| In Defense of Advani | |||
|
|
By: Gaurav Moghe June 16, 2005 Views expressed here are author’s own and not of this website. Full disclaimer is at the bottom. 
FeedbackThe next ten days are going to be an endless and senseless chattering by the reporters of Headlines Today, Star News, Sahara, Zee News, and NDTV (ranked in terms of dumbness of the reporters and news anchors). And surely, our print media will not remain far behind. Advani`s remarks and his subsequent resignation have given them a source of showing off their knowledge about India`s political scenario and the ideology of the RSS and BJP. The events have rushed up the adrenalin of the nation, and these channels will act as the catalysts of generating more confusion and heated tempers over the next few days. When Advani said that "Demolition of Babri Masjid was the saddest day of my life", it made to the headlines of the Times. News anchors were expressing their disbelief and utter surprise over him making such statements, purposely oblivious of the fact that he has said this a thousand times in the past. It has been his stand from Day One that he had taken the Rath Yatra for political gains, and securing a national face for the BJP. Even to an observant idiot, it would have been immediately obvious that he is one of the very few in Indian politics who function not by the heart but by the brain, in a way that is not destructive for the country. He is a person who cannot be judged by the common parameters that are used for judging Uma Bharati or Laloo Prasad yadav or Amrinder Singh or Jayalalitha. He is someone who is an ideologist, a rationalist who has understood the purpose of his existence, both short term and long term. Look up into his records and you will find never a statement that is contradictory upon discussion. His statements might be a source of a lot of confusion for the nation because that mind thinks so much that the relations between events that are immediately obvious to it are not so obvious for the nation. Once you yourself think about it, they seem to make sense. But for that, of course, you have to know his verbatim statements, and not statements quoted out of context by the media. The saga of bashful reporting continued with one more "reporter", who must have joined journalism when he learned that he could talk fluent English and that he could get lots of money and fame, without knowing the premises, the ideologies, the stands on which Indian politics runs, declaring that "There was no pressure from VHP and Sangh Parivar on Advani. He has resigned today with the sole intention of scoring political points." He continued to ask Sitaram Yechuri later, " Sir, do you think that BJP is now a victim of its own communal brand of politics?"….and just a few years ago, "Reporting" meant "To Report" and not "To change, modify and spice up with some soundbytes". Another local news channel described Advani as a member of Rastriya Swayamsevi Sanstha (read RSS). One of the most respected figures of not just the Sangh Parivar but also the entire Indian politique , he is now being rebuked by half-baked heads like Pravin Togadia, who once said on National Television that "Lord Ram was born seven lakh years ago". A person who has his brains in his osteocytes of his femur calls a person who is regarded as an "intellectual" in Indian political circles a traitor. A person who has served the country for 60 years, a person who championed the cause of Indian nationalism, a person who "resigned" in 1998 when doubts were cast on his role in the hawala scam to come out clean 2 years after, a person who has used every rule in the book to bring peace to Nagaland, Manipur, Kashmir during his tenure as the Home Minister, a person known to be a man of the highest moral ground is now being called as a "betrayer" of India and "Hindus" by the decibel generating fanatic sidearm of the Sangh Parivar. L.K.Advani`s act of resignation is again as practical a decision as the man himself. The statements that he made in Pakistan generated a lot of confusion, and for whatever reasons he made those statements, he would never be able to fully make up for the damage. The resignation therefore comes as no surprise. He knows that wherever he goes he will be plagued with this controversy, now even from the members within the Sangh Parivar. There would be no respite from this. And this would be further detrimental to the party, as such, the party he joined in 1952 and has served faithfully for 50 years. There would be no use of his existence as the Party President. Advani would have never expected that his statements would cause such furore back home. There is no doubt in my mind that he has made these statements with a reason, words don`t slip out of his mouth. It could be getting a moderate face, I don`t deny that. But at the same time you cannot exclude the possibility that something else could also be at play. Probably he was overwhelmed with his past memories of the Jinnah he knew during the Independence struggle. Probably, he was trying to raise a wider debate back in India on secularism. Probably, he made these statements to further break the ice between India and Pakistan in the last few years of his life, a mission he had set for himself when he became the Home Minister. Only the man knows. But I would still give him the benefit of doubt and let my image of Lal Krishna Advani, a man whom I respect to the core for his intellect, change only when I come to know what his mind thought before making such statements. Gaurav Moghe
Send your views to author Do you wish to reach our readers?
submit your guest column |
Previous
by: Gaurav Moghe BJP heading for a doom? May 03, 2004 Comments: "Close down your site" October 20, 2003 Upbeat India October 15, 2003
India"s Religious Disparities May
05, 2003
India Pak - Cricket : When The
Ground Situation Changed
March 04, 2003 Education Problems; Time to Change October 25, 2002
|