D
Dr. Jai Maharaj
Guest
From Taslima to Tibet, India proves chicken
By Jug Suraiya
Second Opinion
THE TIMES OF INDIA
Friday, March 21, 2008
Instead of the peacock, India should adopt the chicken as
its national bird. Apart from the fowl being the dish of
choice, at least in the northern part of the country, our
official response to various situations -- ranging from the
Taslima Nasreen controversy to the protests in Tibet -- can
best be described as chicken-hearted.
Forced into exile from her native Bangladesh by religious
fanatics who didn't like her feminist writings, Taslima
sought sanctuary in Kolkata in whose Bangla milieu she felt
creatively comfortable. However, after street riots
instigated by local goons disguised as religious zealots
caused the Marxist state government to decide that
minority-appeasing discretion was the better part of
secular valour, the writer was bundled out of the city and
taken first to an undisclosed hideaway in Rajasthan and
later to Delhi, where she was kept in virtual isolation.
Made to apologise for her 'anti-Islamic' views, she was
warned by no less than the information and broadcasting
minister -- supposedly the custodian of the fundamental
right to freedom of expression as spelt out in the
Constitution -- that she should not say or do anything that
might hurt the religious sensibilities of any group.
(Should the I&B ministry be renamed the ministry of
intimidation and browbeating?)
Finally, Taslima has sought sanctuary in distant
Scandinavia, saying: "A person who couldn't be scared by
fundamentalists has been defeated by cold-blooded state
terrorism inflicted by the Indian government. My terrible
experience has shattered all my notions about a secular,
democratic India."
Why did Taslima -- yet another personification of freedom
of expression -- have to quit India? Because when push
comes to communal shove, for all its professions to the
contrary, India is too chicken to stick to its principles
of liberalism and democracy and allows mob rule to subvert
the rule of law. In the case of the Chinese crackdown in
Tibet, India's official response has been so politically
correct, not to mention politically chicken, that it has
earned praise from no less than the Chinese premier, Wen
Jiabao (who might have made special mention of the Indian
Left whose non-response might be summed up as 'Tibet
who?').
Despite China's continuing claims on Arunachal, and despite
its proven nuclear proliferation to Pakistan, New Delhi
walks on eggshells where Tibet is concerned and seems
vaguely embarrassed by the Dalai Lama's presence on Indian
soil. Why? Because then, maybe, China will support India's
admission to the UN Security Council. Or at least stop
using Pakistan as a foil against us. Or sell us cheap
pichkaris for Holi. Or something.
The truth is that we are just too chicken to take on the
big demons -- Chinese totalitarianism, religious
fundamentalism -- but make do with assailing minor imps of
the perverse. For instance, Fiona Mackeown, mother of the
murdered Scarlett Keeling, has been strictured for having
left her 15-year-old daughter alone in Goa. What an
unnatural, monstrous mother. How unlike the caring, sharing
mothers of the suitably named Mother India, where female
foeticide and infanticide are as common as the common cold.
Or take the case of health minister Ramadoss who is so busy
fighting the evils of tobacco and liquor -- by putting
'gory' pictures on tobacco products, and banning surrogate
liquor ads -- that he has no time to address the much
larger ills that plague our practically non-existent public
health system.
Can't move mountains? Find convenient molehills, turn them
into mountains, and then move them. That seems to be the
recipe. Not just for the health minister but for the entire
sorry mess which might aptly be called Indian chicken
curry.
More at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/..._India_proves_chicken/articleshow/2885952.cms
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
DISCLAIMER AND CONDITIONS
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
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subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
By Jug Suraiya
Second Opinion
THE TIMES OF INDIA
Friday, March 21, 2008
Instead of the peacock, India should adopt the chicken as
its national bird. Apart from the fowl being the dish of
choice, at least in the northern part of the country, our
official response to various situations -- ranging from the
Taslima Nasreen controversy to the protests in Tibet -- can
best be described as chicken-hearted.
Forced into exile from her native Bangladesh by religious
fanatics who didn't like her feminist writings, Taslima
sought sanctuary in Kolkata in whose Bangla milieu she felt
creatively comfortable. However, after street riots
instigated by local goons disguised as religious zealots
caused the Marxist state government to decide that
minority-appeasing discretion was the better part of
secular valour, the writer was bundled out of the city and
taken first to an undisclosed hideaway in Rajasthan and
later to Delhi, where she was kept in virtual isolation.
Made to apologise for her 'anti-Islamic' views, she was
warned by no less than the information and broadcasting
minister -- supposedly the custodian of the fundamental
right to freedom of expression as spelt out in the
Constitution -- that she should not say or do anything that
might hurt the religious sensibilities of any group.
(Should the I&B ministry be renamed the ministry of
intimidation and browbeating?)
Finally, Taslima has sought sanctuary in distant
Scandinavia, saying: "A person who couldn't be scared by
fundamentalists has been defeated by cold-blooded state
terrorism inflicted by the Indian government. My terrible
experience has shattered all my notions about a secular,
democratic India."
Why did Taslima -- yet another personification of freedom
of expression -- have to quit India? Because when push
comes to communal shove, for all its professions to the
contrary, India is too chicken to stick to its principles
of liberalism and democracy and allows mob rule to subvert
the rule of law. In the case of the Chinese crackdown in
Tibet, India's official response has been so politically
correct, not to mention politically chicken, that it has
earned praise from no less than the Chinese premier, Wen
Jiabao (who might have made special mention of the Indian
Left whose non-response might be summed up as 'Tibet
who?').
Despite China's continuing claims on Arunachal, and despite
its proven nuclear proliferation to Pakistan, New Delhi
walks on eggshells where Tibet is concerned and seems
vaguely embarrassed by the Dalai Lama's presence on Indian
soil. Why? Because then, maybe, China will support India's
admission to the UN Security Council. Or at least stop
using Pakistan as a foil against us. Or sell us cheap
pichkaris for Holi. Or something.
The truth is that we are just too chicken to take on the
big demons -- Chinese totalitarianism, religious
fundamentalism -- but make do with assailing minor imps of
the perverse. For instance, Fiona Mackeown, mother of the
murdered Scarlett Keeling, has been strictured for having
left her 15-year-old daughter alone in Goa. What an
unnatural, monstrous mother. How unlike the caring, sharing
mothers of the suitably named Mother India, where female
foeticide and infanticide are as common as the common cold.
Or take the case of health minister Ramadoss who is so busy
fighting the evils of tobacco and liquor -- by putting
'gory' pictures on tobacco products, and banning surrogate
liquor ads -- that he has no time to address the much
larger ills that plague our practically non-existent public
health system.
Can't move mountains? Find convenient molehills, turn them
into mountains, and then move them. That seems to be the
recipe. Not just for the health minister but for the entire
sorry mess which might aptly be called Indian chicken
curry.
More at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/..._India_proves_chicken/articleshow/2885952.cms
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
DISCLAIMER AND CONDITIONS
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.