Liberal labyrinth, gullible Gujarati and our own PM
Santanu Borah
The guilty pleasure of a BJP victory
I am vindicated. The astute Gujarati can be taken for a long, long ride, and only a Gujarati could have done it. As promised in my last column, I enjoyed a sinful cake and watched the BJP course to a depleted victory orchestrated by our PM. Yes, everyone’s PM. Guilty pleasure is so good!
However, one thing is certain – many Gujjus are feeling like Neo felt before he got out of the Matrix. They know the development discourse is not reality at its surest. It’s also the PM’s American seaplane that came via Pakistan. Such feelings stick like a splinter in the brain. You can tell that by the BJP’s failure in rural Gujarat. This indicates that the saffron fortress of invincibility will fall if they continue to divide people instead of providing jobs.
The PM urges you to criticise him
Meanwhile, here is something the PM had said in the past: “In a democracy, allegations will never improve situations. So, I’m against allegations, but I always welcome criticism.”
I urge everyone to criticise the government objectively and often. That’s what the PM wants. With India under a near total BJP rule now, it’s our duty as citizens to be extremely vigilant, as absolute power is a drug. Never forget the Emergency.
An all powerful entity needs to be kept on a short leash or it might bite you in the posterior – and that posterior might even belong to a BJP supporter.
While you are at it, vocal liberals better keep your Pakistan visa ready, just in case. Also, keep away from violent men with video cameras, especially if you are a Love Jihadi or a carol singer. As for the PM’s view on allegations, I can allege that he is an artist of allegation-making.
Finally, one request to our PM: Could you please lift our political discourse and be India’s PM till the next election?
The liberal labyrinth
I have often had the word ‘liberal’ thrown at me with a liberal amount of contempt. I have been made to believe that to be liberal and accept things like homosexuality, makes me liable to stand at every picket fence to demand justice for whatever is wrong in society. If I fail to do so, I’m asked this simple question:
“Where were you when this, that and the other happened?” I have an answer: “Sorry I was procrastinating, taking a break from the revolution. I am a liberal, you see. We are allowed breaks.”
Unfortunately, these are tough times for the liberal. You not only have to be liberal, you also have to seem to be liberal because in the conservative world it’s pretty much a black and white pop song playing in the background – verse with a chorus.
The conservatives do not believe in bridges. “What’s a bridge going to do besides making the song longer? Let’s give them a simple chorus to sing along. No bridge and stuff like Rohingyas.” A conservative songwriter loves simplistic lyrics like “Are you a nationalist? If yes, sing Bharat mata ki jai!”
Ironically, liberal stands can benefit a conservative. For instance, when a conservative politician takes a liberal view he gets brownie points for it and is considered a better conservative, like Vajpayee. A liberal politician taking a liberal position is often panned for her or his lack of imagination, after all it is expected.
Sometimes, that person may even have to contend with the criticism that the stand is not liberal enough. Also, when a liberal politician takes a conservative view nobody takes him seriously, including the conservative, even if that stand is prudent. In a weird way, it makes me think of a heroin addict who is disrespected for considering rehab. “You are an addict. That’s how we see you. Anything you do to dilute that will affect our opinion of you adversely. Keep shooting up, so we know what we are dealing with.” Not the most flattering example but, hey, I am a liberal.
The conservative has no such worries. All he has to do is urge people to do something drastic with violent innuendoes, package it as good for our culture, and he is made for good. No questions will be asked even if he doesn’t stand behind his rioting or protectionist brothers ever after that.
I don’t see myself as a liberal only in the political sense. I’m a liberal because I believe there must be space for all, including ideas that my sensibility is averse to. A true liberal must possess a rational mind. S/he must be a fan of none.
If you worship Pappu over Feku, you’re making the same mistake as a ‘bhakt’. You then become a ‘libtard’. We must hold our elected servants to the highest possible objective assessment, beyond the sheen of illusions like religion. If we choose a leader because he protects our prejudices, it’s a cultural error. A liberal stands against that. A true liberal belongs to nobody. A true liberal is a free bird.
