kind of communication with anyone in Pakistan.

4.       No news, positive or negative to both India or Pakistan should be aired on any Pakistan related activities apart from the news released by official government statement.

5.       A total censorship should be maintained on anything to be published about Pakistan.

That will help Indian government to corner and isolate Pakistan on each and every front and make Pakistan beg to the international community to release the ban. Otherwise whatever Indian government does internationally will be a futile as our own “Indian Pakistani” guys back-stab us. All above measure will also prevent Sena from acting the way they acted.

When people say, politics and sports, culture should not be mixed, they should not forget the following incidents:

1.       Isolation of SA from world of sports for over 2 decades. Issues were political.

2.       WI and AU refused to play WC matches in SL on security grounds. Real reason behind was human rights issue in war against LTTE.

3.       2009 England cancelled their Zimbabwe tour against Robert Mugabe’s election as President. Purely political.

4.       2008 Shahar Peer was denied visa to Dubai.

5.       USA boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics following invasion of Afghanistan by Russia.

Many more of such examples can be given to substantiate that unless countries align politically; sports, culture exchanges don’t really matter. It’s better to break ties than try maintaining rotten relations.

Now there will be a lot of “sensible” people who will criticize me for my opinions. But they need to realize that sometimes war is required to create peace. The day these sensible people understand this, India will be free from all the terrorist activities.