Intolerance in India: Media adding fuel to a fire with no heat

This time when they use religion against us, they will do it very smartly. They won’t make it too obvious. In fact, they will fight against it, only to give it more prominence. These 'controllers' will now create public mood and opinion. Frankly speaking, it has already begun, and the worst part is that it is a huge success.

I’m not too keen on scooping out the author of this horrible narrative called: 'intolerance in India'. Currently, as citizens of this country, it must be our top priority to stop letting them fool us. Let it stop today.

I have one simple question for all of you. Why is it that I get to see intolerance on media channels and platforms only? If it is so evident, why isn’t everyone up in arms? No really, it starts with a tweet, becomes a Facebook post, and runs on loop on every ‘news’ channel in less than half an hour.

We’re being made to watch intolerance, read intolerance, hear intolerance, and even discuss intolerance. No doubt our minds have been convinced that intolerance does exist and needs to be taken care of.

They have created an opinion, a mindset, and now they wait. While intolerance doesn’t really exist in the country, the media is hell-bent on adding fuel to a fire with no real heat. It is sickening to see the media ignore key issues concerning the public forum, and jump to baseless remarks and monotonous commentary about intolerance in India.

They feed us non-sense every day. There’s no intolerance in India, please! We’ve all grown above all this, both as faithful worshipers, and as ordinary citizens. Our faith holds an important place in our heart, but our mind is still clear on right, and wrong. Yes, a few incidents do upset us every now and then, but let’s not allow these foxy politicians to trick us into fighting a ‘war on faith’.

Communal tension bred unrest does not take long to erupt. People here are very particular and highly insecure about their religion. If intolerance in India did really exist, things would've been very different today.

I sincerely hope that my observations helps you see the ugly game being played by some anti-nationalist today. It may be someone in the government; can be foreign parties; or someone else; but yes, there is someone who is trying to fool us again into believing that there is growing intolerance in India. Beware!

If you liked my work and want to read something more, I have a very good suggestion to make. I suggest that you read Mandir Industry: Commercialization of Religion

Rebellion and Journalism: Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Every journalist is a rebel and every rebel has a journalist twisting and turning within.

Rebels and journalists are two sides of the same coin. They’re both trying to bring attention towards issues which must not be ignored, but are unfortunately ignored. Every journalist is a rebel and every rebel has a journalist twisting and turning within.

We often view rebels and even journalists with a skeptical lens. The idea is to locate and exploit fallacies in their conduct. But in the long term, their actions are mostly constructive in the context of the social sphere. Come to think of it, raising an issue and discussing it at length is the premise of every rebel and journalists’ conduct. The way they operate might allow you to question them and their ways, but in a nutshell, the very nature of their operations is a synopsis of their intentions.

History has been kind enough to introduce us to several rebels and journalists. From Bhagat Singh to Malcolm X, supremacy leaders fought the war for justice and equality by amalgamating the traits of a journalism and rebellion. The synthesis is a product which puts your perception on a platform with concrete understanding and logic backing it. Journalistic potential can be traced from day one and that has been the case with rebellion as well. You can spot a rebel from miles away and you can sense a journalist from blocks away, at least.

But is there a thin line which separates the two? Is there a veil which hides the USP of rebels from journalists and vice versa? It’s hard to say actually. There’s no David-Goliath going on here. It isn’t all black and white really. The idea is to develop a basic understanding of these two very different yet extremely similar constants of the society. It may have been spoken before but the fact needs to reverberate. Rebels and journalists are two sides of the same darn coin. It doesn’t really matter on which side the coin really lands. Or does it?

Meerut Gang Rape - Thank God She Was a Hindu

Meerut Gang Rape has more implications than you can imagine. But I for one am very happy that the girl was a Hindu. Oh no, I'm not a Muslim. I'm not even a complete Hindu. I'm one of those who are going to take some time before they end up categorizing their Gods.

So now that you have already judged me as per your own naive perceptions, let me insert my opinion on this shameful incident. Some of you have not even educated yourself on this topic yet. After all, your favorite TV 'news' (pun intended)channels failed to air this story. Maybe they missed out on covering just another rape. Or maybe there's more to the Meerut Gang Rape. We'll find out.

But first, let me narrate the incident to you. A girl in the city of Meerut, India, was allegedly kidnapped, beaten, raped, and was even forced to convert. Wait! Let me write that again subtracting the tone of secularism. A Hindu girl in Meerut, India, was kidnapped, beaten, raped, and forced to convert to Islam. How does that sound? If your offerings go into a mosque, I'm sure you'll either stop reading now or you'll start judging/crucifying me. But if your offerings & prayers are delivered to a temple, chances are that you'll continue reading with a gush of anger & aggression. This is what religion does to us. This is what they use against us.

We live in a country inundated with minorities. More than the number of minorities, it is the sickening insecurity which can be seen bubbling over and about. Hindus in India have never felt outnumbered. If they have, they've been quick to change that notion. Even Christians, Jews (handful), Sikhs, and Buddhists have never really felt that pinch of insecurity emanating out of their minority status. But when it comes to Muslims, and I'm not generalizing as most of my dear friends are Muslims, they tend to get carried away quite easily. They forget that injustice & misfortune latches on to you irrespective of your religion, region, caste, sex, race, or ethnicity. If the Indian Hindus really wanted the Muslims out, it would take them less than a month to force them out. But no, that's not India. Friends, that's not us. We've lived in harmony for centuries and have displayed immense courage & co-operation in adapting to changing times and cultures. Why let a few political scumbags run away with our peace?

Now why am I so concerned about the religion of this ill fated girl? How does it matter to me? Or to you for that matter? Yes she's a Hindu. So what? To be very honest, you know the answer yourself.

Now, had this girl been a Muslim, riots would've been unavoidable and unstoppable. Selfish and opportunist political commentary would've been inescapable. An avalanche of global remarks would've been expected. And a wave of hatred against Hinduism was sure to follow. But no, none of that fell in place this time. Why? And how? The answer, unfortunately, lies in the religion of this poor soul. She was a Hindu and thus could not be exploited properly.The government forced itself upon all mediums to let this issue pass. The girl was kidnapped. The girl was raped. She was beaten and then forced to convert to Islam. She was kept in a Madarsa in Muzzafarnagar for five days. But all this fails to impress our lords as her religion does not require media & political bull-whacking. Can anyone explain this behavior? Can anyone disagree with me when I say that the same case would've made headlines for weeks had the victim been a Muslim? No you can't.

A while back, a Shiv Sena MP, fed up with the poor quality of food being served by IRCTC, tried to force feed one of the supervisors. The MP didn't even ask the supervisor about his religion. When the MP came to know that the supervisor was a Muslim and was observing Roza, he immediately apologized. The media did everything it could to garner TRPs. They blew this small incident way out of proportions and even started a debate on secularism and its presence in India. The scene was similar to that of Aamir Khan's 'Peepli Live'. The media acted like a clown and those who could see through the vast veil of bullshitt, laughed their heart out. A couple of days back, Indian railways fined 9 caterers for unhygienic and poor quality of food. A cockroach was found in a meal provided in a Rajdhani. IRCTC was one of the caterers fined. The media let this incident pass unnoticed. Yes, we're all ashamed of the Indian media.

Though I'm really surprised that people are blaming the media for not covering the Meerut Gang Rape. What's wrong with you guys? What do you expect? Do you expect anything at all from today's media houses? They're all profit based entities functioning on the directions of several interested parties. Were you on Mars all this time? Journalism died a slow and painful death in the last decade. Yes, they murdered journalism with smiling faces and fattening bank balances.

If you switch on your TV hoping to watch news, then kindly change the channel and watch a mindless sitcom instead. And if you unfold your daily morning newspaper expecting news stories, hen please fold it back after reading the comic strips. They're all filled with paid opinions. None of them carry news in its truest form. Media is a pet. It has been reduced to a tool. Media today is a medium for selfish endeavors. Again, I'm not generalizing. There are a few journalists who bend their backs and practice the true form of journalism. I know one such journalist and have worked with him. With an experience of more than 30 years, he warned me about the pathetic state of today's media. And I must say, he was spot on with his observations.

Ramblings #01

ANSWER YOURSELF

Why do you wish to spark? Why shall you be touched by the Hand of God? What makes you so special? What separates you from the usual lot? What makes you the most unusual one? What aspires you? What arrives in you and what departs from you? What brings you and what leaves? What is it that glows brighter in you? What floats better? What slips easily and what holds better? What rages better? What blows better? And what exactly runs better? How should you be justified as the chosen one? Why should your life be easy? What should your cup hold? And how different shall the contents be? Why do you hope so much? Why do you expect so much? And why do you embrace disappointment when you refuse to embrace reality and good old luck? Where were you when the Greats were forged? Were you there or were you lost in a climax? Why should we consider you superior? Why should these worldly men bow to you? What makes you and what breaks you? What constitutes you? What limits you? How can we help you attain your divine stature? What shall put you at peace?