I have been thinking this for a while now, more so since last night. We have reached a strange state of politics in India. A state where if you show even a little bit interest in politics, you are forced to take sides. You can either be Pro-BJP or Anti-BJP. You just cannot not choose sides. People on Facebook, twitter and media in general will label you if you yourself don’t choose side. There really isn't a choice you have.
If you praise PM Modi or any of his policies, work, etc. – You are Pro-BJP. If you speak in favour of AAP (or Congress for that matter but I haven’t seen anyone do that in the last one or two years) – You are Anti-BJP. If you express an opinion that ‘India is not intolerant’ – You are Pro-BJP (that is BJP’s stand, remember?) If you support ‘Odd-even Formula’ – You are Anti-BJP (that is an AAP initiative and not BJP’s). Even vice-versa is true. You are a BJP supporter – You must hate all Muslims and oppose allowance of marital rape or of scrapping of Section 377. You are not a BJP supporter – You must agree that there is no freedom of speech in India and must stand by Kanhaiyya Kumar even in his anti-national ranting.
But, why? I have not had any political party allegiance since many ages. In my late teenage and all through my twenties, I was absolutely indifferent towards political parties. It was only during the 2014 elections with the emergence of Mr. Modi on the national scene did my interest divert back to politics. I am very appreciative of his pro-development agenda. Similarly, I do appreciate the awesome work being done by his cabinet members Sushma Swaraj and Suresh Prabhu and I admire the orator-ship and persona of Smriti Irani. But I still am not a supporter of the BJP party or all BJP members despite the fact that I am widely referred to as one or made out to be one on social media. Actually, sometimes, I think in contradictions which might be confusing for others. For example, I cannot stand the hard-line Hindu nationalists and detest people who use any kind of religious connotations to make a point. How dare I do so because I am a Pro-BJP, remember? Didn't I support Modi in the first place. So now it doesn't really matter that I am upset why Mr. Modi doesn't shut these people up.
I prefer to call myself secular and not secular as in pro-Muslims, again the way the word is used in Indian political scenario. I mean secular as in ‘The Free Dictionary’ definition: worldly rather than spiritual; not relating to religion or to a religious body; and having no particular religious affinities. I believe in one supreme power called God and believe Ram, Durga, Allah, Waheguru, Jesus to be just a few of it’s names or forms that may be used to spread messages of love and ethical living. It’s good and easy to have names and stories to get the messages across and they all serve that purpose. But how can I think like that? BJP is not secular and they hurl a saffron flag. Saffron stands for Hindus and hence I must be against Muslims because their colour is not saffron, it is green. How does it matter that green is one of my favourite colours too as it connects me to nature. I am a Pro-BJP and I just cannot be secular. It is contradictory. Also, I must assume that all our government is doing is only for Hindus. How dare I disagree with that and rationally say that all their policies are for the nation and not towards people for any religion, or caste. Nowhere it is mentioned so. But I am appreciative of a few BJP members and their work (which they do for all and not just for Hindus), so it should be assumed that I am Pro-BJP and I will definitely also agree with all the stupid BJP agendas like beef-ban, ‘saffronization of education’ (as it is referred), etc. How can I voice any such disagreement, would I not become Anti-BJP then? And if I do, then I should not any more support Mr. Modi and instead support stupid policy decisions or morons like CM Kejriwal like his “odd-even rule” and “2000 advertisements per day” and “waiver of electricity bills for 1st anniversary of AAP govt.”. That is what a good Anti-BJP person must support; not initiatives like “Swachchh Bharat”, “Beti padhao, beti badhao”, “Make in India”. Uff? Is your head going in circles now? You know what I mean? How confusing it is?
Let us also give a thought to the most popular topic nowadays in light of this debate – the ‘intolerance’ debate. I am Pro-BJP (because I am a Mr. Modi supporter, of course), so I have to say that I believe India to be tolerant. Good enough, I have already said that because honestly, that is exactly what I believe. (For the record, I believe we have just too many examples of people belonging to various religions living together, working together and helping together and just because media chooses to highlight the few instances where they don’t do that, does not make my country as a whole intolerant.) Well, by saying that India is “tolerant”, I have proven my Pro-BJP tag. Now, I should not support likes of Rohit Vemulla and Kanhaiyya Kumar. Well enough. I do not support them. Good. That is exactly what Pro-BJP people should do. After all, these people are Anti-BJP. But hey… That’s not why I do not support them. I do not support them because their actions have been Anti-India and not Anti-BJP. Confused? Let me explain. No matter how tragic and sad Rohit’s suicide is, the fact is that he was a Yakub Memon supporter – the very Yakub Memon who conspired against my country and helped kill many of my fellow citizens. Rohit, and Kanhaiyya Kumar for that matter, were pleading mercy for Yakub or condemning Afzal Guru's hanging, respectively, and shouting slogans about India’s doom. That is why I do not support them. Anyway, whatever my reasons, that still makes me Pro-BJP. Then, as a corollary, I do not support Kanhaiyya Kumar also proves that I do not support ‘Freedom of speech’? Hello! That’s not what I said. Oh c'mon, only Anti-BJP people support ‘Freedom of speech’ and I am Pro-BJP. How can I support ‘Freedom of speech’ and still think people like Kanhaiyya Kumar are a serious waste of space? Because: they perpetually feed on national subsidies, call themselves messiah of the poor, and then enjoy privileges like air travel, iPhones, luxury cars which they have not earned and for which they have not contributed a paisa to the nation, neither in the form of an active employment nor in the form of taxes. I do firmly believe in ‘Freedom of speech’. The fact that anybody – I mean literally anybody: a student union member, journalist, writer, actor, sports-person, entrepreneur – can rise up and speak about “no freedom of speech in India” and “India being intolerant” speaks volumes of how free speech in India is and how tolerant my country is. And I don’t need to be Pro-BJP to say that.
The point that I am really trying to make amid all this confusion is, why do I have to be Pro-BJP or Anti-BJP? Why can I, as an individual, not have an independent opinion about things and issues? Why should I choose sides depending on whether BJP as a party or even a few BJP members individually have or not have the same opinion? Am I not an educated, thinking and rational human being able to analyse any issue for myself and take a stand. I do not need a political party to tell me what is right and what is wrong. More importantly, no political party can ever be all right and all wrong for the simple fact that it is composed of humans, each of which, like myself can choose differently.
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