MJ Akbar's jaundiced view with a squint
Dawn.com: Opinion page
All that is new about rape, George Fernandes By M. J. Akbar, The writer is editor-in-chief of Asian Age, New Delhi.
Extract: On Gujarat Violence and other unspeakable acts
This has become a story without an end. For years - since that harsh winter of 1992 and 1993 - this monster slept, so that we became complacent. After a decade it woke up and another generation of children saw life tortured to death before their eyes. hat (sic) is what is new about rape, George Fernandes.
JPR's note:
MJ Akbar is right in what he said but what he neglected to say is as important because the aftereffects are in the cause which must be addressed and corrected - that is, the Godhra Muslims roasted the Hindus alive. The provocative Muslims and reactive Hindus have to sublimate their religious fervor, feelings and hatred for each other and behave like fellow travelers on a leaky boat with mutual feelings of tolerance and cooperation.
What the master of prose, history, ethics, morality and all other good qualities has conveniently omitted to say is that Godhra is the precipitating event for the atrocious payback. The killing of Indira Gandhi precipitated the unacceptable and disproportionate payback on the Sikhs.
The very fact that so many religions of foreign origin have taken root and are now thriving in India is a proof that Hinduism is a tolerant religion. We (India) are one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. The foreign religions always made it a point to test the limits of tolerance of the Hindu religion and expect the Hindus to behave magnanimously at every hurt. Hinduism is a misnomer for that name was given to the Indians by the foreigners; we were that secular right from the Vedic period. We are not in the business of conversion for there is no need for it and Hinduism contains all the major tenets of all religions of the world. What other religions have in their holy texts and revelations are all in the Hindu Holy texts. There is nothing new that the Hindu texts don't elucidate that other religions have taught us. A good Hindu is a good Muslim, a good Christian, and a good Jew. We didn't ask for any conversion. There was no need for it. We already had what you wanted to give us and the fancy packaging doesn't alter anything. The foreigners forced their religion on us on many levels of persuasion, some beneficial, and some violent. Violence has been the currency of conversion during the Moghul period and that currency is no more a currency of acceptance by the Hindus. Persuasion by violence is a bogus currency in India. |
