'If they don't have a roof, let them die'

[Dr. Jai Maharaj]

IF THEY DON'T HAVE A ROOF, LET THEM DIE

By Hiranmay Karlekar
Editorial
The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Saturday, May 16, 2015

The insensitive response in the Salman Khan case by the
actor's supporters shows a disturbing trend. The harsh
fact is: Hatred and contempt for the poor are now
integral to the mindsets of many affluent Indians

To many, the explosion of thunder and snuffle over the
Salman Khan case is now old hat, given the ephemeral
lifespan of news items. Yet aspects of it, particularly
the reactions of a significant section of India's
'beautiful people', merit attention. These reminded me of
the incident on the eve of the French Revolution in which
Marie Antoinette, told that the people were clamouring
for bread, asked why did they not eat cakes instead. On
reflection, however, the Queen of France was much kinder.
Her fault was ignorance of the fact that people desperate
for bread could not afford cakes. There was no animus
against bread-seekers.

On the other hand, implicit in what some of the actor's
fans said, and the actual words that at least a couple of
them used, displayed a distinct hatred for the poor. One
of them even asserted stridently that those who slept on
pavements deserved a dog's death! For one thing, no dog
deserves to be run over for sleeping on a pavement. For
another, people sleep on the pavement not out of choice
but for lack of the money needed for sleeping elsewhere.

The author of the obnoxious remark that the pavement-
sleepers deserved to die like dogs was either not aware
of this or justified such an end for them even though he
knew of their plight. The first possibility could only be
right if he generally lived in the midst of clouds and
occasionally visited terra firma to serve Bollywood, a
state of affairs which would not perhaps seem credible to
even the most believing mind. The alternative, that he
knew but still said what he did, indicates either or both
of two things -- his own contempt and hatred for the
poor, and the general worldview of his peer group which
made him believe that people would see nothing wrong in
his assertion.

Continues at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit/if-they-dont-have-a-roof-let-them-die.html

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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