Dear friends,
Regarding one of PM Modi's
foreign visits, I put across my point of views to the eminent columnist
Siddharth Varadarajan, to which he humbly replied.
Article I responded to can be
read at : http://www.ndtv.com/article/
_________________________________________________________________
Me :
Dear Mr.
Vardarajan,
Trust
all’s good.
I chanced
upon this article you wrote on the gifting of the Gita. Whilst it is well
ornamented with flowery words that can impress upon the Tharoors of the world,
it lacks merit of a balanced discussion. By writing this piece, you
proved the PM right again. You have initiated it, and now others, who were
quiet just to ensure that they don’t prove Modi right, will start
speaking up. I guess News X has already done a show on this.
As for the
hate mongering against a particular community is concerned, I have a different
theory that emanates from looking at a wider picture than a one siloed by
prejudice. I like the humbleness in the way the government is reacting and
talking about inclusive growth. You will see that consistent across the country
(perhaps apart from in UP which I will detail in a bit). I like the idea that
the government is for the people of India than for appeasing a particular
section of the society. What is happening in UP is a clear sign of state
sponsored evangelism for a particular section of the society at the cost of
basic human rights (and trampling upon a women’s honor to achieve a sinister
end)! I would have expected you to write a piece on that. Email me if I missed
it.
I will
await a more balanced piece from you in future. Probably a one where I will be
able to see a prime ministerial visit in the shades of black and white, what
was achieved and what was not that are critical to the country. I am sure you
will write on that, given your Aug 30th article on "Calibrating India's
terms of engagement with Japan" as a precursor to the visit. I would,
and every youth would hardly be interested in a piece written by well-known
journalists like you on the color of the fish fed by Modi being saffron.
Hope to
see more insights from your coming article. Please don't see it as an outright
rejection of the piece, but just a pulse check of what the people want to hear
about from people of your eminence. Please check several comments on your blog
to sense a mood.
Greatest
respect and regards
Reply from Mr. Varadarajan
Dear Rahul,
I proved Modi right?
Modi said "secular friends" would call his act of gifting the Gita communal.
I have praised the Gita and the gift.
I have discussed what the central message of the Gita is.
And I have said the PM ought to follow that message and do his duty even if it means waging war against people who are his (political) kith and kin.
So what exactly are you objecting to?
Thanks for taking the trouble to write, btw.
I proved Modi right?
Modi said "secular friends" would call his act of gifting the Gita communal.
I have praised the Gita and the gift.
I have discussed what the central message of the Gita is.
And I have said the PM ought to follow that message and do his duty even if it means waging war against people who are his (political) kith and kin.
So what exactly are you objecting to?
Thanks for taking the trouble to write, btw.
My final response
Thank you very much sir for the revert. Really appreciate your
taking time out and must compliment you on that.
I had a couple of observation which perhaps I should have
squeezed in in my earlier email. My apologies for not doing so. Hopefully these
points would make it clear.
1. The reference to "Rajdharma"
This is a media cliche and classic case of picking up a line out of context. If you youTube the video where PM Vajpayee supposedly advises Mr. Modi, it is clear that the subsequent sentence was "I believe he is following the Raj Dharma". One has full rights to express a concern, but not based on half baked factoids.
2. Citing of the Gita
I am glad that you highlighted one of the central messages of the Gita, however, your subsequent remark and undertone of Modi's understanding of the Gita perhaps tilted the article more in the parlance of getting back to the normal extension of "He is communal".
3. Building up humour in Politics
It's aspirational that we in India can have a ceremony on the lines of the White House correspondents dinner. If you recall the one where Obama and McCain were seated side by side taking jibes and each other and the media ; President Bush doing so by mocking himself >> Imagine , if an Indian PM does it, what will media say (think on the lines of the "puppy" remark)? If Modi makes fun of his knowledge of history, you (media) will take it as face value and say "Oh, he does not know his history" and the Manishankars would advise him to go back to selling teas as he does not fit the elite group. My point in this context is, that when Modi mentioned "Seculars" , he was taking a jibe at the so called intelligentsia and political parties who indulge in all sort communal activities , appeasement et al. and then club him a communal. He has had enough of it. Must remind that there was a thunderous applause once he made that comments complemented by laughter (a good punch line, I would say).
The other day an article quoted Shekhar Gupta (who I have great respect for as well) as " Modi’s recent Independence Day speech, which was widely hailed as "forward-looking and modern" was also, as the columnist Shekhar Gupta pointed out, "pure RSS" in its emphasis on "family values, morality, cleanliness, discipline and patriotism."
Which of that virtue is not that of a good Indian citizen? That's in fact universal. The article was written in a pessimistic tone (http://www.bloombergview.com/
These are my opinion based on the limited I know of politics and society.
_________________________________________________________
Keeping us honest,
Happy reading
Rahul
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