Aravind SundaramA relative of a political leader representing a dominant party in South India made a controversial statement. She said, “If you are to arrest our religious leaders, take permission from our religious leader in Europe.” Yes, this is a threat to the government of India by the alleged minorities.
Rather, the word controversy is becoming normal. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is keen on making a provocative statement. While many of us shoo it off, at one point in time, we will have to take it seriously.
Some of you may have seen the movie Shikara. Well, at one point it is just a love story. But, this movie depicts the violence against Kashmiri Pandits to drive them out of their homeland in the 1990s. In one scene, a milk vendor is telling the female protagonist, “Kashmir will belong to us now. You folks will soon be driven out.”
It was the then neighboring country’s women leader who was provoking the minorities in Kashmir. Similarly, some forces are provoking the alleged minorities in Tamil Nadu now. But, who are these forces? What is their ultimate goal? What do these alleged minorities need to stop this hatred?
Overseas Financial Assistance?
I remember a friend of mine telling about the activities of a minority religion in coastal villages. In the wee hours of the night, boats arrive from nowhere, drop something, and vanish. Some allege it as a Hawala racket and some allege that the religious institutions on the coast are receiving funds from their masters.
Then, the religious institution offers loans small and big to the local population. Some repay and some do not. Rather the institution extracts some activity-based favors from them. In all possible ways, unaccounted illegal funding is channelized to the local population through these religious institutions.
However, this is a conspiracy theory. We are not sure if it really happens. But, such statements made by the alleged minorities are synchronizing well with this theory. Those activity-based favors are possibly repeatedly making provocative statements against the Government of India.
Intellectual Slavery Exists in their Mind?
Regional parties have one thing in common i.e., Anti-Hindi motto. Be it a regional party in West Bengal or Tamil Nadu, they readily oppose Hindi language. But they are more welcoming to English or French or even German. But not Hindi!
Moreover, a faction of the population in these states are heeding to these thoughts too. When a politician does it, they all know it is for political mileage. Even if an extremist group does it, we can presume the same reason. But when a chunk of the population (alleged minorities) does it, then we may have to think twice.
And when we do so, all we can presume is that people are succumbing to intellectual slavery. Watching an international TV series is fanciful, adopting their lifestyle is fanciful, and forgetting your identity is fanciful too. This is how people in these states are becoming intellectual slaves to their masters overseas. Ironically, they don’t even know who their masters are.
Enormous Disrespect to Nation?
Be it the protest against the pro-national policies or against the right wing leaders of the country, minorities are the first to participate. In some cases, they are the first to organize. This raises questions on their love for the nation. Well, some people are ready to come up and call it as moral policing. New York Times called it as muscular nationalism.
A former athlete representing one of these minority religion is talking against the nation. Karnam Malleswari who won Bronze for India in Sydney Olympics is now heading the Delhi Sports University. Why can’t this athlete too provide guidance to young athletes and empower them?
Nothing can be Done Unless they Care for the Country
Patriotism cannot be forced on anyone. Moreover, it is the choice of an individual. But the least we all could expect from the non-patriotic folks is not to indulge in anti-national activities. Most importantly, they must not indulge in activities that is slowing the nation’s growth. If they think about the country, then we will always remain as a developing nation.
Read More on Anti-Nationalism and Atrocities of Religious Minorities in India.
Aravind Sundaram
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