It is open season for intolerance in India. The way this word has been bandied around in the recent months, it seems like it is something readily tangible enough to be felt with the hand. Or smell it in the air at the very least. A dark cloud hanging over the land, casting a shadow of intolerance when it is not raining down hate and drowning an individual's freedom of expression.
Going by the orchestra, led from the front by the Delhi gangsters - the Gandhis and the rest of the congress whos-whos, fanned by an indulgent media, ably supported by the dazzling Mumbai Khans to the shrill accompaniment of the award returning intelligentsia, it truly does appear that India, the once shining beacon of tolerance, the fountainhead of secular ideals and the abode of freedom of expression is under attack from a particularly violent monster.
Intolerance has always been around. As a phenomenon, it is not unique to India nor has it gone up since the change in Government in 2014. I'm no historian but I'm willing to wager that there has been a steady, healthy level of intolerance maintained and handed down the ages. And that must be true to every nation, region and culture on God's earth. Opposition to the other voice/school of thought/faith is carved into the human DNA.
Intolerance is not an issue to me, the average, law abiding, tax paying, vote-casting citizen. I have been inured to it in one way or the other in most aspects of daily life. To the middle class, of which I'm an (Adhaar) card carrying member, freedom of expression has always come with the fear of retribution from the powers that be. Being at the receiving end of intolerance - be it at an individual or institutional scale - has been a way of life. The vast majority sheds no tears over stymied voices.
Who does this intolerant climate really affect?
Let's examine the shriller voices from the intolerance bandwagon that have willingly adopted the orphan child that intolerance till recently was. Ms. Nayantara "Nobody" Sehgal. A clutch of nondescript Sahitya Akademi awardees. Sharukh Khan. Amir Khan. And now P Chidambaram - our very own Einstein in a dhoti. In other words, the fear of intolerance and illiberalism has gripped only the cream of the cream. The top half a percent that are differently enraged compared to the common lot.
Assuming for argument's sake that this is indeed true - that India has indeed become what they say it has - this could percolate down and become an issue to me if the afflicted elite group had been the true voice of the masses, echoing our concerns, fears and aspirations loudly along the corridors of power. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember any of the Khans or the Nayantara Sehgals taking up the cudgels on key issues at any point in time on a similar scale as now. Nor has this group criticized the government (of any flavor) on policies all these years as eloquently or loudly as they do so now. And please let us not talk about Satyamev Jayate here. Or PC's track record outside of spouting Thirukkurals during the presentation of the annual budget. It is really sad when artistes start taking themselves too seriously. Page 3 spilling over to page 1 doesn't come to any good. How do I know? I come from Tamil Nadu where the path to power starts from the movie studios.
So what has happened that justifies this sudden, overnight groundswell in the intolerance brigade? Ah, the change in government. Silly me! There is a different cook in the kitchen and the soup tastes funny now. The way I see it, the elite have developed a taste for a particular flavor of secularism and tolerance. One that has routinely turned a blind eye towards most things inconvenient all along. One that was quick to announce that "terror has no religion" every time a radicalized peace lover blew up innocent lives. A brand of secularism that insisted on handling with kid gloves a particular group of the population with an eye on future elections. One that conveniently swept provocation under the carpet and focused only on the reactions. One that believed in falling trees shaking the earth underneath. But alas, we live in a democracy which sometimes serves surprises when one least expects it. And the elections of 2014 turned out to be one such occasion.The biggest intolerance that I can sense is the one towards the current government. A democratically elected one with a sound mandate.
The murmurs of restlessness arising from a pampered group that happens to suffer from withdrawal symptoms having been rudely weaned from a life of being close to the seat of power. This, in my humble opinion, is what is happening. Now that it has gained enough critical mass, this river of intolerance will ebb and flow right through to 2019. Till then, I'm using my Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Going by the orchestra, led from the front by the Delhi gangsters - the Gandhis and the rest of the congress whos-whos, fanned by an indulgent media, ably supported by the dazzling Mumbai Khans to the shrill accompaniment of the award returning intelligentsia, it truly does appear that India, the once shining beacon of tolerance, the fountainhead of secular ideals and the abode of freedom of expression is under attack from a particularly violent monster.
Intolerance has always been around. As a phenomenon, it is not unique to India nor has it gone up since the change in Government in 2014. I'm no historian but I'm willing to wager that there has been a steady, healthy level of intolerance maintained and handed down the ages. And that must be true to every nation, region and culture on God's earth. Opposition to the other voice/school of thought/faith is carved into the human DNA.
Intolerance is not an issue to me, the average, law abiding, tax paying, vote-casting citizen. I have been inured to it in one way or the other in most aspects of daily life. To the middle class, of which I'm an (Adhaar) card carrying member, freedom of expression has always come with the fear of retribution from the powers that be. Being at the receiving end of intolerance - be it at an individual or institutional scale - has been a way of life. The vast majority sheds no tears over stymied voices.
Who does this intolerant climate really affect?
Let's examine the shriller voices from the intolerance bandwagon that have willingly adopted the orphan child that intolerance till recently was. Ms. Nayantara "Nobody" Sehgal. A clutch of nondescript Sahitya Akademi awardees. Sharukh Khan. Amir Khan. And now P Chidambaram - our very own Einstein in a dhoti. In other words, the fear of intolerance and illiberalism has gripped only the cream of the cream. The top half a percent that are differently enraged compared to the common lot.
Assuming for argument's sake that this is indeed true - that India has indeed become what they say it has - this could percolate down and become an issue to me if the afflicted elite group had been the true voice of the masses, echoing our concerns, fears and aspirations loudly along the corridors of power. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember any of the Khans or the Nayantara Sehgals taking up the cudgels on key issues at any point in time on a similar scale as now. Nor has this group criticized the government (of any flavor) on policies all these years as eloquently or loudly as they do so now. And please let us not talk about Satyamev Jayate here. Or PC's track record outside of spouting Thirukkurals during the presentation of the annual budget. It is really sad when artistes start taking themselves too seriously. Page 3 spilling over to page 1 doesn't come to any good. How do I know? I come from Tamil Nadu where the path to power starts from the movie studios.
So what has happened that justifies this sudden, overnight groundswell in the intolerance brigade? Ah, the change in government. Silly me! There is a different cook in the kitchen and the soup tastes funny now. The way I see it, the elite have developed a taste for a particular flavor of secularism and tolerance. One that has routinely turned a blind eye towards most things inconvenient all along. One that was quick to announce that "terror has no religion" every time a radicalized peace lover blew up innocent lives. A brand of secularism that insisted on handling with kid gloves a particular group of the population with an eye on future elections. One that conveniently swept provocation under the carpet and focused only on the reactions. One that believed in falling trees shaking the earth underneath. But alas, we live in a democracy which sometimes serves surprises when one least expects it. And the elections of 2014 turned out to be one such occasion.The biggest intolerance that I can sense is the one towards the current government. A democratically elected one with a sound mandate.
The murmurs of restlessness arising from a pampered group that happens to suffer from withdrawal symptoms having been rudely weaned from a life of being close to the seat of power. This, in my humble opinion, is what is happening. Now that it has gained enough critical mass, this river of intolerance will ebb and flow right through to 2019. Till then, I'm using my Bose noise cancelling headphones.
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