What should we eat, wear, speak?
“A good Muslim cannot be a good Indian.” Eminent
Indian journalist Arun Shourie said that in an interview he gave to Mani
Shankar Aiyer, politician and writer, in Sep 1995. 1995 was a watershed year
for the BJP. The influence of the Congress Party had dwindled significantly. The
Shiv Sena-BJP coalition came to power in Maharashtra. Gujarat gave the BJP a
decisive victory, paving the way for the party’s long-term national rise.
Three decades after Shourie
questioned the national loyalty of Muslims, the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat has
asked Indians not to speak English, eat Indian foods, and wear Indian clothes.
There is nothing wrong in promoting
indigenous culture with its languages, clothes, and foods. But how far should
the ruling party go into the kitchen, wardrobe, and living room of the
citizens? Food, clothing, and language are not merely public symbols: they are
part of daily life, shaped by family habits, personal taste, regional identity,
and individual comfort. Once politics begins to prescribe what people should
eat, wear, or speak in private, the line between cultural encouragement and
social control starts to blur, and that is when concerns about freedom become
unavoidable.
Will they now start saying things
like: Those who wear trousers cannot be good Indians or Those who relish
Chinese food cannot be good Indians?
There is a lot of intolerance on
social media these days. Too many people have become custodians and defenders
of India’s cultural pride. Their language is extremely abusive when they deal
with views different from theirs. Bhagwat’s new suggestion will only help to
make India a more intolerant country.
Do they really want to create a Hindu
Pakistan in India?
By ChatGPT
When leaders want to police what people are doing in their ordinary lives, they're just showing how weak they really are.
ReplyDeleteThey may go to the extent of imposing some of these. Already beef is banned in many states.
DeleteMohan Bhagavat is the Mouthpiece of the RSS, as fickle and spineless, as Savarkar, who was spineless and pussilanimous, to lick the Boots of the British, many times over. I have scant regard and ear for his fickle and erratic outbursts, founded not much on ideology, as on Opportunusm. If Mohan Bhagavat is an RSS Mouthpiece, Modi is a Mascot and Mask. The combination has the effect of a scarecrow on me, and the Thinking Indians. Soon, the Unthinking Indians too will start thinking.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to share your hope that more Indians will start thinking. Feeling is more likely. Feel the hypocrisy, the absurdity, meaninglessness... Thinking is what most people don't do and don't want to.
DeleteNarrow-minded and fanatical, who would love to see a divided India.
ReplyDeleteLook at this, for instance : https://youtu.be/23734gciwmY?si=aAQIab9PdQSRXIg2
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteBreeding paranoia... when, oh when, will a firm line be drawn which will hold them back... the tide turn... YAM xx
There's no sign of their going to acquire any sense!
Delete