An Indian conundrum: A nincompoop Hindu versus an aggressive Muslim
Events as they occur in quick succession beget the generic search to find the least common denominator in the sequence of such an occurrence. So begins the quest to find the weakest link in the chain before it snaps.
The recent episodic ban on screening Kamal Haasan's film 'Vishwaroopam' in Tamil Nadu theatres; the putative blacklisting of redoubtable author Salman Rushdie at Jaipur and Kolkata litfests; and the war-mongering by Owaisi brothers in Hyderabad, threatening 80 per cent Hindus with decimation by 20 per cent Muslims in a matter of hours if the police were not to intervene, unambiguously point to the least common denominator in the chain of events.
That the aggressive Muslim is the least common denominator in the chain of which the Hindu is the weakest link.
This very indoctrinated Muslim has been the highest common factor — of blood and gore — at places such as Kashmir from where they have succeeded in hounding out Hindus, threatening extermination.
Like 'Vande Matram' the title 'Vishwaroopam' is per se 'un-Islamic' for the Muslim bigot who loathes the very nomenclature of both words for they are sanskritised in etymology. The bigot fails to comprehend Vishwaroopam (the cosmic beauty) is universal to humankind just as Vande Matram (bow to motherland) is a manifestation of 'Madre Watan' (the Urdu equivalent of 'motherland').
In essence the objection is semantic than substantial. The protests by Islamic protagonists and bolstered by political demagogues under the pretext that the film has an incidental reference to the Quran and portrays Muslims in a bad light is a travesty of justice, to say the least.
The portrayal of violence by Islamic zealots on the celluloid is as real as it gets on the ground; why grudge reality when the religious zealots have wreaked havoc on the earth from Kashmir to Kabul, from the far east to the Middle East to Europe, America and Africa?
Litfests at Jaipur and Kolkata, declaring Salman Rushdie persona non grata, speak volumes of forsaking the genuine pursuit of the arts, literature and culture for political expediency. The captive Muslim votebank is the mantra to an electoral victory, be it Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan or for that matter any state in India.
What an irony! 'Firebrand' Mamata Banerjee caters to the Muslim clergy, announcing a handsome 'wazifa' (scholarship) for imams of mosques in West Bengal, ensuring the Ummah (Muslim citizenry) votes en masse for the Trinamool.
On the contrary, the leftist Hindu Bengali always cries wolf when it comes to political alignment with the nationalist Hindus, saying the 'communal forces' must be kept at bay.
The state projects the Hindu as an enemy of the nation from within as made expilicit by his 'Hindu terror' remark recently by no less a person than Sushil Kumar Shinde in his official capacity as the country's home minister, not as a private individual.
The recent episodic ban on screening Kamal Haasan's film 'Vishwaroopam' in Tamil Nadu theatres; the putative blacklisting of redoubtable author Salman Rushdie at Jaipur and Kolkata litfests; and the war-mongering by Owaisi brothers in Hyderabad, threatening 80 per cent Hindus with decimation by 20 per cent Muslims in a matter of hours if the police were not to intervene, unambiguously point to the least common denominator in the chain of events.
That the aggressive Muslim is the least common denominator in the chain of which the Hindu is the weakest link.
This very indoctrinated Muslim has been the highest common factor — of blood and gore — at places such as Kashmir from where they have succeeded in hounding out Hindus, threatening extermination.
Like 'Vande Matram' the title 'Vishwaroopam' is per se 'un-Islamic' for the Muslim bigot who loathes the very nomenclature of both words for they are sanskritised in etymology. The bigot fails to comprehend Vishwaroopam (the cosmic beauty) is universal to humankind just as Vande Matram (bow to motherland) is a manifestation of 'Madre Watan' (the Urdu equivalent of 'motherland').
In essence the objection is semantic than substantial. The protests by Islamic protagonists and bolstered by political demagogues under the pretext that the film has an incidental reference to the Quran and portrays Muslims in a bad light is a travesty of justice, to say the least.
The portrayal of violence by Islamic zealots on the celluloid is as real as it gets on the ground; why grudge reality when the religious zealots have wreaked havoc on the earth from Kashmir to Kabul, from the far east to the Middle East to Europe, America and Africa?
Litfests at Jaipur and Kolkata, declaring Salman Rushdie persona non grata, speak volumes of forsaking the genuine pursuit of the arts, literature and culture for political expediency. The captive Muslim votebank is the mantra to an electoral victory, be it Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan or for that matter any state in India.
What an irony! 'Firebrand' Mamata Banerjee caters to the Muslim clergy, announcing a handsome 'wazifa' (scholarship) for imams of mosques in West Bengal, ensuring the Ummah (Muslim citizenry) votes en masse for the Trinamool.
On the contrary, the leftist Hindu Bengali always cries wolf when it comes to political alignment with the nationalist Hindus, saying the 'communal forces' must be kept at bay.
The state projects the Hindu as an enemy of the nation from within as made expilicit by his 'Hindu terror' remark recently by no less a person than Sushil Kumar Shinde in his official capacity as the country's home minister, not as a private individual.
So it seems the state is on a warpath with the nation.
The aggressive Indian Muslim has thus been emboldened by the state to the bizarre yet ominous extent that Hyderabad-based MLA Owaisi makes no bones in threatening on a public platform the mass annihilation of majority Hindus by minority Muslims if the state were to play deaf-mute. Earlier, sundry Muslim politicians from Uttar Pradesh, too, had threatened majority Hindus with dire consequences if the latter dared them.
Of late, an all-girl rock band in Kashmir has been handed a fatwa by the valley's 'grand Mufti' a la Saudi Arabian decree, forbiding music as 'haraam' (taboo) under the Sharia. The band has reportedly been disbanded following life-threatening calls by Kashmiri Muslims to the singer trio.
Is Indian Muslim following the footsteps of his aggressive Kashmiri counterpart?
Will the meek Hindu Indian meet the fate of Kashmiri Pandits? The answer is not too far to seek. God save the nation if the weakest link in the chain gives way under state patronage.
The aggressive Indian Muslim has thus been emboldened by the state to the bizarre yet ominous extent that Hyderabad-based MLA Owaisi makes no bones in threatening on a public platform the mass annihilation of majority Hindus by minority Muslims if the state were to play deaf-mute. Earlier, sundry Muslim politicians from Uttar Pradesh, too, had threatened majority Hindus with dire consequences if the latter dared them.
Of late, an all-girl rock band in Kashmir has been handed a fatwa by the valley's 'grand Mufti' a la Saudi Arabian decree, forbiding music as 'haraam' (taboo) under the Sharia. The band has reportedly been disbanded following life-threatening calls by Kashmiri Muslims to the singer trio.
Is Indian Muslim following the footsteps of his aggressive Kashmiri counterpart?
Will the meek Hindu Indian meet the fate of Kashmiri Pandits? The answer is not too far to seek. God save the nation if the weakest link in the chain gives way under state patronage.
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