The month gone by was a very contrasting and saddening one for the
very idea of India. Two young Indians hogged the limelight this month but for
very different reasons. On one hand a brave son of our country, Hanumanthapa,
eventually lost his life to a monstrous avalanche by being buried under a 35
ft. snow cover, serving his motherland in inhuman conditions. And on the other,
a youngster by the name Kanhaiya Kumar
exercised his freedom of speech and idea of nationalism in a way that took the
entire country by a storm. Unfortunately, where we should have ideally spent
the month in celebrating and coronating the former for his sacrifice, thanks to
our vibrant and sensationalism seeking media we opted to divulge all our
attention and energy towards the latter’s heroics.
Now a large section of media has been advocating Kanhaiya’s controversial
speech through the tenets of ‘Freedom of
Speech’. But can freedom of speech shield or cover for any level of
obscenity? Can you abuse your mother under the gambit of freedom of speech? Can
you go to Times Square, New York, hail Osama Bin Laden and still leave scot
free stating you were exercising your freedom of speech? There has to be some
sanity, some logic and some sense of responsibility that has to be exercised
even while exorbitantly leveraging ones freedom of speech.
But since there are theories doing the rounds that the entire Kanhaiya fiasco has been made up, the
video was doctored and the poor guy was made a scapegoat. Let us for a moment
not discuss what all he supposedly said (or not said). And only focus on the
celebrity status that has been bestowed upon him by the media and some
political parties. They believe he is the voice of present day India, he is the
one who is asking the real questions and he is the one who is also the future
of the nation, which otherwise is in darkness, under the current government.
But are things really as alarming?
He feels that under Mr Modi the nation has gone to an age which is
akin to Hilter’s era. Really? But you still delivered that shameful speech and
went on to become the most celebrated hero of the year. He feels that onslaught
of poverty, high inflation and all the miseries that the common man of this
nation have to bear is due to Mr Modi. Really? Not many were probably aware
then, that prior to 2014 (since Modi took charge) this nation was a wonderland.
He also feels that the current regime has forcefully saffron-ized the culture
of this nation. Really? Your supporters have been professing this theory even
when Modi & Co were in opposition but a thumping majority still brought
them to the helm. And much to the merriment of the opposition parties and media
houses he has a long list of such accusations and Prime Minister mocking
theatrics, which is ironically not obscene and objectionable as it is well
within the purview of freedom of speech.
Now anywhere in the world, irrespective of whether you are making
sense or not, if you are a good orator, you are bound to get plenty of
attention. And if you can mock, criticize and dissect someone and make people
laugh out of it, you certainly attract a few more eyeballs. Modi did the same
leading up to 2014, people related to it and he single-handedly became the
nation’s no.1 neta. But ask him how today how difficult it is to manage that
faith and the burden of humongous expectations. He might be doing a good job
but today he has as many detractors and dissenters who are finding everything
that he did in 2014 as sheer gimmick. So it might be easy for Kanhaiya ji to remind people of how
things are not so rosy under Modi but were they picture perfect for the last 60
years, under the erstwhile leadership? Or how are things in West Bengal where
his ideological political outfit (CPI) ruled for over 35 years?
Its easiest to just sit back, criticize and find problems in anything
and everything one does? But not so easy to suggest few solutions to these
problems. I am quite sure, the celebrated hero that Kanhaiya today is, won’t
have any solutions himself to the long list of problems that he has been
blaming and accusing the government for. True traits of successful politician
may be, but then he has categorically denied that of any political ambitions
and has even emphasized that he is just a student. If so, why don’t you focus
on your studies rather than creating such a ruckus. In fact, try studying for
18 hours every day without taking a leave for the next 2 years, it might not
only augur well for you and your family but will also do lot of good to our
beloved nation.
--
kin…
Post Script – The most unfortunate role in this entire episode has
been of electronic Media. In the common good of nation, where they shouldn’t
have given any credence and coverage to this entire stupidity and rather
focused on the real heroes like Hanumanthapa, the lure of
sensationalism and TRPs have led them to make a hero out of nothing and stoop to sad levels.
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