Asif Khan Inc.

Who’s to be blamed? Us or them?

I feel overwhelmed.

By the grotesque manifesto of spreading hate for personal and political gains. By the ambiguity contained within statements made by political rookies and stalwarts alike. By the lack of adequate power in my voice and actions to do anything worthwhile.

Varun Gandhi may have made that acrimonious speech in Pilibhit as a grossly miscalculated move without imagining the magnitude of the repurcussions which would follow, or with complete calculation to launch his political career with sound advice by veterans. We would never find a definite answer for this, and I wouldn’t care for it either. What bothers is the fact that the deed is done, and even after all these years of independence and a democratic establishment, with incidents like Gujarat, Babri Masjid, 1984, Graham Staines, and many similar ones occupying tonnes of newsprint and facing huge public outcry, there is still one ace which politicians can’t seem to go wrong with. Who is to be blamed? The general public, which still doesn’t see through all this, and even now roots for such politicians, taking out rallies as they court arrest as if they were going to prison for a noble cause. Or the politicians, who rather than sensitizing the general masses to issues of a socio-economic nature which should occupy a larger interest in their minds, keep them confined to one sentiment which is closest to their purpose of existence.

Double entendre has always been the mainstay of politics; in India, it just assumes a bigger proportion. Varun Gandhi has been exemplifying this since the time he has been fumbling for excuses. First you deny, then you court arrest proclaiming to the world that you wouldn’t mind getting jailed for your ‘principles’. What principles would they be Varun?; it would be nice if you could kindly bring them out in front of the world.  Clearly the case of a kid who sunk his teeth into a pie, biting off a piece so big, he doesn’t know whether to swallow (and how to?) or throw it away. The BJP, caught in a quagmire which seemed to have been spinning out of their control, initially steps back washing their hands off the incident having nothing to do with it (obvious reaction of a politically correct nature; after all, they have the garb of a broad based moderate now), then slowly backing Varun’s candidature, first by party spokesmen, and now even by their prime ministerial candidate, LK Advani – someone for whom the biggest achievement as part of a political career was the demolition of a mosque and the subsequent riots which consumed hundreds of lives. It shouldn’t be surprising if BJP shifts to retro gear and starts chanting its Hindutva manifesto once again as the race to the elections picks up; who knows, after all politics here is always a matter of speaking what the electorate wants to listen to. Once in power, governments have seldom been able to give anything anyway.

Who’s to be blamed? Us or them?