Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Enjoy the Silence

Let's play a game. We hear a lot about India being a secular country, having free media, human rights groups are fair in fighting for the downtrodden et. al.

But are things really that fair? In the constant nagging between 'secular' (read left liberal) and 'communal' (read Hindu right) sides, are people falling into the trap of systematic double standards nourished  by Nehruvian educational system?

Here are some extracts from some tweets I sent last week. Feel free to ask these randomly with those who take pride in media's fair reporting, balanced political views and most importantly in a secular democracy which treats all its citizen equally. I would love to see comments from those after trying this 'Enjoy the silence' questionnaire with your near and dear ones. 
  1. Ask those on a vilification campaign against Narendra Modi.. "Have YOU condemned Rajiv Gandhi's Sikh slaughter 'Big Tree Falls' justification?". Enjoy the silence:)
  2. Ask those Binayak Sen supporters on a vilification campaign against Chhattisgarh govt.. "Have YOU condemned Sadhvi Pragya's torture?". Enjoy the silence:)
  3. Ask those Congress supporters "against" smear campaigns... "Have YOU condemned Sonia Gandhi calling PM Vajpayee a gaddar (traitor)?". Enjoy the silence:)
  4. Ask those shedding crocodile tears for Muslim victims in 2002 Gujarat... "Have YOU condemned 2010 Deganga Hindu killings?". Enjoy the silence:)
  5. Ask those furious against Varun Gandhi for his "hate" speech..."Have YOU condemned Rajiv's 'beti hain sardar ki, quam hain gaddar ki' hate slogan against Sikhs, who also happen to be India's minorities?". Enjoy the silence:)
  6. Ask those celebrating that Narendra Modi is probed by SIT..."How many SIT probes did Rajiv or Indira attend for THEIR administrations' numerous riots that saw 1000s of dead bodies?". Enjoy the silence:)
  7. Ask those shouting that Advani let out terrorists during Kandahar episode."Have YOU condemned Rajiv letting out Bhopal mass murderer Anderson secretly?". Enjoy the silence:)
  8. Ask those angry about violence during CPM/BJP/other party bandhs.."Have YOU condemned Sonia's thugs attacking 100s of RSS offices?". Enjoy the silence:)
  9. Ask those self-styled proud atheists asking which Engineering college Rama attended.."Have YOU done any DNA test of Mohammed's hair at Hazratbal?". Enjoy the silence:)
  10. Ask those saying Bharat Mata is "communal" during Anna Hazare episode..."Will YOU condemn Mahatma Gandhi as 'communal' for inaugurating a Bharat Mata temple in Varanasi?". Enjoy the silence:)
  11. Ask those saying Anna Hazare's fast was a "blackmail" tactic... "Will YOU condemn Nehru for fasting with Gandhi?". Enjoy the silence:)
  12. Ask those saying Terrorists have no religion..."In that case, will YOU condemn Chidambaram for 'Hindu Terror' vilification campaign?". Enjoy the silence:)
  13. Ask those saying Congress is secular..."Will YOU condemn alliance with Muslim league or Majlis-e Ittihad al-Muslimin?". Enjoy the silence:)
  14. Ask those saying because of BJP & Hindutva, 2002 Gujarat riots happened.."Which party was in power during the horrible 1969 Gujarat riot".Enjoy the silence:)
  15. Ask NDTV which says Radia tapes were not verified by Open magazine so it was unfair to write using its content... "How come you played 'unverified' Nityananda's tape 24*7 ?". Enjoy the silence:)
  16. Ask Binayak Sen support gang, that says sedition law from 1870 is 'archaic' ..."How come entire IPC is from 1860 & still not archaic?". Enjoy the silence:)
  17. Ask those opposing Savarkar portrait in parliament.."How come a jailed democracy killer, Indira's portrait still there?". Enjoy the silence:)
  18. Ask those proud that India is a secular democracy... "Will YOU condemn multiple wives privilege legally allowed for some?". Enjoy the silence:)
  19. Ask those saying doing narco test on 'Hindu terrorist' woman is justified..."How come the Paki terrorist is spared from narco?". Enjoy the silence:)
Yes, some of these are not fully connected to each other, but I can guarantee, you would be seeing a peaceful bliss in the 'secular' environment by the end of questionnaire, if someone actually survived the entire list:)

If you tried this with any media person, I would be most interested in knowing how they perceive their own neutrality after these 19 questions.

Please share your personal experiences.. and not to forget.. you are welcome to add your own 'Enjoy the silence :)' short questions!