The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Combating the peddlers of hatred
Malini Parthasarathy wanders from one topic to another in this article that it is hard to identify the central idea. Mumbai terror attacks were horrible and people are frustrated with the political system. Suddenly, she says: "But remarkably, there was no attempt this time to find scapegoats, or to take out their frustration on minority groups." as if she was expecting us to go and attack minorities every time there is a terrorist attack. This is a ritual that is religiously(?) followed by the blood-thirsty people of India as is attested by the backlash after each of those numerous terror attacks.
More about the failure of the political system as a whole. And then she throws in Afzal Guru. Then she makes a switch from national security to public interest. Now it is time to pick up the favourite topic of Godhra riots. The blame game begins.
Before it gets into another full-length article on Godhra riots, she moves on to secularism and democracy.
She is done with democracy. It is left to just secularism now. In case you forgot by now, she started off with national security.
Unfortunately for Malini, she is not the first one to link development and governance to secularism. UPA did that with the Sachar committee.
I think this is the point she wantd to make. The rest is just a facade. So secularism will end all threats to national security - internal and external. And what of the failed political system? Never mind.
She moves on to Varun Gandhi, communalism, democracy, secularism, democracy. But at this point, I give up.
Malini Parthasarathy wanders from one topic to another in this article that it is hard to identify the central idea. Mumbai terror attacks were horrible and people are frustrated with the political system. Suddenly, she says: "But remarkably, there was no attempt this time to find scapegoats, or to take out their frustration on minority groups." as if she was expecting us to go and attack minorities every time there is a terrorist attack. This is a ritual that is religiously(?) followed by the blood-thirsty people of India as is attested by the backlash after each of those numerous terror attacks.
More about the failure of the political system as a whole. And then she throws in Afzal Guru. Then she makes a switch from national security to public interest. Now it is time to pick up the favourite topic of Godhra riots. The blame game begins.
Before it gets into another full-length article on Godhra riots, she moves on to secularism and democracy.
...the conceptual linkage between secularism and democracy. In the original conception of the Constitution, secularism was viewed as a cornerstone that along with democracy would provide the framework...India is a flawed democracy and secularism is a sham in India. Ironic that a leftist fundamentalist like Malini should lecture us on democracy. And obviously, she does not care for secularism or she would have called for Uniform Civil Code. She calls for "the principle of equality before the law, equal protection of the laws and equal rights for every Indian citizen regardless of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth" in the context of catering to Muslim sensibilities!
Until this confusion over the real meaning of secularism as a governing doctrine is sorted out, it will be impossible to ensure that the national discourse prioritises the issues of real concern such as development and governance.
She is done with democracy. It is left to just secularism now. In case you forgot by now, she started off with national security.
Unfortunately for Malini, she is not the first one to link development and governance to secularism. UPA did that with the Sachar committee.
The rise of a deadly form of Islamist terrorism in the subcontinent that has a narrative deliberately woven around the suffering of the Indian Muslims particularly after the ascendancy of Hindu majoritarian nationalism, is a challenge that severely tests the political capacities of the Indian state, as the terror attacks in Mumbai last year showed.
I think this is the point she wantd to make. The rest is just a facade. So secularism will end all threats to national security - internal and external. And what of the failed political system? Never mind.
She moves on to Varun Gandhi, communalism, democracy, secularism, democracy. But at this point, I give up.
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1 comment:
Malooni was absent from the pages of Chindu ever since Ram-rod took over. Now that she came back, we hapless readers can expect a pincer secular attack from both sides.
It is high time that we the readers in Kerala & Tamil Nadu boycotted the chindu.
Deccan Herald published from Bangalore seems to me is a good alternative. But they have no plans t move out of Karnataka. So we who suffer chindu should pool some of our spare money together and give it to deccan herald to start editions in Kerala & Tamil Nadu. That will bring an end to chindu.
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