Yes, all those intellectuals and writers and artists, and Narayan Murthy and Raghuram Rajan are totally right. There is a atmosphere of intolerance and hatred in our country, while some would argue , there always has been so since we officially became a nation (Anti-Brahmin riots post Gandhi's assassination, Large scale evacuation of Kashmiri Pandits from their homeland, anti Hindi riots in South India, Anti South Indian sentiment in Maharashtra, Mandal Comission strife between castes, Anti Sikh Riots after Indira's assassination, 1989 Bhagalpur riots, 1992 riots, 1993 blasts, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Gharvaapsi, etc. etc. ) but obviously we are on the verge of chaos. Modi Sarkar has done nothing but bring us to a pre-Nazi Germany stage, where we are one step away from being a racist totalitarian state.
Yes situation is that bad, that if we don't actively do something about Modi govt. now, it will totally start its mind control violence machine that it has secretly built in a RSS underground base and we will all be murder-raping each other over alleged pieces of cow meat. (what? you didn't know that there was such a machine?? there obviously is, ask any secular 'krantikari', they will totally agree.) We are currently having weird sex, worshipping false idosls, and in a general state of debauchery and sin. Just like how the Hebrews were in the Old testament after crossing the Red sea. Moses had to bring the Ten commandments to bring about some discipline and sense. I suggest we all should come together and after returning our respective awards, (I am gonna return a consolation prize, I received in 3rd Std in a drawing contest),start fighting against intolerance with these 10 commandments-
1) Thou Shalt have all Gods equally- Just like how Christian missionary ('convent' in Indian context) are allowed to teach stories and prayers from the Bible, all other schools should be allowed to teach their respective religious denominations to everyone. This way we ensure students get to know other religions and also pray together.
2)Thou Shalt not have any Holy Idols- To have true freedom of speech, we must be able to criticize any historical figure we want without fear of retribution. It must be allowed to criticize Dr. Ambedkar to the same extent to which Savarkar is criticized by the Dalits. Anybody should be allowed to say anything about Shivaji Maharaj, Gandhi or Periyar. Dalit Panther propaganda should receive equal criticism for their idiotic theories as much as RSS does for its illogical interpretation of history. People should be able to draw Prophet Mohammed and the Sahabiyan, the same way M F Hussain paints Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
3) Thou Shalt kill meat the right way- Coming to the meat of the matter (No way, am not apologizing for that cheap pun), Pork just like beef should be openly marketed and allowed to sell, wherever possible, including Muslim dominated areas. Hindus should also allow beef shops in their areas too. Halal Meat (where an animal is slowly bled to death) shouldn't be the default choice of meat being served in any restaurant/fast food chain. Sikhs and many North Indians who eat meat consider Halal as Kutha meat and are not permitted to eat it. Restaurants should offer a choice before serving meat.
4) Thou Shalt totally love thy neighbor- Every builder/home owner has to have a clause in their sale deed, that states they will compulsorily lend/sell houses to Muslims in their projects. Muslims shouldn't be cordoned off to separate areas of any city. They are not diseased people to be quarantined. They should absolutely be allowed to live amongst everyone else.
5) Honor thy merit- Poverty is the only criteria of backwardness in today's world. (nope am not gonna elaborate or debate this further. It just has to happen. Period.)
6) Thou Shalt not covet a caste based and/or fair spouse- Caste based marriage portals should be banned. Indian parents shouldn't be allowed to interfere in their child's choice of life partner. Also, anyone seeking 'a fair girl' should be drowned to death in a vat of Fair and Lovely. Also, Fair and Lovely should be banned. Homosexuality to be legalized.
7) Media shalt not bear False Witness to anything- The media being the peoples voice and the fourth pillar of democracy, should not be biased against perceived right wing politicians. Leftists and Marxists should get as much scrutiny and ridicule as any religious zealots. Media should only report the news not create it. Good job done by any govt. regardless of its political inclination must not only be appreciated but celebrated. Media must understand that although Murder and hunger are incidences which need to be reported, there are also other good things like peace and victory over hunger that need the spotlight too.
8) Thou shalt not ban alcohol and sexuality - All dry days and dry states need to be banned. Alcohol is as much a part of freedom of choice as is beef. If you are going to argue about it not being something which is necessary to live, then neither is beef. Also, all the fucking right wingers should be made to read Kama Sutra a 1000 times and made to visit Khajuraho and Ellora before protesting about "ashleelta" and taking false pride in "Humari Sanskriti"
9) Remember thy History (correctly)- How many of us know about the extent of Maratha Empire post Shivaji Maharaj? Of how and why Alexander the so-called 'Great' stopped his expanding empire on the border of India? Why are we not taught about the ideologies of Bhagat Singh and Netaji as much as we are about Satyagraha? Why do we know more about Mughal empires than Ashoka or Maurya? History must be taught in a balanced manner. Am not saying we should only highlight our victories, but I am totally saying we should do exactly that. For too long, we have been taught history of our defeat, of our enslavement. History must taught to inspire a generation to be even better than before, not be depressed about our past.
10) Thou shalt get accustomed to the stench if thou can't clean the gutter- That's it. not much explanation needed. If you aren't ready to clean up your own mind, no Modi or Indira or (insert next popular politician name here) sarkar is gonna help you.
So can we do it? can we stop discriminating against others based on their surname? Can we stop cracking Sardar Jokes? If no then, why is it not ok to crack jokes against all other communities and portray them as dumb and simplistic? Can everyone (and I mean everyone, Delhiwaalahs, Bengalis, Goans, Maharashtrians, Gujratis etc. even Jharkhand people) stop hating Biharis coz they cant find jobs in their God-foresaken shitty shitty (yes that's two shitty's) state? Can a Marathi politician make a statement about Marathi pride without being portrayed as biased by the media? Can we all solemnly swear to completely embrace rationalism and stop blindly following every Guru-baba there was, is or will ever be? Can we have a uniform civil code for all religions equally?
Yes or no? as much as you would wanna say yes, the answer in practice will always be no...a big NO. So until, you cant openly scream the answer out as YES! don't come barking to me about how this sarkar is intolerant. We elected them and the ones before them. They aren't a race of aliens we choose to lead us, they are from amongst us. We become ministers and activists and reporters. So until we improve ourselves, no amount of awards returned can bring about tolerance. A govt. is supposed to bring about development, not change hearts. That's up to you.
"You are weak if you feel the need to be led" - Doug Stanhope.
Yes situation is that bad, that if we don't actively do something about Modi govt. now, it will totally start its mind control violence machine that it has secretly built in a RSS underground base and we will all be murder-raping each other over alleged pieces of cow meat. (what? you didn't know that there was such a machine?? there obviously is, ask any secular 'krantikari', they will totally agree.) We are currently having weird sex, worshipping false idosls, and in a general state of debauchery and sin. Just like how the Hebrews were in the Old testament after crossing the Red sea. Moses had to bring the Ten commandments to bring about some discipline and sense. I suggest we all should come together and after returning our respective awards, (I am gonna return a consolation prize, I received in 3rd Std in a drawing contest),start fighting against intolerance with these 10 commandments-
1) Thou Shalt have all Gods equally- Just like how Christian missionary ('convent' in Indian context) are allowed to teach stories and prayers from the Bible, all other schools should be allowed to teach their respective religious denominations to everyone. This way we ensure students get to know other religions and also pray together.
2)Thou Shalt not have any Holy Idols- To have true freedom of speech, we must be able to criticize any historical figure we want without fear of retribution. It must be allowed to criticize Dr. Ambedkar to the same extent to which Savarkar is criticized by the Dalits. Anybody should be allowed to say anything about Shivaji Maharaj, Gandhi or Periyar. Dalit Panther propaganda should receive equal criticism for their idiotic theories as much as RSS does for its illogical interpretation of history. People should be able to draw Prophet Mohammed and the Sahabiyan, the same way M F Hussain paints Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
3) Thou Shalt kill meat the right way- Coming to the meat of the matter (No way, am not apologizing for that cheap pun), Pork just like beef should be openly marketed and allowed to sell, wherever possible, including Muslim dominated areas. Hindus should also allow beef shops in their areas too. Halal Meat (where an animal is slowly bled to death) shouldn't be the default choice of meat being served in any restaurant/fast food chain. Sikhs and many North Indians who eat meat consider Halal as Kutha meat and are not permitted to eat it. Restaurants should offer a choice before serving meat.
4) Thou Shalt totally love thy neighbor- Every builder/home owner has to have a clause in their sale deed, that states they will compulsorily lend/sell houses to Muslims in their projects. Muslims shouldn't be cordoned off to separate areas of any city. They are not diseased people to be quarantined. They should absolutely be allowed to live amongst everyone else.
5) Honor thy merit- Poverty is the only criteria of backwardness in today's world. (nope am not gonna elaborate or debate this further. It just has to happen. Period.)
6) Thou Shalt not covet a caste based and/or fair spouse- Caste based marriage portals should be banned. Indian parents shouldn't be allowed to interfere in their child's choice of life partner. Also, anyone seeking 'a fair girl' should be drowned to death in a vat of Fair and Lovely. Also, Fair and Lovely should be banned. Homosexuality to be legalized.
7) Media shalt not bear False Witness to anything- The media being the peoples voice and the fourth pillar of democracy, should not be biased against perceived right wing politicians. Leftists and Marxists should get as much scrutiny and ridicule as any religious zealots. Media should only report the news not create it. Good job done by any govt. regardless of its political inclination must not only be appreciated but celebrated. Media must understand that although Murder and hunger are incidences which need to be reported, there are also other good things like peace and victory over hunger that need the spotlight too.
8) Thou shalt not ban alcohol and sexuality - All dry days and dry states need to be banned. Alcohol is as much a part of freedom of choice as is beef. If you are going to argue about it not being something which is necessary to live, then neither is beef. Also, all the fucking right wingers should be made to read Kama Sutra a 1000 times and made to visit Khajuraho and Ellora before protesting about "ashleelta" and taking false pride in "Humari Sanskriti"
9) Remember thy History (correctly)- How many of us know about the extent of Maratha Empire post Shivaji Maharaj? Of how and why Alexander the so-called 'Great' stopped his expanding empire on the border of India? Why are we not taught about the ideologies of Bhagat Singh and Netaji as much as we are about Satyagraha? Why do we know more about Mughal empires than Ashoka or Maurya? History must be taught in a balanced manner. Am not saying we should only highlight our victories, but I am totally saying we should do exactly that. For too long, we have been taught history of our defeat, of our enslavement. History must taught to inspire a generation to be even better than before, not be depressed about our past.
10) Thou shalt get accustomed to the stench if thou can't clean the gutter- That's it. not much explanation needed. If you aren't ready to clean up your own mind, no Modi or Indira or (insert next popular politician name here) sarkar is gonna help you.
So can we do it? can we stop discriminating against others based on their surname? Can we stop cracking Sardar Jokes? If no then, why is it not ok to crack jokes against all other communities and portray them as dumb and simplistic? Can everyone (and I mean everyone, Delhiwaalahs, Bengalis, Goans, Maharashtrians, Gujratis etc. even Jharkhand people) stop hating Biharis coz they cant find jobs in their God-foresaken shitty shitty (yes that's two shitty's) state? Can a Marathi politician make a statement about Marathi pride without being portrayed as biased by the media? Can we all solemnly swear to completely embrace rationalism and stop blindly following every Guru-baba there was, is or will ever be? Can we have a uniform civil code for all religions equally?
Yes or no? as much as you would wanna say yes, the answer in practice will always be no...a big NO. So until, you cant openly scream the answer out as YES! don't come barking to me about how this sarkar is intolerant. We elected them and the ones before them. They aren't a race of aliens we choose to lead us, they are from amongst us. We become ministers and activists and reporters. So until we improve ourselves, no amount of awards returned can bring about tolerance. A govt. is supposed to bring about development, not change hearts. That's up to you.
"You are weak if you feel the need to be led" - Doug Stanhope.
Absolutely right you Ambarish. Actually I was thinking on these lines but you put in words! Bravo!!!!!
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