India Today-the politics of irrelevant issues

"Defy them, defeat them"

I wanted to write about current issues in India from a long time. But as a general tendency of a graduate student, I procrastinated. And the more I procrastinated, the more "matter" I got to write, sadly.

One point of view is that a lot of things happened in India in the last few months. A state "almost" divided, the leadership in one of the national parties changed to such an extent that not a single face is recognizable now, Naxalites went berserk, a peaceful city like Pune was on the receiving end of hatred and terrorism etc. But another view is that nothing significant happened, except for the death of a few hundred innocents, which on Indian standards, has become a routine, and frankly, no one cares anymore! Now, I may appear very blunt here, may be rude too, but that is a reality. If we cared, Shivsena vs SRK wouldn't be in headlines. Look at the newspapers and websites of the last week, both things had equal media coverage. Saddest part was that while Pune went to page 5 in one day, Bal Thackery was still on Page 1!

Why did Shivsena oppose My Name Is Khan (MNIK)? Is the issue of Pakistani players in IPL so big that it conveniently overshadowed the Pune attack? When Pune was burning, Maharashtra's MLAs (both, those in power and those deprived of it) were busy hogging the limelight by either opposing or supporting MNIK. Well, as they say, where a Khan is, there is news. This was not about Shahrukh Khan; this was about a dying ideology in desperate need of some media exposure to stay alive. Media is the new Oxygen! So, though it appeared as if Shivsena and SRK were at loggerheads and he and his movie were in trouble, he actually was helping Shivsena in the hindsight.

Parties like Shivsena and BJP (except 1998-2004; for BJP) have always used the same tactics to remain in news. The "Maratha-Manoos" or the "sons of soil" issue was one example. There it was a Bachchan, now it is a Khan. Oh wait! there was a Tendulkar in between too. They criticized Tendulkar for doing a Bombay Municipal Corporation (yes, it is still Bombay, probably they forgot!) ad for free, which gave a mesaage to save water by not using showers. The logic (or the lack of it) being, that 75% of Mumbai's population doesn't use showers! Can you be more ridiculous? You can't get bigger brand ambassadors than SRK, Amitabh or Tendulkar. Very clever Shivsena, while companies like Pepsi spend crores of rupees to make these people brand ambassadors, you got all three of them for free! Kudos to your marketing team!

Are they alone? No. BJP is not far behind. While they may garner a lot of bad press due to their internal turmoil, they still manage to stay in news by issues lost in antiquity, like Ayodhya Temple etc. Recently, BJP chief by "urging" the Muslims of India to let them make a temple in the disputed land, tried to kill not 2 but 3 birds by a single stone. Firstly, staying in news, secondly, hurting the Muslims where it hurts the most and thirdly addressing their "target vote bank" of Hindus by making provocative statements. Thanks to SRK, this time he didn't get too much coverage. How can we forget MNS in this competition "hogging the limelight"? They are the ones who started it, and are still doing it.

By opposing a movie like MNIK Shivsena exposed its shallow mentality. By questioning the patriotism of SRK they reached, or rather achieved, new levels of vulgarity. MNIK may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it sure had a strong message. Dialogs "MY NAME IS KHAN AND I AM NOT A TERRORIST!" are the need of the hour. You need to pacify the terrorized masses. I don't blame a 50 year old Hindu hating Muslims because he lost a son in bomb blasts like these (and vice versa) which are definitely a result of religious extremism, quite like the mother (Kajol) in the movie. Circumstances bring out the worst of human nature. Due to the sad coincidence of its release and Pune blasts, this movie, though an ordinary effort, assumes greater importance. Cinema has always been the mirror of the society and a true pacifier too. Cricket and Movies are two things that unite India. Remember the historic victory in Chennai test against England just after 26/11 reminded us that India cannot be bogged down. Life, in India, always finds its way.

Just because the movie stars a man who supported Pakistani players in IPL, you can't oppose it. What right do you have to oppose any movie for that matter which is passed by the Censor Board? Who are you to decide what movie Mumbai will watch? Just by cutting off Mumbai from the rest of the country what good can you do to your beloved city? Why the participation of Pakistani players is an issue anyway? And even if it is, let the government decide, as they did in IPL-2. Don't you realize you are the lone party raising such petty issues? However, you still make an impact.

I don't expect any answers to any of these questions because I know there cannot be a logical explanation of the acts of these fundamentalists. But I definitely expect an answer from the Indian people in form of votes and courage.

Go watch the movie, not for SRK or Kajol, but for you!

Defy them, defeat them.

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