Bitter Chocolate

"he didn't lose, they made him lose, they cheated. everybody is frustrated and upset in Iran right now we dont know what to do. we all participated in the ellection to make sure that he (ahmadinejad) wont get reelected but it seems like no matter what we do they will do what it takes to stay in charge and powerful.
right now they have filtered facebook and youtube, pleas keep in touch with me via email I'm gonna miss you."

Nature, Man Included

27 February – 10 May 2009 | NUS Museum

I was asked to remove my watch, earrings, belt and shoes and asked to sit down on a chair. On either side of me stood two security guards with guns. By now I was rethinking the entire idea of going to Israel. Every single item from by bag was removed and placed on the table. The I pod, sunscreen, sunglasses, aspirin, lip gloss, comb, chewing gum, mascara, my Russian novels, small sketch book, pen were all opened and sniffed and X rayed individually. My wallet was opened and all the coins were removed. My cigarette packet was opened and each cigarette was removed and X rayed while I sat few meters away watching. An Israeli man meanwhile once again began to ask me about my visit to Egypt and why in god’s name was I applying for a visa from Cairo not India.

The usual questions about my nationality and purpose of visit were asked. Upon saying I was Indian; I was immediately asked if I had any connection with Pakistan or Afghanistan. I said no. I was asked again if I knew any Pakistani people.

I was then asked about my religion. I uttered a simple and barely audible ‘Hindu.’ I was immediately asked if I had any proof that I was Hindu.

"Christians gathered to pray under threat of continued secular violence in the Kandhamal area. Violence by Hindu extremists towards Christian minorities in the state has seen hundreds killed, over a thousand homes and scores of churches destoyed over the last several months."

Me: So are you following the election news?
A: A little bit, not so much.
Me: okay
A: But I recently heard that a leader of one of the main parties in UP wants to ban English and Computers in schools. It reminded me of why I don't follow Indian politics.

This is because the Congress stands for nothing, while the BJP stands for something pernicious.

"It would have been our good fortune if Sanjay Dutt had been our candidate," Samajwadi Party activist Syed Mohammad Imran says. "It's a conspiracy that he has been barred from contesting elections. But now, Nafisa Ali is the candidate here, she is Sanjay Dutt's candidate. We have to put all our might behind her to ensure her victory," he says.

"I entered politics to warn the people so that they didn't go through what I have had to go through in my life. My father was an MP for 18 years, but I was arrested and held under Tada [India's strict anti-terrorism law]. I was beaten up by the police. Now if that can happen to me, can it not happen to you?"

And the public cheers. While, somewhere, the ghost of his father, Sunil Dutt, weeps.

"If somebody lifts a hand against the Hindus, or thinks they are weak, there is nobody behind them, then I swear on the Bhagvad Gita I will cut off that hand."

"Apne jao, apne gaon mein jao aur halla karo ki saara Hindu ek tarfa ho jao, chhetra ko Pakistan hone se bachao, aur saara Hindu ek tarfa ho jao! (Go to your villages and give the call that all Hindus must unite to save this area from becoming Pakistan..)

"Yeh panja nahi hai, yeh kamal ka haath hai. Yeh kat** ke galey ko kaat dega chunaav ke baad. Jai Shri Ram! Ram ji ki jai! Varun Gandhi kaat daalega! Kaat denge us haath ko, kaat denge, kaat daalega! (This is not the (Congress symbol) ‘hand’, this is the hand of the ‘lotus’. It will cut the throat of the Muslims after the elections... Varun Gandhi will cut... Cut that hand, cut it, cut it.)

"Kya yeh sach nahin hai… ki usko bola gaya ki mataji aapka naam kya hai... agar usne bola ki Bimla Devi, to usko kahaa ki dekhenge, sochenge... pehle paanch hazaar rupaye do... aur agar uska naam hai Saira Bano ya jo bhi Begum Hukum Begum... hum to jaante nahin hain... badey daraawne naam hotey hain inke... Karimullah... Mazharullah.... agar raat ko kabhi dikh jaayen... to darr rahen hain.. " [Is it not true... that if (a woman) is asked her name and she says Bimla Devi, she is told we’ll see, we’ll think (about giving Government aid), give us Rs 5,000 first... But if her name is Saira Bano or whatever begum Hukum Begum... I don’t even know... These people have such scary-sounding names... Karimullah, Mazharullah... If you ever encountered them at night, you’d be scared...]

Naresh Verma, a popular BJP leader in Puranpur - within the constituency - said, "I am a BJP activist and a Hindu too. But I am not in favour of launching a communally charged campaign. If Varun Gandhi persists with such style of campaigning, I would be compelled to keep myself away from it."

Added another BJP veteran Gurdial Singh: "Varun is going out of hand. If he is not restrained, this election could end in a bloody communal clash."

On 22 March 2009, the Election Commission found Varun Gandhi guilty and has condemned him in the case related to his 'hate speech' during an election rally in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. The Election Commission asked the BJP not to nominate him as a candidate for the 2009 General Elections. The Election Commission informed the BJP, since the party disowned the comments made, if party nominated him as a candidate then whatever he mentioned in the 'Hate Speech' would be treated as the party's policies.

And this is when the tables turned.

Now, Varun Gandhi became an innocent BJP politician, being jailed by the evil Congress. He was a martyr. A leader who did nothing wrong. Wrongly accused, badly treated, he was thrown into jail by the 'others.' In Varun Gandhi the BJP found their rhetoric against the Congress. And now Varun Gandhi is the wronged leader, who will combat all this hardship, and not give up. He will fight from Jail and win ! He is BJP's hero.

"He (Varun) had not done something for which he has to go to jail. It reminds people of how leaders like George Fernandes and Nanaji Deshmukh, behind bars during Emergency, fought elections from jail and won with handsome margins. This is all a Congress conspiracy," says Senior BJP leader LK Advani.

The BJP is finding it extremely hard to decide if it is to be a very Hindu-Right party or a secularist party. It often oscillates between the two, unable to find a stable middle ground. The formation of its principles and discourse, much like all else in the subcontinent, is a mere play on the circumstances, twisting into the shapes required, as and when they are required.

And the irony of it all is, that the man in the Orange turban, with the red tilak, shouting slogans of Jai-SriRam, asking for a ban on cow slaughter, and spewing hatred towards the Muslims, is only a quarter Hindu. Much like some of his Hindu Right predecessors (who are self-proclaimed atheists), he supports the cause of extremist Hindu Nationalism and a Hindu Nation, shouting the name of Lord Rama, playing on the Hindu identity, without even being Hindu.

(I would laugh. But instead I worry.)

Until recently, I thought that Pramod Muthalik was a right-wing bigot, much like the Thackerays and Togadias of the world. But I have changed my mind. It is now obvious to me that he is really an artist of the highest calibre, exposing the silliness of the right-wing bigotry around him with satire that would do Jaspal Bhatti proud. Consider his recent announcement that his men will “forcibly marry off couples found dating in public” on Valentine’s day.

"Our activists will go around with a priest, a turmeric stub and a mangalsutra on February 14. If we come across couples being together in public and expressing their love, we will take them to the nearest temple and conduct their marriage."

What outstanding satire! We are lucky to have such a powerful artist in our midst, commenting on the world around him not in an artistic space, but in a political one. What an idea!

Incidentally, my Religion and Identity class on the Monday following all this happened to be on 'Hindu Right Wing' in India. And of course all this was brought up in class. And not one person did not find this whole 'marriage' thing hilarious!

Soon after the attack on the Pub-Goers, came the retaliation- The Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose Forward Women and the Pink Chaddi Campaign. Women (and Men) adopted a different kind of Gandhigiri where through sarcasm and Pink Chaddis they oppose the Ram Sena's propaganda. Some say that the whole idea is kind of stupid, as women by the use of 'lingerie' as a symbol (pink lingerie, moreover) are going back to very stereotypes that feminism is fighting against. But I feel, that whatever the symbol maybe the getting together of like-minded individuals to actually do something or at least raise their voices against all this bullying is better than doing the usual- treating it as a part and parcel of life in India.

Of course though all the people I know condemn this 'hooliganism,' there are many in India who believe that the girls deserved it and that Indian women should not go to pubs, but should sit at home, be wives, mothers, daughters and daughters-in-law and hold on to the 'izzat' and 'reputation' of the family.

Today I came across this video (and the many that follow it):

So for some reason, the person representing YOUTH in this debate, is the producer of MTV Roadies and I think his shouting makes the whole debate hilarious. Though he makes some good points, the entire debate just brings out how ridiculous our country has become. No one seems to make any sense.

Pub-Culture or the ban on it, simply has nothing to do with morals, Indian Culture, our Sanskriti, how women should behave or feminist liberation. It is a matter of simple civil liberties. I, as an individual, should be able to go to a bar, and buy myself a drink. Why should anyone tell me what my morals and ideals should be?

And if people from the Ram Sena or the Shiv Sena or these two in the debate, feel that alcohol is not good and pubs are not good, then they are, by all means, welcome not to frequent pubs.