Bharat Bandh.. Minds closed and Faith Lost - An Open letter to BJP and Shiv Seva

Dear BhagwaBandhus ( read BJP Shivsena  - the ground staff, its high bastions and maybe the ivory tower if my voice reaches there due to some miracle)

As an average Mumbaikar, belonging to the increasingly minority category of citizens called open category (medium creamy layer hindu brahmin), i must confess my inclination towards the saffron combine.  

However, the political bandh called today and the media chest-thumping of its "nationwide success" is an act worth condemning as the terror attacks. While the statement may sound strong, abrupt and irresponsible, just think... was the final motive of both dastardly acts not the same - to stop life as usual? 

I must congratulate you all for the "bloodless" ways though, which makes you ineligible for the privilege of Kasabniwas (A more Indian subcontinentized name for Arthur road jail)

 For the common man -- really?
Back to the bandh that happened today, a forced political act disguised as protest on behalf of the common man, Can at least one of the BJP Karyakartas or Shiv Sainik, worth his salt explain, How has it helped make life easier?

Going by pure economics, haven't the mounting losses due to shut business and of course the acts of non-violence (non conventional violence that is) by your workers, contributed to the rising costs... and multiply that... to the rising prices? After all this acts of yours will it be fair to ask for a miracle from the magic sadhus, trishuls and the other saffron delights that we have? Will you be answerable to them and to their Gods, and yes the People?

A dog trying to bite its own tail? 
To all of you, from BJP Shiv Sena, specially whom we voted to the Mumbai Municipality, to save ourselves from the Naturally Corrupt Party - Here is a question:

The Mehengai that you are all protesting against, aren't you a major contributor to it in the following ways in Mumbai (your majority municipality enacted these immediately upon getting elected) :

1. Increased BEST Bus fare citing Electricity losses -  by as high as 70 - 80% . A ticket from colaba to churchgate, barely 7 kms costs Rs.12!! the ticket cost used to be Rs. 6 not even a year ago... through two hikes the cost has been doubled citing losses in the Electricity business. You have fooled the BEST commuter by making him pay for the Electricity losses . The cost does compensate your unions conducting strikes, and yes the buses you damage during the bandhs.. But hey ... who is creating this mehengai?

2. Increase in Electricity Tariff citing Transport losses - This time the tail wags the dog... Your elected municipality fools the Bus commuters, and then the Electricity users, make money from both and jack up prices...

Besides this the latest Tax policies enacted by the Municipal corporation led by you, my dear Bhagwabandhus, is an institutionalized way to extort the already squeezed Mumbaikar.

After all of this do you have any answers? Or is it just yet another Bandh?

The country is shifting its gaze towards alternatives for the next government.. and you are only warning them against voting for you through your actions.

Yours Truly,
A Saffron Loyalist... and changing..

Open letter to Vir Sanghvi

This is in response to Portraits of the artist as a Qatari citizen, an editorial lamenting the exit of M F Hussain's from Indian Citizenship.


Dear Vir,

Your editorial throws an interesting insight into the malformed definition of freedom of expression; that rests today in minds of Pseudo-secular-liberal journalists and so called key-keepers of the fourth estate.

I begin my response with a guiding quote by Swami Chinmayananda - " To do whatever you FEEL like doing, is not freedom" .. its called licentiousness. Here a licentious individual keeps to himself, a licence to impinge on any other faith, just because he FEELS like, without being sensitive to the feelings of a community at large. The word FEELs is highlighted because his actions of what he thinks is freedom, is out of pure Feeling without any Intelligent inquiry of its outcome.

Coming straight to your article, I am not sure what feelings you have towards your own mother, but we Hindus (even those outside the "Hindu Taliban" breed as per your definition) revere Mata Saraswati, Sita and Durga nothing less than our biological mother.

i would like to quote you:

"If some Hindus are offended by Husain’s nude Saraswatis, then they can simply look away. They have no right to restrict his creativity or to deny the rest of us the opportunity to view Husain’s work."

My question to you is.. would you or any member of your Liberal Journalists' watering-house club, tolerate any liberal artist to paint your own mother nude, with compromising pose with your own gardener? The feeling for a hindu is the same when their mother, Goddess Parvati is shown having sex with Nandi. Nude painting of Saraswati is one of the less severe and "liberal" versions.

Does freedom to you mean, that a non-believing painter is free to make a pornographic movie on my mother and publish it within the confines of my home?

Does freedom to you mean, your neighbour, or your "brethern" getting drunk or going overdose on Bhang cupcakes (publicized on second front page of the same newspaper where you showered your grace today. The first front page, like most of our liberal media, is sold out to an advertiser) and doing a strip tease on the street... Even worse... in your living room? Well thats his freedom of expression... but do you allow that?

I am sure, in each of the above cases, you will use your "freedom" and political contacts too if necessary to retaliate.

In that case, why is it that the non-believers, as mentioned in your articles, should continue to have the "freedom" or "License" to poke their dirty nose in the faith of the believers?

Would the non-believers be comfortable if believers kept on making lewd remarks about their lifestyle? No... they wont.. and both of them peacefully coexist with the right distance and etiquettes... Which in totality define our collective freedom to THINK what we should do... and not do whatever we FEEL.

The painter is free to express his views openly, but a free democracy also obligates him to be answerable for his work and bear its responsibility to . In the US and UK there have been instances where editors and journalists have resigned, where people pointed out their irresponsibility.. Here in India, any such attempts have been quelled, with the editors continuing to review free food and booze. I guess that's freedom.

Books like Satanic Verses, Worshipping False Gods and the Danish Cartoons are banned in India, since we believe in a culture of respecting each others faith.... Not maligning it... Atleast as a Hindu, i can vouch for my faith, and that of my close friends of other faiths. These books and MF hussains paintings may mean freedom for the artist, but it also means infuriating a large section of our population. They should be banned.. When the law of the land ignores that, and even worse, when media drunk its own world too doesn't reflect peoples faith... parallel law takes over. Perhaps you find that interesting, since that gives you more sensation and topics to write upon.

i would like to end once again with Swami Chinmayananda's Quote.. and i suggest every journalist, in particular, should read the book - Manual of Self Unfoldment.

"To do whatever you feel like doing is not freedom"

Freedom is being allowed to THINK what is appropriate and do that... and not do whatever you FEEL.

With deep belief in my faith,
and regards to non-belief of others,

Nagesh Pai
Saraswat and a Hindu

References:
Hindustan Times - Mumbai Edition dated February 28, 2010

Paintings by MF Hussain viewable HERE