This is OUR struggle, let’s not fall for the fake show of solidarity

Following up from where I left in my last piece in which I highlighted the need for Hindus of all ideological leanings to come together, putting differences aside, and join the cause for resurrecting the Hindu pride - it struck me before I decided to start this piece, that there are forces currently in India which are pretending to be a part of our endeavour, but their hidden motive is to cater to their vested interests.       

I cannot help but feel agitated at the thought that a sizeable section of our community members endorses celebrities as champions of the Hindu cause. There cannot be something more disturbing than this. Is our mission to restore the Hindu pride or to gift a perfect platform to some self-proclaimed Hindu activists and nationalists to achieve, what appears to be, their political or social goals or both?   

In the unfortunate currents scenario, it appears that we are digressing or have digressed already. The movement that was inherently supposed to be spearheaded by the average Hindu has ended up getting somewhat hijacked by the powerful and the influential, bearing no emotional connection whatsoever with the cause. 

There is every reason to believe that, who I refer to as ‘pseudo-crusaders’ having questionable intentions and credentials, are doing what they are only for the cameras. They have little or nothing to show in terms of real contribution. 

A famous film star, Kangana Ranaut, has recently been at loggerheads with the Maharashtra government over a multitude of issues, amid the Sushant Singh Rajput death controversy. Strangely, she seems to have emerged out of nowhere as a vocal commentator on several contentious issues, including those related to the nationalistic and the Hindu cause.

The argument here is not that anyone, celebrity or otherwise, should be discouraged or barred from being a part of any social movement. However, as the real sufferers, we need to be careful and absolutely sure about those we put on a pedestal and declare as the torchbearers of our struggle. 

In the case of Kangana Ranaut, the lady has no credentials or contributions that should earn her the title of ‘voice of revolution’ as many have been suggesting. The maximum contribution one can think of is her recent videos in which she spoke rather uninhibitedly about some socio-political issues from a “ring-wing” perspective. 

One of the videos condemned the brutal killing of the Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch Ajay Bharti, who was murdered in cold blood by Islamists in Kashmir. There was nothing wrong with the content of the video or the intention behind releasing it, even if she scripted it as part of her  PR exercise to fulfil her personal ambitions. But it was what followed after that which baffled me. The social media was abuzz with adulatory reactions from Hindus, especially from the Kashmiri Pandit community, declaring Kangana as the next big Hindu voice who understands the plight of KPs, as though she had personally gone through the ordeal of the 90s and what followed in the aftermath of it.  

The point is simple. We can ill-afford to let agenda-driven people, famous or ordinary, seize - what must stay as - a movement of those who faced the heat directly. Kangana's tough stand against the Maharashtra administration is admirable. Whether her bravado emanates from strong political support remains ambiguous, but at many levels, it does seem like she is trying to settle a score, which she is entitled to do.    

But to hero-worship her, by showering adjectives like “Hindu Sherni”, “Jhansi Ki Rani” among others, is absurd. Those associated with the cause must realise that the motive behind our struggle is to unite Hindus. Allowing our endeavour to become an opportunity for a celebrity to gain publicity defeats the purpose.    

The deserving recipients of the credit are the average Hindu nationalists, the Swayamsewaks and the Karyakartas, who have dedicated their lives to the cause of restoring the Hindu pride. They are the real role models, not those celebrities who have suddenly become proactive and probably have dubious objectives. 

The other major factor we need to stay cautious against is the eulogisation of the so-called nationalist right-leaning mainstream media, which presumably for its own business benefits, is trying to take the focus away from the real issues to less significant subjects from a nationalistic perspective.   

This section of the media, in which all nationalists great faith, has become an overall disappointment due to its editorial agenda lately. They have forgotten the basic rule that ‘what may be of interest to the public may not always be in the public interest’, which forms the bedrock of sincere and effective journalism.  

We all stand together in the fight for justice for Sushant Singh Rajput and the “nationalist” media well within its right to give it an extensive coverage as it has. But it is evident that in doing so, they have put something as barbaric as the lynching of Hindu Sadhus in Palghar on the backburner.   

How many prime-time debates have been conducted in the last three months over the Palghar lynching in comparison to the discussions centred around the death of Sushant Singh Rajput?... Very few!  Somewhere the “nationalist” media’s attention over Palghar has been overshadowed by the SSR issue and, more recently, by the crackdown on the alleged drug nexus in Bollywood.         

The media has projected these matters as issues related to the national interest. It is conspicuous from the thousands of reactions on social media that the public is vastly invested in debates revolving around these subjects, thereby encouraging the mainstream media to give them larger editorial space.  

So the conclusion is crystal clear and staring us in the eye. Making celebrities or the so-called nationalist media our role models or leaders is a disservice to all those who have devoted their lives to the nationalistic and the Hindu cause.The earlier we realise this, the better it is.  

Contributions from those at positions of influence are welcome if their intentions are pure, but at the end of the day, it is OUR struggle. Let's not fall for the fake show of solidarity. 

image source: goethe.de