The Gupkar alliance is as hollow politically as it is morally

The first major step towards bringing Jammu and Kashmir into the mainstream since the scrapping of Article 370 in August 2019 came in October this year when the Union Home Ministry announced new land laws for J&K, making common people and investors from outside the region eligible to purchase land in the new union territory.

Under the new law, being a permanent resident of J&K is no longer a criterion for making property-related investments in the UT. In other words, the exclusive rights of permanent residents over land in J&K are now over. 

The new law makes it legal to transfer a piece of land in the region to an individual, business, or institution to establish healthcare and education facilities. However, a bar is placed on agricultural land that can be put into non-agricultural use. Moreover, the upper echelons of the Indian Army can pronounce a zone as a “strategic area” for operational and training requirements of the defence forces. 

After the new law was announced, Kashmir’s political class with separatist leanings - the NC, the PDP and others - expectedly accused the Modi government of trying to disempower and disenfranchise the people of J&K. NC Vice President Omar Abdullah launched a scathing attack on the Centre, claiming that the new amendments had put J&K up for “sale”. 

Nevertheless, the Modi government has upped the ante in Kashmir amid the growing desperation of the separatist Kashmiri politicians to maintain their relevance. The government’s intention is crystal clear. Now that the region has been freed from the shackles of an unwanted and dubious special status, it is time to marginalise the secessionist and anti-India forces in J&K. 

Post their release from preventive detention, the Abdullahs and Mehbooba Mufti have left no stone unturned to sell the unrealistic idea of the restoration of Article 370 to their followers. For the once fire-spewing political figures who have been reduced to shadows of their former selves, the situation has become so grim that in order to avoid disappearing into political obscurity they are now resorting to an absurd promise of engineering the annulment of a constitutionally passed law. Well, good luck with that!

To throw some comic relief into the mix, many representatives and sympathisers of the NC and the PDP celebrated the victory of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the recently concluded US presidential election. They revelled in the pipe-dream that the President-elect after taking office will internationalise the Kashmir issue unlike his predecessor Donald Trump and diplomatically arm-twist the Indian government into reversing its position on Article 370, as the Democrats are expected to meddle in India’s internal affairs more as compared to the Republicans.  

In retrospect, the Modi government had given an opportunity to the political fraternity in Kashmir after August 2019 to shun their duplicity and redeem themselves by pledging undisputed allegiance to the Indian constitution under which they have fought elections for decades. But that did not happen. The same old story of India-bashing and nurturing the separatist agenda was repeated, more overtly so, after Omar Abdullah’s release from detention earlier in March. The NC leader made it abundantly clear through his tweets and statements to the media that his party along with other like-minded political players would never accept Kashmir’s joining of the Indian mainstream. 

After coming out of detention, Farooq Abdullah outraged the people of India when he challenged the nation’s sovereignty by appealing to India’s antagonistic western neighbour China for help to bring back Article 370. Seeking foreign support to break Kashmir away from India, Abdullah displayed the audacity to argue that Beijing had not approved of India’s decision to abrogate the discriminatory article. 

But, be that as it may, the Government of India has decided to deal head-on with the renewed wave of separatism in Kashmir. 

Earlier this month, Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at the protagonists of the Gupkar declaration - a joint statement that expressed resentment and promised protest against a decision by the Government of India to repeal Article 370. The statement was issued a day before the Modi government announced the revocation of the ludicrous law and bifurcated the erstwhile state of J&K into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh on August 4, 2019. In a tweet, Shah unequivocally condemned the actions of what he termed as the “Gupkar Gang” - a coalition of regional and national parties, including the Congress, demanding the restoration of Article 370. He warned the gang to fall in line with the national mood and accept the reality that Kashmir is an integral part of India or gear up to face their political demise. 

 

On the other hand, cracks within the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) aka the Gupkar gang have already become visible. In the run-up to the District Development Council (DDC) election scheduled for November 28, the separatist parties have been overly critical and unaccommodating of one another over the issue of seat-sharing. The chaos is just as conspicuous in the Jammu division as it is in the valley.  

From the nationalist perspective, the DDC election has come at just the right time to further expose the Gupkar gang by making their discord and fragility evident to the public. Some members of the PAGD have gone on record stating that before deciding to participate in the election, the alliance felt apprehensive about their decision being interpreted as an acceptance of the Modi government’s move to rescind J&K’s special status. 

Clearly, the porous Gupkar alliance has soaked itself in the muddy waters of its own ego. This self-serving group that not very long ago considered fighting the DDC polls under the flag of the erstwhile state of J&K has ended up bickering over a few election seats, so much so that this infighting led to the resignation of the PDP patron Muzaffar Hussain Beig from the party. Although as per media reports a consensus over seat-sharing in Kashmir for the few phases of the eight-phase DDC election was reached within the alliance earlier this month, Jammu remained a bone of contention. 

The seat-sharing crisis is only indicative of the greater reality that this unholy alliance is based on the ideology of secession and betrayal is as hollow politically as it is morally. Despite repeated promises by the PAGD actors to their followers that all is well within the alliance, it is apparent that such assurances are far from the truth. 

Not only between the regional players but the seat-sharing crisis has also affected the Gupkar alliance’s relationship with the Congress party, forcing the Congress to admit that a majority of its party leaders, especially from Jammu, wanted to go solo in the DDC election. 

The PAGD has emerged as a nexus between secessionist political parties on one side and the Congress party on the other, which is a compulsive opposer of the Modi government even if its stances hurt India’s national interest and security. This sham alliance that has failed to get its act together over a DDC election can never represent the best interests of J&K. The writing is on the wall for the people of Kashmir. 

Therefore, the choice lies with the Kashmir’s citizenry to decide whether they wish to waste more years of their lives over vague promises and political misguidance at the hands of Kashmir’s separatist political players that constitute anti-India alliances such as the Gupkar gang, or join the Indian mainstream to see J&K shining on the path of development and security.  

image source : jkmedia.net 

Nationalists must ensure that India’s nationalistic movement progresses into a phase defined by knowledge, intellect and superior content

The old adage ‘Content is King’ has become ever so relevant in contemporary times. In fact, one could go a step further and suggest that the need for restoration of the ‘Supremacy of Content’ has become paramount.

We live in an era that is witnessing a constant deterioration in content quality across several domains and the content aimed at spreading the message of nationalism is no exception. Unfortunately. 

The rapidly growing chorus of nationalists on social media platforms and the gripping display of passion on television debates is worthy of appreciation but that it appears to have taken the lead over most other modes (primarily intellectual in nature and catering to the grass-roots level) of strengthening the nationalistic narrative is a big concern. The intent is right but the procedure and the execution demand tremendous improvement. 

What may sound like an unpopular opinion among certain nationalistic circles in India is a reality that must be accepted sooner rather than later. 

In the post-independent India, the idea of nationalism took a beating for decades under successive Congress regimes before Narendra Modi took charge of the country in 2014. When Modi became the Prime Minister, it did not just promise a change in people’s fortunes but also guaranteed a revival of nationalism. Nationalists have gone the extra mile ever since to fight the dangerous pseudo-left-liberal agenda that presents nationalism as a form of ideological extremism. 

The movement dedicated to ensuring that India’s nationalistic pride stays ahead of the false propaganda has been taken up at multiple levels - from TV studios to social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook. It fills the hearts of all nationalists with great satisfaction and elation when they find their sentiments echoed by their compatriots and representatives. Nothing can be more encouraging than to see thousands of people joining the struggle and calling out those who challenge the idea of a unified India, the bedrock of which is formed by a philosophy of undiluted nationalism. 

However, passion alone is incapable of taking this movement further. It is a proper blend of narrative and strategy that will - therefore, it is the ‘content’. 

Hence, the time has come for like-minded nationalists to unite and revisit the times when there was no social media and broadcasting was not as pronounced as it is today. History proves that the richer the content and stronger the manner in which it is circulated, the better the result. The greater the effort, the greater the glory. 

The key is to strike a balance between the traditional style of generating awareness and creating mass mobilisation through the dissemination of credible and intellectual information via public gatherings, community-building etc; and making the best use of digital and broadcasting space. Sadly, a greater emphasis is being given to the latter while there is very little focus on the former. This certainly cannot be the way forward. In the current scenario, the simultaneous implementation of both conventional and modern formulas is crucial. One is not a substitute for the other. 

Rather than merely addressing the issues at hand, much attention ought to be given to making people aware of the genesis of the problems. Television and social media do not provide adequate intellectual space for that. Due to the nature of these platforms, they counterproductively condition people to prefer sensational and dynamic content over the content that delves into the nub of the matter. 

In order to educate a generation about the history and circumstances that led to a particular present situation, imparting information historically, conceptually and analytically through community-building is imperative and one of the most effective ways of doing it - the conventional way! It will add scholarly solidity to the movement and work wonders in defeating the fake narrative of left-liberalism that aims to weaken the foundations of this nation. 

In this regard, one could cite the pertinent example of persecution of Kashmiri Pandits in the name of Islamist extremism. The Modi era has exposed the duplicity and hypocrisy of the anti-India Kashmiri political class in the valley like never before. Today India is cognisant of the reality that KPs are victims of Islamic terror and Hinduphobia, which has reduced them to the status of refugees in their own country. The overall awareness about the atrocities inflicted on KPs is much higher than it was a decade ago. But India needs to dig deeper and know more, much more. 

Sadly right now, the discussion has gotten confined to what transpired in the 90s and thereafter. This is the time to look through the transparent walls of history and understand how the centuries-old Hindu ethos of Kashmir was systematically attacked with the nefarious ambition to convert Kashmir into a radical Islamic territory. The Hindu legacy of the valley is massive, spanning across centuries until invaders and extremists decided to obliterate it. The deepest dark secrets of how it all transpired must be shared with the youth. 

Every movement must graduate from one stage to another which is the only way for it to sustain and produce the desired result. Similarly, the nationalistic movement must progress into the next phase so that it can overcome the pseudo-liberal India-bashing propaganda with colossal force. Through the employment of conventional means of mass mobilisation, nationalism in its truest essence can percolate deep into the ideological framework of all nation-lovers.

Nationalists must prioritise building communities and creating local leaderships to embolden the movement and to render the power of knowledge to those dedicated to the nationalistic cause. Because knowledge is real power. 

The process must start with every neighbourhood, every family and so on. It is like a warrior going back to the basics to get ready for the big battle. And this battle is to be fought on the basis of knowledge, intellect and superior content with a mission to fortify those for whom nationalism is their identity and to bring the misguided back on track. 

Over and above the showcasing of fervour and commitment on TV and social media, it is incumbent on all nationalists, therefore, to empower themselves with knowledge and critical information, drawing the focus back on what was mentioned right at the beginning of this piece - ‘Content is King’.  

image source : legalbites.in

J&K cannot be allowed to drift into a pre Article 370 revocation era

The dark reality of Kashmir politics is best known to Kashmiri Pandits who have learnt it the hard way. Unfortunately. And there are no two ways about it. Go back about three decades and that is where the learnings have come from. 

A warning or a prediction regarding Kashmir coming from a Kashmiri Pandit (KP) is ill-advised to be overlooked. After all who knows it better than those who were at the receiving end of radical Islamic terror in Kashmir in the late 80s and the early 90s as well as many times over after that. 

After the draconian Article 370 was repealed in August last year and subsequently Kashmir’s “mainstream” political leaders from the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with known separatist tendencies were placed under detention, KP commentators and activists were among the first to caution that a new theatre could begin following the release of those Kashmiri politicians.

The exact same thing happened! The absurd theatre began when former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and senior NC leader Omar Abdullah walked out of detention in March this year after nearly eight months. It reached some sort of a climax with his father Farooq Abdullah’s series of anti-India remarks in recent weeks, the biggest of them being the latest in which he called on the Chinese administration to challenge India’s sovereignty. 

However, this theatre barely surprises anyone. After all the NC and the PDP never had India in their hearts, which contributed majorly to the failure in creating a conducive atmosphere for a safe and dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits to their homeland. It is an aspect of the post-90s Kashmir history that the pseudo-secularists and leftist-liberals must educate themselves about in order to understand how a systematic campaign was run for years to deny Hindus their rights in Kashmir. 

But narrowing down on what has been happening in Kashmir’s separatist political circles lately, it is clear that desperation has led to the mask falling off and an outright secessionist attitude has been put on display. The unadulterated hatred for India is more evident than ever. As an observer, it is interesting to understand whether this is because the Abdullahs and the Muftis along with their campaigners want to salvage whatever little relevance they are left with and so they are trying their best to stay in the headlines, or because they believe that running an anti-India tirade will lead to their political revival in Kashmir, or both. 

Farooq Abdullah’s consistent rant in recent weeks demanding the restoration of Article 370 will not deter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s far-sighted vision and plan about Kashmir but cannot be overlooked either. 

After all the threats are coming from no less than the former Chief Minister of J&K, a former Union Minister and a current Member of the Parliament. This man has sworn by the Constitution of India and fought all his elections under the Indian flag. As an MP, he is under oath to maintain his allegiance to the Indian republic. But he and many others of his kind continue to openly challenge the undisputable fact that Kashmir is an integral part of India. 

The threats have now transformed into an overt appeal to our aggressive western neighbour China to help the separatists break Kashmir away from India. Moreover, Abdullah has also displayed the audacity to state that Beijing had not approved of India’s constitutionally taken decision of scrapping the discriminatory article. 

Abdullah has, therefore effectively, called on a foreign power to challenge India’s territorial sovereignty, which in the simplest of terms amounts to nothing but an act of treason. 

But the question really is: how will the Government of India (GOI) ensure that Kashmir does not drift into the same situation that existed for decades before August last year given that the spoilers are out in the open again? 

On August 4, 2019, a day before the Modi government announced the revocation of Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state of J&K into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh, the India-hating political parties of Kashmir huddled together at Farooq Abdullah’s Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar. In the joint statement - which came to be known as the Gupkar declaration - issued by the separatist parties, they expressed resentment and promised protest against any decision by GOI to scrap the ludicrous law. 

Following the release of the PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on October 13, the disgruntled politicians held a meeting last week to declare that they were going to join their forces to bring back the special status of J&K. 

This alliance for the Gupkar Declaration is at best a photo opportunity to pose as though they have anything credible to offer in terms of separating Kashmir from the Indian union. The parties have tried to use one of the older tricks from the book, expecting a dramatic turnaround to the situation and other fortunes. 

However, nationalists have reposed their faith in the Modi-Shah combine to ensure that there is no revival of anti-India rhetoric in the valley but at the moment it appears that separatists have found a fresh mojo although Farooq Abdullah was recently grilled by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a multi-crore scam in the J&K Cricket Association during 2002-11, something which the NC has claimed to be an act of political vendetta by the GOI against their patron. 

But it is pertinent to mention that the mood in the country is for the Modi government to pursue a zero-tolerance policy against anything that challenges India’s national interest. The mood is to see J&K treading on the path of development rather than getting embroiled in another phase of political and social turbulence. An antagonistic upsurge, no matter how big or small, against the idea of a unified India is the last thing the nationalist Kashmiris want. It took years and years of longing to finally realise the dream of a fully Indian Kashmir. It must be treasured and nurtured now while protecting it from malevolent forces. 

For more than 60 years, the Abdullahs and the Muftis have followed the dual policy of India-bashing in Kashmir and fake show of India-loyalty in New Delhi while exploiting the sentiments of the local Kashmiri Muslim population and arousing alienating emotions in them vis-a-vis India. Amid fading political clout, evoking passions and promising the return of Article 370 is their only recourse in the current scenario. 

The GOI must act tough and send a strong message to all the anti-national voices in Kashmir who, in the name of dissent and self-determination, are striving to keep alive their perennial agenda of Islamisation of Kashmir while shamelessly wanting to reap the benefits of being a part of the Indian union. 

This is the time when the Modi government must prioritise working expeditiously on creating a conducive environment in the valley so that the Kashmiri Pandits become convinced of a safe and dignified return to their homeland. There can be no better way than that to marginalise the separatist voices and eventually push them into oblivion. Kashmir deserves it. India deserves it. 

 

image source : kashmirreader.com

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

“As devoted Hindus, the responsibility lies with us to honour and protect our Hindu pride”: Thoughts of an ardent Hindu and a proud nationalist

A few days ago, out of sheer curiosity, I googled a title which had been resonating in my mind for quite a while: “Saving the self-respect of Hindus in today’s India”. 

Somewhere inside I already knew that what was going emerge on the screen would hardly surprise me and that is exactly what happened. A whopping 80 per cent of search result came up with headings such as: “Hindutva: an assault on Hinduism, “Rise of Hindu vigilante”, “Secularism under danger, and so on. 

Now I do not know whether it was because of Google’s search algorithmic compulsions or something else that the results which popped up were completely antithetical to the title I searched; a technical expert is best suited to throw light on that. But setting aside technicalities, the google search result - at a purely intellectual level - pretty much reflects the perception and mentality of those who live in a liberal-secular bubble. Their motive is to create a vicious atmosphere in India wherein talking about the rights and dignity of Hindus is considered tantamount to putting non-Hindu communities, especially Muslims, in jeopardy.  

Today when I look back at the unspeakable atrocities my Kashmiri Pandit community faced at the hands of Islamists, because we chose to protect our identity and self-respect instead of bowing to the Wahabi diktat, and compare it to the current scenario - I feel that Hindus continue to be chastised for standing up for their rights, albeit in a different manner altogether. 

From the gun in Kashmir in the 90s to the spread of intellectual poison against Hindus in India in the present times, the appearance of the problem may have changed but its nature remains the same. 

One pertinent recent example in this regard that comes to mind is the Ram Mandir bhoomi pujan in Ayodhya last month. It is an absolute shame that after years and years of relentless struggle to make the Hindu dream of building a Ram Mandir on Ram Janmabhoomi finally came true, the joy of the momentous occasion was accompanied by a latent worry to ensure communal harmony in the country as though the Hindu community had committed a felony by honouring their God. 

The question that jolts me, every time I see the Hindu-hating lobby making preposterous claims that there is an attempt to imperil the rights of Indian Muslims, is: whether we have allowed ourselves to drift into this situation? 

One does not need to go too far back in history to conclude that the answer to the question posed above is unfortunately a resounding yes. The developments of this year easily suggest that while the collective conscience of ardent Hindus has been given the respect it deserves, the deeper malaise remains untreated. 

By deeper malaise, I refer to the dangerous philosophy of those pseudo-secular fake-liberal Hindus - some of whom are driven by their flawed theories while others by their vested interests - who are trying to ensure that as a community we remain divided instead of working in unison to protect our rights and beliefs.

The participation of those Hindus in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, and their role in the propagation of a false narrative of Islamophobia post the Supreme Court’s verdict on Ram Mandir in November 2019, has established the sad reality that as one community we stand more disunited today than we have ever been before.

In addition to fighting the battle for our honour against Islamists and Hindu-haters, as devoted Hindus, we also regularly receive brickbats from our own misguided fellow Hindus. Hence, a double whammy. 

The misplaced agitation against CAA earlier this year, which had the sinister motive to bring the country to a standstill to satisfy the whims and fancies of a certain section, was surely not planned and executed by non-Hindus alone. In Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh protests, which gradually became the hotbed of the anti-CAA agitation, it was not merely the dadis and the nanis stationed at the protest site, accusing the government of injustice against Muslims. Scores of pseudo-secular Hindus overtly and covertly supported that sham of a campaign. 

As a staunch Hindu nationalist, I could not have felt more pained and disgusted when I witnessed compassionless Hindus lambasting a new law introduced by the Modi government which would give Indian citizenship to our Hindu brothers and sisters who fled from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh due to religious persecution. 

On the historic day of laying the foundation stone of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the social media was abuzz with hateful and mocking reactions from pseudo-secular Hindus - some of those people from “elite” backgrounds while others just following the trend to look “cool”. They made an absurd declaration that the era of Hindu hegemony and obliteration of minority rights in India has begun. Not that it damaged my enthusiasm or that of millions of my devout Hindu compatriots but it was most certainly an eyesore.  

The thought that perplexes me since that day until today as I write this piece is: How does our devotion to Lord Ram become a thorn in their flesh? How could it possibly become a thorn in anybody’s flesh who identifies himself/herself as a Hindu? 

Why do not these people, who feel so disconnected from Hinduism and, at the same time, ashamed to carry out their duties towards Hinduism, renounce the religion? The law of the land does not bind them to Hinduism or, for that matter, any other religion. But if they identify themselves as Hindus, then they are morally duty-bound to feel proud about the August 5 ceremony in Ayodhya rather than insulting or ridiculing it.

But at the same time, credit must be given where credit is due. Within the non-Hindu Indian communities, especially Muslims, the camaraderie and cohesiveness are extremely high and the reverence they have for their religion is even higher. They deserve to be applauded for it. It works brilliantly for them while making their demands or following their beliefs, religious or otherwise. 

But the same cannot be said about the Hindu community, which today seems more fragmented than ever. When a barbaric incident, like the lynching of Hindu Sadhus in Palghar, happens, it comes as a personal blow for those of us who see it as an attack on Hinduism. But the pseudo-secular Hindus who vehemently support ludicrous agitations in the name of secularism remain mute when our Hindu saints are butchered. 

This brings me back to my earlier question - has the Hindu community allowed itself to drift into this situation? Food for thought!

In the end, I can unequivocally state that the responsibility lies entirely with us to honour and protect our Hindu pride. 

image-source : business-standard.com