I really don't
understand this intolerance people are blabbering about. I fully get
what that word means but the context is so dragged out that its usage
has become a sham now. Especially thanks to the nature of those who
are hijacking it for personal gains at the expense of making the
nation look horrible (as if India isn't dented enough!) than she
already is. It goes without saying that the whole exercise is a
political assumption, not a social one although it is presented in a
manner that'd make you wonder whether the entire nation has changed
its behaviour all of a sudden. Guess what? It hasn't. We are what we
were last decade and most probably, the decade before that. Which is
why we should question whether intolerance is rising from the
government's end or the people's. So far, those accusing the
nation—and by extension, her people—are being cautiously vague.
It goes without highlighting that they never liked the government in
the first place. To put the accusers' attitude in context, it looks
like they are absolutely blind to the attempts made by the reigning
government to make up for the lost decade by the previous government.
When perception is missing, logic is designed to suffer. As the
result, a scapegoat is being sought for all the things wrong with our
country—political as social (note that nobody talks about the
'economical' side anymore)—to feel better about themselves. A
government, if you acknowledge how vast our country is, can only
influence social precincts to some extent. Even if it was taking
steps to raise intolerance, it'd take years given the rate at which
things get done in India. And this government completes 1.5 years
tomorrow. On the contrary, i think intolerance was at its peak during
UPA 1 and UPA II if you too don't have a short term memory. The
biggest Hindu-Muslim riot since Godhra happened in Assam (followed by
Muzaffarpur), 100+ Kashmiris were killed one summer (some of them
being teenagers), Indian women's safety points dropped thanks to
incessant rape cases in cities as well as far-flung places like
Manipur and a lot similar mishaps took place. And who can forget the
greatest cases of corruption ever recorded in the history of
politics? I wonder when will people who are so sick of NDA so soon
although it has barely done anything drastic (though i'm sure they've
got moves waiting to unleash) realize they are doing the nation a
huge disservice by stalling whatever little goodwill we can
garnering. The nature of geo-politics has changed. It's not about
weapons anymore. It's all about Big B now. Something businessmen
understand and that's why they don't make irresponsible statements no
matter what their political standing is. (Unless you are NR Murthy
who couldn't digest the fact that his son was replaced in an
education advisory board.) Nice image matters. Soft power matters.
Shit happens and is always going to happen irrespective of what the
conditions subscribe to. One should be fair, yes, but not by letting
the so-called conscience turn you blind. That thing in our head is
for stopping the bad from happening, not for seeking scapegoats. I'm
not fond of the Hindutva leaning but at the same time, i might be
guilty of mocking NaMo and his never-ending foreign tours which is
reminiscent of Nehru's reign. However it's a necessary medicine. And
when you read about Bollywood personalities who reside in ivy towers
and cry chants of intolerance, it's damaging no one else but us.
These folks never cared about anything other than their box-office
returns. Of course, they have the right to express their opinion but
at the same time, they shouldn't be surprised by the reaction. The
opposing parties have the right to express their opinion too, as long
as nobody resorts to violence or disorder.
On second thought,
maybe there is a rising intolerance for stupid remarks.
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