Dear Mr. Husain

I have great respect to artists. Especially to those like you who have set your own mark in the field of art, though I don’t understand (and can’t appreciate) certain forms of art due to the lack of my knowledge in the field of art. But as far as the freedom of expression goes, I am fully with you Sir. That nobody holds the right to tell an artist how he/she should express through their art. And an artist need not consider what his/her audience asks what to do with their artistic medium because that will kill the sole purpose of his/her work. Art is born when an artiste feels that he/she cannot live without doing it.

But you should also consider, Mr. Husain, that people are free to protest. Peacefully, yes. They can file complaints in the court and as long as the laws of the country see it fit, the court can ask you to be present and give an explanation by the law. No sir, I am not supporting the Sangh Family here. Those goons will have this or any other reason just to flare up the communal sentiments and get people into the street to get them killed. On one hand they proclaim they are a civilized society unlike the Fatwa issuing communities and on the other they issue their own Fatwas – like offering Rs. 51 crores to behead you, 1 KG of Gold to gouge your eyes and 20000 Euros to chop off your hands. But except for their blind and foolish supporters, nobody has thought a bit highly of them, so let us leave it at that.

Now coming to the matter at hand, shouldn’t you accept the end results of your work with the same courage that you took to do your creative work? Shouldn’t you face the court, like many brave souls did, to stand tall and firm for the artistic cause you had? Have you ever thought of what kind of an impression it leaves upon the supporters of freedom of expression when you go hiding in another country and fly around in your Ferrarri while you put all the blame on your old homeland? I do understand, that any man can get afraid of getting caged at this age, after having been revered as one of the great artists of our time. So if you just simply said that you don’t prefer to live in India fearing the court case, that would make more sense. But by putting blame on India, that it did not protect you or there were not enough sane and supportive voices, you are insulting the sensitivity of the majority of the people here in India, who have always supported the freedom of expression, unlike a few goons from the saffron brigade.

Were you running away fearing for your life? But even then, what makes you think you are more secure in Qatar? Fundamentalists are everywhere and if you are running away from them, you will have to run away from the whole world. So what is the kind of example that you are setting here?

You say a painter is a world citizen. But why just the painter, Sir? We are all citizens of this world, not just you. We all know that countries, states and borders are all illusions drawn by some people to stay firm to powerful places, but it is our convenience and sentiments that makes us stay where we are. Why don’t you just accept and admit that simple fact?

PS: I am also curious as to why you mentioned you had a friend, who was a “Brahmin”. What and how does that matter in proving your tolerance to religions?

Related post: I am an Indian

The BJP seems to be in a serious state of confusion after the Lok Sabha poll results. The party is confused whether to stick harder on to the Hindutva ideology or should rather upgrade themselves to a centrist identity. Add to this the internal conflicts and the occassional warnings from the Parivar. And now comes the most embarassing event to the party – a book by it’s senior leader Jaswant Singh, praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Personally, I would like to congratulate Jaswant Singh for he tried to see things through a centrist glass which even the so-called secularists in Congress wouldn’t dare to do. Even though I do not get why Jaswant Singh gives a clean chit to Jinnah (I believe Jinnah is “equally” responsible for partition and can’t be acquitted of that), but some authors have noted that Nehru and Patel (and their hunger for power) were equally responsible for partition and even Gandhi was saddened of their attitude. “Freedom at Midnight”, written by Larry Collins and Dominic Lapiere, has detailed on this and the events lead to partition.

From what I read about the book, this should have been an opportunity for the BJP leaders to attack the Congress party and it’s iconic leaders. An oppportunity to use Jinnah as a political tool to claim that the Congress party was equally responsible for partition. However the saffron masters chose the opposite way and expelled Jaswant Singh from the party.

This decision to expel Jaswant Singh from the party gives us just one message – the usual one – that BJP was, is and always will remain as a fundamentalist party and there is no scope for them to upgrade according to the times. It has been proven that it is the hardliners who have a say in the party. According to the news reports the people who played behind Jaswant Singh’s expel from the party are Murli Manohar Joshi, Vinay Katiyar and Narnedra Modi. For BJP and RSS, who always keep on talking about “Akhanda Bharath”, can’t put two Hindu leaders (even if they are from the rival Congress party) on the same plane as a Muslim to hold responsibility of partition.

But there are some questions we need to raise about Jaswant Singh. Is he playing wise by playing a political victim? Is this book an indication of his future political plans? Did he just become secular and a free-thinker all in a sudden? Where was he when his party and it’s Parivar was spreading hatred and violence in the name of religon? The way I see it is that Jaswanth Singh wanted a break from politics or at least he wanted to separate himself from the party. He played and played it wise. Now his publishers will sell more copies of his book and he can start touring the world with his book.

The remaining question is, what is the Congress party’s stand on this? Why are they silent?

(Image courtesy: Indian Express)

In a historic judgment, the Delhi High Court has passed a ruling that recommends section 377 of IPC should be amended and any sex between two consenting adults should be legalized. This comes as a big solace to India’s homosexuals as it opens up the way to legalize consensual sex between two adult homosexuals. The Court has said that section 377, if not amended would be a violation of Article 21 of the constitution which states that every citizen should be treated equally before the law. I am happy that the Court has upheld the values of human rights and the right to live with dignity and equal opportunity (at least in the eyes of the law).

Chief Justice Shah and Justice Muralidhar said, “We declare Section 377 in so far as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts of adults in private is violative of articles 14, 21 and 15 of the Constitution. The provision of Section 377 will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non vaginal sex involving minors.” [Legally gay: historic court order makes it possible - CNN IBN]

The new ruling however will not be immediately implemented because it is now up to the parliament to take a decision to amend the law. And I am not sure whether the politicians would take a positive stand on the matter because there is strong protest from various religious groups including Christians, Hindus and Muslims (which also means “vote banks”). I have only one thing to ask them. You have time and again taken pride in saying that your respective religion has revised it’s teachings and text according to the times. Each of you claim that you are the most modern religion. Now is your chance to prove it. If you think that a supreme force like God(s) cannot be inclusive, what kind of love and tolerance do you preach?

As for the LGBT community, they have many challenges lying ahead. For the starters, they should begin educating people on homosexuality rather than keeping people off with the explicit symbols of sexuality. The homosexuals need to let the heterosexuals know that other than their preference in love and sex, they are not a sex-hungry group but normal people, just like the rest of us. They should also help others identify whether they are truly Gay or not. (I read an excellent post on this topic in Sam’s blog where he answered someone about the differences between feeling Gay and being Gay).

Anyways, the Indian society cannot live in denial. Homosexuality and homosexuals are for real.  Our denial only makes the whole situation worse, adding up to the failed marriages, sexual diseases and suicides. So no matter what an individual thinks of homosexuality, the Government and Law should uphold the rights of every individual. The Court has done it’s part. Will the Government follow?

Related posts:

Homosexuality and Our Perceptions
Indian Penal Code, Section 377

And now comes another blow at the Sangh Parivar and BJP. Straight from the head priest of Ram Janmabhoomi, Satyendra Das.

But Babri Masjid was demolished so that Ram Mandir could be built.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid was an unfortunate incident. It was like a mandir only [sic]. It protected Ram Lalla and pujas were regularly organised there. Thousands of devotees thronged the place. After they destroyed the masjid, Ram Lalla stands unprotected in storm and rain. There’s only a makeshift structure. They said they would build a mandir; their intention was to grab power. Earlier, nobody had a problem with the fact that pujas were held inside the masjid, nobody protested. But all problems started after the Babri Masjid was demolished.

Local Muslims never had a problem with pujas being held inside the Babri Masjid?

Nobody had any problem. They even used to say that let us all sit together and find a solution to the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid issue. It was only when the BJP and the Bajrang Dal came and started the Ram Janmabhoomi movement that relations soured between the two communities. There was bloodshed, mandirs were destroyed. Now everything is normal again. It is not an issue in Ayodhya, never was. Hindus and Muslims have always lived in peace in Ayodhya. The BJP’s lust for power created all the problems.

Read more at Mid-Day.

(Image courtesy: Mid-Day)

I admit that when I read a news report titled “NGOs, Teesta spiced up Gujarat riot incidents: SIT” in Times of India, I almost bought it. I know it is stupid to blindly believe everything that the media churns out, but the story was published in TOI and they quoted the SIT  in their news report which added to some primary credibility. Then there were immediate responses from Sangh Parivar sympathizers. They said that the “pseudo-secular media” conveniently withheld the story from publishing since it is election time. They attacked their enemies, those who stand for the secular ethos of the country. They also wanted the Supreme Court to initiate action on the “pseudo secular media” because of their silence on the issue.

I was shocked to read the whole thing. I got confused too, as whom to believe and whom not to believe on such sensitive issues. I thought that the very same secular values that many people in this great country stood for have just got dirty because of people like Teesta. Like I said before, I almost bought it.

Yet, the main charges/claims of the Times of India reporter had no substance and it did not come from the SIT. The major claims in the Times of India report mentioned the following:

• The riot witnesses were tutored by Teesta Setalvad before submitting the affidavits
• The celebrated rights activist [referring to Teesta] cooked up macabre tales of wanton killings
• The gangrape on Kausar Banu, and the gouging out of her foetus by the mob was found with “no truth”
• Dumping of dead bodies into a well by rioters at Naroda Patiya was also found with “no truth”

The TOI report said that all of these were told by SIT chief R K Raghavan in the Supreme Court on April 13th, Monday. But hold your horses, because none from the SIT or Mr. Raghavan himself were present in the apex court on April 13 to tell anything.

Even though the TOI article was referring to the SIT report, the person whom they quoted was Gujarat government’s counsel, Mukul Rohtagi. And the SIT chief Mr. Raghavan told Hindutan Times that the alleged leaks appear to have been based on statements of state police officials and “cannot be termed as findings of the report.”[via]

Then came the second article in Times of India, by the same reporter and this time the reporter said nothing about the above claims and rather held on to “discrepancies” and “contradictions“. No word about Kausar Banu, Wanton Killing or the Tutoring of Teesta. He chose to be silent on those allegations which he had earlier stated as the “SIT found untrue“.

So yes, if this is the kind of journalism we are fed with, there needs to have legal action against “such” media houses. Unfortunately, these are the times of India.

PS: It doesn’t take a genius to guess why the Gujarat counsel’s claims made news just 3 days before the 1st phase of general elections. I am not for or against Teesta’s case. We have a process of law in place and our Supreme Court to judge the case. So let the law take it’s due course.

Related reading:

About warped minds - Dilip D’Souza
‘Cooking Up Macabre Tales’: FAQ – Outlook

Labs change. On every poll year. Once Ayodhya, then Gujarat and now Orissa.

In Chattisgarh, the Parivar Government’s enemy was a humanitarian doctor, whose work has been appreciated by people around the world (including America, yes), who is still in jail for alleged Maoist links. The Parivar’s enemy here was Naxalites.

In Kandhamal, Orissa, alleged Maoist rebels killed VHP leader Lakshmananda Saraswati. The BJD Government (supported by BJP) was widely accused for their inaction, but Parivar supported the government. Here the Parivar added a new enemy with Naxalites, so the new enemy was called “Christian-Naxalite nexus“.

Now, soon after the BJD ruled out the alliance with BJP in the upcoming elections, an RSS leader (who was detained in connection with the anti-Christian riots and released from jail recently) has been killed allegedly by Maoists in Orissa. And Parivar adds a new enemy to the nexus – their ex-lover State Government – so the enemy is now pronounced as “Christian-State Government-Naxalite nexus“.

But the poll politics does not end there. The Left front, the so-called guardians of Secularism, is now offering support for the BJD government. The same secular forces who have once accused the BJD government of it’s inaction during the Kandhamal riots. I see that Amnesia is a good thing, at least in politics.

I’m a fan of WTF posts by Amit Varma, but it is not because of that I uttered WTF(!) when I read about Varun Gandhi saying ‘I’m a Gandhi‘ in an interview with CNN-IBN. Varun who have reportedly said his hand “is not a hand, but it is the power of a lotus”, and that lotus “will cut the head of Muslims”, also said he is a Gandhian. A Gandhian, he said. And I don’t know if he ever cared to read beyond Gandhi, the surname.

This year’s is Varun’s first election campaign and his mother has happily given away her constituency for her son (yes, the family affairs work well in BJP too). Playing the communal card during election times is nothing new for his party and his party leaders. Varun too would have wanted to become the fire brand of the party. Well, that is how it works for all fire brands of BJP. Advani played the communal card, became the face of Hindutva and now the Prime Minister candidate of BJP. Narendra Modi played the same card, replaced Advani as the face of Hindutva and by the looks of it, soon will become the next Prime Minister candidate of BJP.

So Varun must have thought, why not do it from the start? The other two men had to wait until they became old but considering there is a cousin from the clan leading the forefront of Congress, Varun has too little time to waste. But since his speech has got widespread news coverage and the Election Commission filed a case against Varun, he’s got his plans all wrong. Even his own party had to say that “we don’t agree with what Varun has said” to save their face.

During the denial drama, Varun claimed that the videos were edited and probably tomorrow he would be made to sound like Amitabh Bachan. I’m just wondering, is it that bad to sound like Amitabh Bachan? Now there is a clear scope for Bachan to take an offense.

(Photo courtesy: BBC, AFP)

When the Mangalore pub attack happened, a popular Hindutva website based in Kerala sort of justified the attack saying that what Sri Ram Sene has done was to save the Hindu girls from being lured away by Muslim youth. They also coined the term Jehadi Romeo. A Malayalam newspaper which is known to have strong ties with SNDP Yogam and it’s chief Vellappally Nadesan (who is famous for his anti-minority views), carried out an article about Love Jehad which mentions the new strategies of Jehadis.

Now the SRS chief says that the issue was not about Muslim boys, but about girls drinking:

The Amnesia pub attack. Was your problem that the girls were drinking, or that they were hanging out with Muslim boys?

No, there was no religious issue. It was about girls drinking.
[via]

I am just wondering what would the SRS supporters have to say now.

Just two-hour drive away from their capital Islamabad, Pakistan government gives way to Taliban and sanctions the implementation of Sharia, the strict Islamic law, in Swat and surrounding regions of the North West Frontier Province. The deal comes with the nod of the Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani who is allegedly in favor of the extremist elements in Pakistan (it is also reported that CIA has satellite intercepts of the Pakistan army tipping off Taliban fighters when a US missile strike was imminent). Now India has more reasons to worry about the state of Pakistan as their army is now aligned with the terrorist elements and will use them to fight against India. It is just a matter of time that General Kayani will seize the government and get into power like Musharaff did. The danger here is that this time the army chief is a pro-Taliban person.

CNN Reports:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — Pakistani government officials announced Monday an agreement with the Taliban to allow strict Islamic law, or sharia, to be implemented in parts of North West Frontier Province.

It marks a major concession by the Pakistani government in its attempt to hold off Taliban militants who have terrorized the region with beheadings, kidnappings, and the destruction of girls’ schools.

The government will recognize sharia for the entire Malakand Division, which includes the Swat district — a two-hour drive from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad — the chief minister of North West Frontier Province Amir Haider Hoti announced Monday in a news conference. Islamic law is already being practiced in the area, where the Taliban have control. [Pakistani government does deal with Taliban on sharia law - CNN.com]

Hey! What’s up? Haven’t seen you lately.

Yeah, I’ve been busy.

Busy with what? Work?

Yeah, work. But not the office work. I joined a cultural army and was busy protecting our culture.

Oh, you joined the Sene Sainiks? I heard you guys beat up some girls in a pub or something? Man, why would you do something like that??

We were actually protecting our women, silly! Did you know that Muslim boys lure away our girls and get them converted at Ponnani in Kerala? And it is not only our girls, but the Christian girls too. Christian girls man! Your tribe. Do you see the danger now? We gotta be together in this fight against Jehadi Romeos!

Oh! Didn’t know that. Hmmm… but hey! Wait a minute! Why would you beat the girls for what boys are doing to them? You were beating up them poor victims for the fault of someone else?

That is why we talk about culture saala! These girls did not consider our warnings about Jehadis and became a threat to our great culture.

So you beat them up in order to protect our culture?

Well, that too.

But what right do you hold to come in and beat up these girls? Shouldn’t it be left to themselves to decide what they want to do with their life and culture?

When they fail on their duty to uphold the culture, we come in and take care of that. See what a selfless service we do to our country?

Hmm… well, you remind me of someone else whom I’ve seen in the media. I can’t remember who it is, but you resemble him a lot.

Oh yeah? Who is it? Well, anyways, do you see what western culture is doing to us with all these?

Well, what is this western culture?

Immorality, that’s what the West is all about! They booze, they date, they always think about sex.

I’m just thinking who was that other guy I’ve seen on TV. You remind me of him a lot.

What?

Forget it. Anyways, I think we had all of what you said since thousands of years back? We even wrote Kamasutra that explained… well.. you know… several ways of having sex.

That is part of the culture, silly! We taught the world how to have sex! And compare it to what these girls do in pubs! They get boozed and dances with men of other religions! What a horrible crime that is!!

Oh yeah, I can see that. And what is it that you have against Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day is a Christian festival. And Christians imported such festivals from the West to convert people to Christianity!

Valentine’s Day is a Christian festival? I never heard of any Church in India celebrating the festival of St. Valentine.

You wouldn’t. Such are the tactics of the Christians!

I got it! I got it!!

What?

The guy whom you reminded me of.

Who is it?

Osama Bin Laden! He too used to talk passionately about protecting his religion and culture from the west, the Christian west’s agenda to de-stabilize the Islamic countries, and upholding the culture by taking it on women and innocent people!

You bloody pseudo-secularist, Commie, Christian! I will see what to do with you!

(PS: Those who are interested can also participate in the Pink Chaddi campaign. There could be no better Valentine’s Day gift than a Pink Chaddi to send to the Sri Ram Sene folks! )