Javed Akhtar has very pertinent and sane advice for people loosing their sleep over singing of 'Vande Mataram'
"....If some people don't want to sing the song, let them not sing it. But why waste our energy debating on it? We live in a democracy and should, therefore, allow people to exercise their democratic rights.
....A party with a strong political base should rather concentrate on other vexing problems. For instance, they should lose sleep over 105 farmers committing suicide in Vidarbha last month or children dying of malnutrition and not over a national song's supposed separatist tone.Instead of analysing Vande Mataram and going into hair-splitting details, they should take note of pregnancy-related deaths in rural areas, do something to eradicate poverty and the unemployment that dog the country.
The politicians must not take people's attention away from core issues - they should not influence them to move away from the less privileged population of the country....."
Read more: http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/06guest.htm
There are two things that I would like to add to the above. First, the Congress Party is an equal ally of the BJP in trying to divert public attention from issues to non-issues. In fact the politics of non-issues is an invention of the Congress Party only perfected by the BJP and others by raising other potential non-issues.
Actually, politics of non-issues, sprouts from the 'personalization' of politics wherein the welfare of the politician himself takes precedence over the welfare of the constituency[Read related post by Gaurav Sabnis]. This problem manifests itself beyond the Indian scene - and politics has seen a steady decline in the years approaching the 21st century across the world. The recent controversy in the UK (wherein 17 MPs have signed letters asking Blair to step down) and my own discussions with my native colleagues here, clearly make me feel that present day politicians in UK are also being considered hollow as compared to there mid-20th century couterparts. In fact one of my collegaues here once lamented - ".. these politicians you know! We elect them to provide for infrastructure, security and all that. But all they go about doing is changing names of streets and buildings!". I bet one would say the same (& much more) for Indian politicians.
Finally, the above issue also raises questions about the meaning of Democracy. Does the government have right to force citizen to sing a particular song even if it is the 'national song'? Or does democracy also symbolize freedom of a citizen to choose and not to be forced by any means and any code to do anything that s/he does not wish to.
Should people necessarily conform to certain rules and by-laws established by the state even if they do not agree with them? If yes, then what is the difference between a democracy and other forms of government - other than the fact that the 'state' in democracy is elected by a 'majority'? How are the rights of political minorities* safeguarded in a democracy as against other forms of government?
I am not sure we have unequivocal answers to the above questions ... democracies in the world are far from being perfect!
*Political Minority (that segment of the electorate which votes against the party in power during elections) has nothing to do with the religious minorities, and should not be confused with it. Same holds true for political majority vs. religious majority.
"....If some people don't want to sing the song, let them not sing it. But why waste our energy debating on it? We live in a democracy and should, therefore, allow people to exercise their democratic rights.
....A party with a strong political base should rather concentrate on other vexing problems. For instance, they should lose sleep over 105 farmers committing suicide in Vidarbha last month or children dying of malnutrition and not over a national song's supposed separatist tone.Instead of analysing Vande Mataram and going into hair-splitting details, they should take note of pregnancy-related deaths in rural areas, do something to eradicate poverty and the unemployment that dog the country.
The politicians must not take people's attention away from core issues - they should not influence them to move away from the less privileged population of the country....."
Read more: http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/06guest.htm
There are two things that I would like to add to the above. First, the Congress Party is an equal ally of the BJP in trying to divert public attention from issues to non-issues. In fact the politics of non-issues is an invention of the Congress Party only perfected by the BJP and others by raising other potential non-issues.
Actually, politics of non-issues, sprouts from the 'personalization' of politics wherein the welfare of the politician himself takes precedence over the welfare of the constituency[Read related post by Gaurav Sabnis]. This problem manifests itself beyond the Indian scene - and politics has seen a steady decline in the years approaching the 21st century across the world. The recent controversy in the UK (wherein 17 MPs have signed letters asking Blair to step down) and my own discussions with my native colleagues here, clearly make me feel that present day politicians in UK are also being considered hollow as compared to there mid-20th century couterparts. In fact one of my collegaues here once lamented - ".. these politicians you know! We elect them to provide for infrastructure, security and all that. But all they go about doing is changing names of streets and buildings!". I bet one would say the same (& much more) for Indian politicians.
Finally, the above issue also raises questions about the meaning of Democracy. Does the government have right to force citizen to sing a particular song even if it is the 'national song'? Or does democracy also symbolize freedom of a citizen to choose and not to be forced by any means and any code to do anything that s/he does not wish to.
Should people necessarily conform to certain rules and by-laws established by the state even if they do not agree with them? If yes, then what is the difference between a democracy and other forms of government - other than the fact that the 'state' in democracy is elected by a 'majority'? How are the rights of political minorities* safeguarded in a democracy as against other forms of government?
I am not sure we have unequivocal answers to the above questions ... democracies in the world are far from being perfect!
*Political Minority (that segment of the electorate which votes against the party in power during elections) has nothing to do with the religious minorities, and should not be confused with it. Same holds true for political majority vs. religious majority.
i guess it's just another (old) wine is a new bottle (artificial issue) ... i spoke abt naming bangaluru some time back... similar stuff revisited... a never ending story :)
ReplyDeletePS: i like the title of this blog
Nikhil,
ReplyDeleteI know it's fashionable to be liberal nowadays and BJP is probably the most hated party in the country.
But Javed Akthar lecturing others on issues is stretching a bit too much.
Behind the facade of a sauve and liberal muslim intellectual, Javed Akthar [and his wife Shabana] have been routinely hypocrytical.
For example they were silent when "Mee Nathuram Godse boltoye" was banned. They never uttered a word when Da Vinci Code was banned. Neither did they mind when India banned Satanic Verses.
All the above instances being examples of crushing of democratic rights and privileges.
They up the ante only when BJP or Hindutatva-vadis as they are called take up any cause.
Vande Mataram is a great national song. Someone of your age may not be able to relate to what sort of a meaning it has to so many people.
Loud mouths like Javed Akhtar,Mahesh Bhatt who carry all that "Secularism" mambo-jumbo on their sleeves should be the last people to lecture anyone. What have they done for farmers of Vidharbha or rural unemployed?
If Shiv Sena was ruling Maharashtra right now, the whole English media would have made life hell for the ruling coaliton for the farmer's death in Vidharbha. Since the "secular", and "liberal" Congress govt is ruling, there's only a passing mention of suicides on the front pages.
When people like you take BJP to task, there sounds a hollow ring somewhere owing to such blatant double standards existing in the country's youth's perception today.