I'm fairly certain you all follow Ithe news. At least enough to be aware of the happenings last week; this guy called Loin (I don't think that's his real name, par sara sheher usse yehi naam se jaanta hai) didn't care for Sachin Tendulkar's statement about being "an Indian first", and he said in his own column (published in an entirely different newspaper) that he was offended by this kind of broadminded thinking.
Let us leave aside the fact that I cannot understand anyone being offended by anything Sachin could say. Apart from being a genuinely nice guy (I've had the pleasure of meeting him a few times), there are only a handful of people who have done as much as him to make our country proud. I don't think anyone would disagree with me if I were to refer to him as an Indian hero.
But we're an open minded society. We live in a democracy, where people are entitled to their opinions. The people agreed with Sachin, and they shouted this agreement from the rooftops. The media, naturally, started talking about the issue. Newspapers, TV channels, radio stations... they all talked about what was going on. This angered Loin's goons so much that one week later they spontaneously erupted, and without any kind of planning or forethought, barged into the offices of news channels in Bombay and Pune at the same time, and proceeded to beat up men and women working there.
Office-going men and women were beaten up by thugs and told that criticism of their party would not be tolerated. Their clothes were ripped off, and they were beaten with hockey sticks. This from an organization that touts itself as upholding Indian values. Obviously I've missed something here; it was my understanding that Indian values involved respect and courtesy, particularly to women. But hey, we live in a democracy. People are entitled to their opinions, and if it is their opinion that innocent men should be beaten and humiliated, and women should be molested, that's their right, isn't it? Just so long as noone speaks out against them. That would be bad. That would be anti-nationalistic.
What I'm wondering now is this: when are we going to get a taste of that great democracy? If terrorists (no, I don't think that's too strong a word) are allowed to roam free, stirring up unrest and harming innocent people in the name of their freedom of speech, when will the rest of us get to feel as safe as them? I guarantee not one of those louts is even the least bit worried about his future. They are, quite literally, fearless. They're untouchable. The rest of us, I'm sorry to say, must continue to live in fear of what they will do next. Because it sure as hell ain't coming to an end any time soon.
"As actors, we all want our audience to like our work; so even if you ask me this question after five years I will say yes I want to work harder and harder to be loved by my audience."
~ Imran Khan
