Sanghvi actually has nothing new to say - even the humour was drabBut it would be useful if Sanghvi could be asked to answer this question - why should "indianness" always be defined vis-a-vis pakistan. Why will the famous Indian tolerance never get over the percieved slight of the partition (and vice versa too). Is it an implied political conspiracy where the RSS and Al Qaeda have made a pact :P
2009/3/30 damodar prasad <[email protected]> > Argumentation with a implied humour is all interesting. Am only worried > about what stubborn secualarist may derive from this Sanghvian rationale. > One would be, "Wonder that was/*is* India". My probs is perhaps , may be, > I don't have any "mythified" notions of essential and glorified Indianess.. > When I say Indianness, I mean the Rasool Pokutty remarked- Omkaram for > Indianness sound. (Omkara is a nice film, btw. and i liked Rasool's way of > expresing ideas in Brittas interveiw in kairali) > > Like Vir Sanghvi's line, here is another 'secular" and of course friendly > wirte-up by novelist/history teacher Mukual Kesavan (dated 19/03/09) > http://www.telegraphindia.com/archives/archive.html > On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 3:13 PM, Afthab Ellath <[email protected]> wrote: > >> A friend and a secularist forwarded me this article >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Shageen.Prabhakaran >> Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 8:43 AM >> Subject: Vir Sanghvi- Indians and Pakis are no longer the same people >> >> >> Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times >> Email Author >> March 07, 2009 >> First Published: 21:47 IST(7/3/2009) >> Last Updated: 12:02 IST(8/3/2009) >> >> The same people? Surely not >> >> Few things annoy me as much as the claim often advanced by well-meaning >> but woolly- headed (and usually Punjabi) liberals to the effect that when it >> comes to India and Pakistan , "We’re all the same people, yaar." >> >> This may have been true once upon a time. Before 1947, Pakistan was part >> of undivided India and you could claim that Punjabis from West Punjab (what >> is now Pakistan ) were as Indian as, say, Tamils from Madras . >> >> But time has a way of moving on. And while the gap between our Punjabis >> (from east Punjab which is now the only Punjab left in India) and our >> Tamils may actually have narrowed, thanks to improved communications, shared >> popular culture and greater physical mobility, the gap between Indians and >> Pakistanis has now widened to the extent that we are no longer the same >> people in any significant sense. >> >> This was brought home to me most clearly by two major events over the last >> few weeks. >> >> The first of these was the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on the >> streets of Lahore . In their defence, Pakistanis said that they were >> powerless to act against the terrorists because religious fanaticism was >> growing. Each day more misguided youngsters joined jihadi outfits and the >> law and order situation worsened. >> >> Further, they added, things had got so bad that in the tribal areas the >> government of Pakistan had agreed to suspend the rule of law under pressure >> from the Taliban and had conceded that sharia law would reign instead. >> Interestingly, while most civilised liberals should have been appalled by >> this surrender to the forces of extremism, many Pakistanis defended this >> concession. >> >> Imran Khan (Keble College, Oxford, 1973-76) even declared that sharia law >> would be better because justice would be dispensed more swiftly! I know this >> is politically incorrect but the Loin of the Punjab ’s defence of sharia >> law reminded me of the famous Private Eye cover when his marriage to >> Jemima Goldsmith was announced. The Eye carried a picture of Khan speaking >> to Jemima’s father. “Can I have your daughter’s hand?” Imran was supposedly >> asking James Goldsmith. “Why? Has she been caught shoplifting?” Goldsmith >> replied. So much for sharia law. >> >> The second contrasting event was one that took place in Los Angeles but >> which was perhaps celebrated more in India than in any other country in the >> world. Three Indians won Oscars: A.R. Rahman, Resul Pookutty and >> Gulzar.Their victory set off a frenzy of rejoicing. We were proud of our >> countrymen. We were pleased that India ’s entertainment industry and its >> veterans had been recognised at an international platform. And all three men >> >> became even bigger heroes than they already were. >> >> But here’s the thing: Not one of them is a Hindu. >> >> Can you imagine such a thing happening in Pakistan ? Can you even conceive >> of a situation where the whole country would celebrate the victory of three >> members of two religious minorities? For that matter, can you even imagine a >> situation where people from religious minorities would have got to the top >> of their fields and were,therefore, in the running for international awards? >> >> On the one hand, you have Pakistan imposing sharia law, doing deals with >> the Taliban, teaching hatred in madrasas, declaring jihad on the world and >> trying to kill innocent Sri Lankan cricketers. On the other, you have the >> triumph of Indian secularism. >> >> The same people? >> >> Surely not. >> >> We are defined by our nationality. They choose to define themselves by >> their religion. >> >> But it gets even more complicated. As you probably know, Rahman was born >> Dilip Kumar. He converted to Islam when he was 21. His religious preferences >> made no difference to his prospects. Even now, his music cuts across all >> religious boundaries. He’s as much at home with Sufi music as he is with >> bhajans. Nor does he have any problem with saying ‘Vande Mataram’. >> >> Now, think of a similar situation in Pakistan . Can you conceive of a >> Pakistani composer who converted to Hinduism at the age of 21 and still went >> on to become a national hero? Under sharia law, they’d probably have to >> execute him. >> >> Resul Pookutty’s is an even more interesting case. Until you realise that >> Malayalis tend to put an ‘e’ where the rest of us would put an ‘a,’ ( Ravi >> becomes Revi and sometimes the Gulf becomes the Gelf), you cannot work out >> that his name derives from Rasool, a fairly obviously Islamic name. >> >> But here’s the point: even when you point out to people that Pookutty is >> in fact a Muslim, they don’t really care. It makes no difference to them. >> He’s an authentic Indian hero, his religion is irrelevant. >> >> Can you imagine Pakistan being indifferent to a man’s religion? Can you >> believe that Pakistanis would not know that one of their Oscar winners came >> from a religious minority? And would any Pakistani have dared bridge the >> religious divide in the manner Resul did by referring to the primeval >> power of Om in his acceptance speech? >> >> The same people? >> >> Surely not. >> >> Most interesting of all is the case of Gulzar who many Indians believe is >> a Muslim. He is not. He is a Sikh. And his real name is Sampooran Singh >> Kalra. >> >> So why does he have a Muslim name? >> >> It’s a good story and he told it on my TV show some years ago. He was born >> in West Pakistan and came over the border during the bloody days of >> Partition. He had seen so much hatred and religious violence on both sides, >> he said, that he was determined never to lose himself to that kind of >> blind religious prejudice and fanaticism. >> >> Rather than blame Muslims for the violence inflicted on his community — >> after all, Hindus and Sikhs behaved with equal ferocity — he adopted a >> Muslim pen name to remind himself that his identity was beyond religion. He >> still writes in Urdu and considers it irrelevant whether a person is a >> Sikh, a Muslim or a Hindu. >> >> Let’s forget about political correctness and come clean: can you see such >> a thing happening in Pakistan ? Can you actually conceive of a famous >> Pakistani Muslim who adopts a Hindu or Sikh name out of choice to >> demonstrate the irrelevance of religion? >> >> My point, exactly. >> >> What all those misguided liberals who keep blathering on about us being >> the same people forget is that in the 60-odd years since Independence, our >> two nations have traversed very different paths. >> >> Pakistan was founded on the basis of Islam. It still defines itself in >> terms of Islam. And over the next decade as it destroys itself, it will be >> because of Islamic extremism. >> >> India was founded on the basis that religion had no role in determining >> citizenship or nationhood. An Indian can belong to any religion in the world >> and face no discrimination in his rights as a citizen. >> >> It is nobody’s case that India is a perfect society or that Muslims face >> no discrimination. But only a fool would deny that in the last six decades, >> we have travelled a long way towards religious equality. In the early days >> of >> independent India , a Yusuf Khan had to call himself Dilip Kumar for fear >> of attracting religious prejudice. >> >> In today’s India , a Dilip Kumar can change his name to A.R. Rahman and >> nobody really gives a damn either way. >> >> So think back to the events of the last few weeks. To the murderous attack >> on innocent Sri Lankan cricketers by jihadi fanatics in a society that is >> being buried by Islamic extremism. And to the triumphs of Indian secularism. >> >> Same people? >> >> Don’t make me laugh. >> >> >> >> > > > > -- Bobby Kunhu http://community.eldis.org/myshkin/Blog/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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