NON-NEGOTIABLE IDEA OF INDIA

Two recent incidents that happened in the country and attracted attention of the media are worth taking note of. The incidents took place in close contiguity and are studies in contrast. One was about 10 brave soldiers who lost their lives guarding the post at Siachen. The other incident was the organising of the death anniversary of Afzal Guru’s hanging at JNU that was used for India bashing.

India continues to be a land of paradoxes and history has borne testimony to this time and again. There were always Mir Zafars for Surajudaullas. There were always Jaichands for Prithviraj. There may be umpteen such incidents that prove that traitors and martyrs have been a part and parcel of Indian history. Even in Aamir Khan’s blockbuster Lagaan there was a traitor who wanted Aamir’s team India to lose.

Why is this a part of most Indian stories is difficult to understand but then it does paint the Indian character in poor light. It may be a generalisation, but it does hurt when the foreign media and foreign people look at anything Indian with contempt.

However, coming to the JNU incident, the way the media and political parties are divided leaves little room for doubt that even after almost seven decades into freedom, the idea of India is still hazy. The apologists for the bunch of JNU hoodlums raising anti-India slogans while lionising Afzal Guru, the person hanged for the attack on the Indian Parliament, need to introspect. They are so obsessed with their ideological trappings that even their country comes second.

For anyone who has seen the rabble rousing provocateurs shouting anti-India and pro-Afzal slogans at JNU there cannot be an iota of doubt that it was clearly an anti-national congregation. Yet some sections of the media and a breed of pseudo-intellectuals are trying to fudge the issue by their misplaced logic.

In fact, more than those young students who were shouting the slogans about some outlandish ‘azaadi’, it is their defence counsels who should be brought to book for fomenting anti-India sentiments.

Ironically, it’s the same tribe that has been making a lot of noise about the so-called atmosphere of growing intolerance in India. What more tolerance do you want? To dismember the country? India has often been branded as a soft state. For a change let it be proved this time that the softness is conditional and not equivocal.

Our soldiers are dying to protect the borders while a class of pseudo intellectuals are fanning fissiparous tendencies. In fact, such people are worse than the likes of Afzal Guru. He at least was loyal to his own agency. What about these people?

Liberal democracy is not about laissez-faire and no ideology can be above the country. There must be stern action against those sections who are taking India for granted. Our country is often referred to as matribhumi or motherland. It was not without reason that when after the death of mighty demon king Ravana, his brother Vibhishan offered Ram the kingdom of Lanka, the Lord declined saying: “Janani Janmbhumishch swargadapi gariyasi”, which means that mother and motherland are greater than heaven.

Unity and integrity of India are non-negotiable and let this be known to one and all. The Jana-Gana-Mana must understand the value of Vande Mataram in no uncertain terms.