From: b sabha <[email protected]>
http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/smriti-iranis-fiery-speech-cannot-disguise-big-lapses-1281749?pfrom=home-opinion [http://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2016-02/smriti-irani_650x400_81456520733.jpg]<http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/smriti-iranis-fiery-speech-cannot-disguise-big-lapses-1281749?pfrom=home-opinion> Smriti Irani, Superb Orator, Problematic Educator<http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/smriti-iranis-fiery-speech-cannot-disguise-big-lapses-1281749?pfrom=home-opinion> www.ndtv.com In the last two days, HRD Minister Smriti Irani, the youngest face of PM Narendra Modi's cabinet, has given two speeches in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha ... In the last two days, HRD Minister Smriti Irani, the youngest face of PM Narendra Modi's cabinet, has given two speeches in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha respectively. Both speeches have been lauded for their emotional value and eloquence with Irani quoting generously from sources including Macbeth and Roman philosopher Cicero. As I write this, Parliament proceedings have been held hostage by a fight over Smriti Irani's display of nude pictures of a Goddess allegedly published by students of JNU. The debate over the last two days which started off with a discussion over Rohit Vemula's suicide and the JNU controversy sought serious answers from the HRD minister, but turned into a shallow display of victimhood and misplaced sexism. Not just did the minister holding one of the highest offices of the Indian government mislead the parliament with incorrect facts, but she also reduced the HRD, once helmed by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, to an all-time low. A sample of the few misplaced arguments and statements placed by Irani in both the houses are stated below. Armed with brilliant dialogue delivery skills (and I am not alluding to her acting career), Irani, like her senior Sushma Swaraj, has emerged as a superb orator from her party. However, nothing that Irani has said so far has answered any of the questions raised by Vemula's suicide, or dealt with the allegations of the minister taking her orders from the RSS. "Main aapse se kehti hun agar mere jawab se aap santusht nahi ho, toh iss sabha main kehti hun Mayawati ji, main BSP ke ek-ek karyakarta aur aapke netaon se kehti hun, sar kalam karke aapke charnon mein chhod denge." (Answering Mayawati on Rohith Vemula - "If you are not satisfied with my reply, I will cut my head and offer it at your feet.") "Apne kartavya ka paalan karne ke liye aap mujhe suli par chadha rahe the, Amethi ladne ki ye saza denge aap mujhe." (To the Congress - "Are you exacting revenge for my contesting the election from Amethi?") "Mera naam Smriti Irani hai, meri jaat par aarop lagakar dekhiye." (In defence of her ministry in the case of Rohit Vemula's suicide - "I am Smriti Irani. I challenge you to question my caste.") "What a lovely conversation to have with a lady, bravo, nature's call." (This is what she said when Sitaram Yechury said he had to excuse himself to answer nature's call). If these comments have baffled you, more confusing were the anomalies placed by the minister in the House: "Nobody allowed a doctor near this child, to revive this child, to take him to the hospital. Nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police has reported that not one attempt was made to take him to a doctor. Instead what was done was that his body was used as a political tool," said Irani on Rohith Vemula not being rushed to the hospital after he was found hanging in his hostel room. Rajasree Malpath, Chief Medical Officer of the University of Hyderabad's health centre, toldThe Telegraph<http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160226/jsp/frontpage/story_71446.jsp>, "I reached the room where Vemula was found within five minutes of receiving an alert (around 7:30 pm on January 17). His body was beyond revival. The body was cold, stiff and rigid, with signs of rigor mortis (a stiffening of the muscles and limbs in the body that begins about two hours after death)... I examined the body for 10 minutes and declared him dead." Irani then flayed the JNU students for their celebrations of Mahishasur - the black demon who was slayed by Durga - a destruction referred to by the students as an upper caste and racist practice. The dramatic twist continued when Smriti shifted to Bengali to ask if parliamentarians and others would tolerate this practice in West Bengal. Of course, no one must have mentioned to her that a Dalit member and MP from her own party, Udit Raj, had attended the celebration of Mahishasur in 2013, a fact tweeted by him where he also mentioned that no blasphemous speech was made. https://twitter.com/Dr_Uditraj/status/703161059339677700?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Irani also lashed out at charges of communalizing the HRD but with flawed arguments. She used tried and tested tokenism and spoke of a Kashmiri Muslim student who was given a fellowship as an example of her ministry's secular approach, but in the process, ended up exposing herself when she conveniently ignored the notice sent by her ministry to the Pondicherry University to check if the institute was being 'Islamised' by a professor who, coincidentally, is also a Kashmiri. A report dated January 28, 2016<http://www.newslaundry.com/2016/01/28/when-hrd-ministry-ordered-a-probe-into-a-complaint-about-islamisation-of-pondicherry-university/> titled "When HRD ministry ordered a probe into a complaint about 'Islamisation' of Pondicherry University" published documents that her ministry allegedly sent to the Pondicherry University which later formed a three-member committee to look into the matter. The report, which was later published by other news media along with documents, proves why Irani cannot dismiss charges of towing the agenda of the RSS and its affiliates. The complaint was filed by a Delhi-based organisation called Patriots Forum, alleging that the university had been 'Islamised' under one of its former vice-chancellors, JAK Tareen. The letter, which is on various news websites, states: "The process [Islamisation] started with Dr. JAK Tareen taking over as the Vice Chancellor on March 16 in 2007 and continued in an unbroken run over 6 years till February 1, 2013. Whether in the selection of faculty or admission of students, the stamp of gradual Islamisation of the Pondicherry living was clear all through. A good number of Muslim students were from Kashmir, raising a clear suspicion that some among them could be genuine terrorists. Do not, Madam, all these make one believe that it was a planned strategy to develop a strong hold for the minority community in this part of the country?[sic]" The three-member committee gave a 'clean chit' to the Professor, also a Kashmiri, who had to prove his patriotism on official orders. The report also goes on to state that the University had only 22 faculty members of the Muslim community, accounting for 5.9 per cent of the total teaching staff. Smriti Irani, you said in the Rajya Sabha, "Do not demean my patriotism. Do not demean my idea of India." Is this your idea of India? The notice sent to Pondicherry University is a brazen example of the distortion of the HRD Ministry which is meant to educate and inspire the mindset of an entire generation, but instead, launches an investigation based on charges levelled by self-confessed bearers of nationalism and Hindutva. In doing this, Irani has most certainly ensured that she will continue to retain the HRD department by being in the good books of the Sangh Parivaar with her overzealous patriotism. Not just this, Smriti has also subtly conveyed the Sangh's stated line on "caste" with the Mahishasur reference in her speech. But if one could borrow lines from her own emotional terminology, Irani has shamed the death of a son who could have well been termed an anti-national if he was alive. Yes Smriti Irani, we are talking of Rohith Vemula, and please let's honour him in his death and get the facts straight. (Rana Ayyub is an award-winning investigative journalist and political writer. She is working on a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be published this year.) Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. First Published:February 27, 2016 02:36 IST
