Jyotiraditya's 'new' start: Moderate voices aren't heard, post-truth rules the roost

Jyotiraditya Scindia with Amit Shah

By Salman Khurshid*
It is sad to say goodbye as I do today to Bal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, as he sets off to a new start in a new world. I had bid farewell to his father 18 years ago when the plane carrying him to Kanpur crashed in my constituency. Losing Madhavrao, Rajesh Pilot and Jitendra Prasada changed our politics irreversibly. Today a surviving link get snapped or at least suspended.
Hopefully personal contacts will survive but in this divided world of politics of winner takes all feelings will perhaps never be allowed to be the same. Of course in many ways it is a goodbye not of my making, and certainly without a parting word or gesture to preserve as memory for old times’ sake.
Suddenly amongst colleagues awe and admiration has turned to despise and rancour. Politics, at least in contemporary India, is with a few constants and who knows what tomorrow will bring. But the barrage of clips being shown on TV and posted on social media of Jyotiraditya’s stirring speeches against the BJP and Prime Minister Modi makes one wonder if all political speeches are really without feeling.
What is condemned as bad or evil is not really so but it serves the moment to say that. Equally all good and praiseworthy is but lip service for convenience or advancement. Who then and when does speak eternal truth? There is only longevity, no permanence in our thoughts and words. One knew some politics is theatre but that there is only theatre including of the absurd is becoming apparent in these times of stress.

Jyotiraditya’s stirring speeches against the BJP and Prime Minister Modi makes one wonder if all political speeches are really without feeling

Even many hate speeches that hurt seem calculated attention seeking rather than real malice. But the damage is done and sometimes as in the recent Delhi riots leading to loss of lives and property. In Parliament the structure of the riots and pre-planned nature was clear to all Members but divergence on perpetrators and victims leaves one wondering if the human cost matters at all. It is just about scoring points, like all politics.

Salman Khurshid

Gandhiji told us to hate the sin, not the sinner. We now use our hate for the ‘other’ to dub him sinner and use our sin to show our hate for him. In the process we have no problem turning truth into hate. Yet politics persuades us to embrace hate and obfuscate it before endorsing it.
Meanwhile yesterday’s faithful becomes today’s betrayer even as yesterday’s betrayer protests the latest betrayal. Moderate voices are not heard anymore and post-truth rules the world. Like fatalists we just ask, ‘who next?’ and wait…
Dagh-e-firaq-e-shab ki jali hui,
Ik shama rehgayee hai so vo bhi khamosh hai
Aate hai ghaib se ye mazamim khayal mein
Ghalib sarir-e-khama nava-e-sarosh hai
(Of the spotted night of separation
One candle that survives too is silent,
From the unknown come these thoughts,
The sound of Ghalib’s pen is blessed by voice of divinity)
Apni gali mein mujh ko na kar dafn bad-e-qatl
Mere pate se khalq ko kyun tera ghar mile
(Bury me not in your street after murdering me
Lest my address leads people to your home.)
Those two couplets of Mirza Ghalib sum up our times and our condition. But as the casualties mount of loved ones will the tears dry up and make us stoic? Or take solace in Mohammed Ali Jauhar’s ‘Islam zinda hota hai har Karbala ke baad’ with the hope and prayer that this too will not be added to the annals of hate speech.
---
*Former foreign minister, Supreme Court advocate, senior Congress leader. Source: Facebook timeline

Comments

Adv. Mohd Muztaba said…

Ghalib
Hai bas ki haraik isharon, me nishan aur
Karte hai mohabbat to, guzarta hai guman aur ll
Ya rab nawoh samjhen hai , na samjhenge meribat l
Do aur dil unko, nado mujhko zuban aur ll

March 12, 2020

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani* India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor* Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas* November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad* On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor* Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor* Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Search This Blog