Major General Mrinal Suman
While
studying Indian history in school days, one was repeatedly told that
the foreign invaders resorted to ‘divide and rule’ policy to gain
control over India. They were painted as unscrupulous schemers who
exploited the simple, trusting and gullible Indians.
It
is only at a much later stage that one realised the hollowness of the
above assertion. The truth is that we are adept at producing hordes of
traitors who revel in India’s ruin. Every victory of the foreign
invaders was facilitated by the local collaborators who betrayed their
kings for some devious reward or to settle personal scores. No fort was
ever conquered without the infidelity of a trusted minister/commander.
Unfortunately,
centuries of slavery has taught us nothing. We carry on spawning
throngs of people who can stoop down to any level (even imperil national
security) for their petty gains. Our leaders, media and intellectuals
appear to have a single point agenda: how to generate innovative issues
to keep the nation divided and embroiled in petty bickering and internal
dissentions; and thereby impede progress and bring a bad name to the
country. They abhor India’s rise. Let me elucidate.
First, the leaders:
they are the fountainhead of all fissiparous tendencies. For them, vote
bank politics take precedence over everything else. One does not have
to be a visionary to predict the danger of abetting illegal migration
from Bangladesh for garnering votes. But unscrupulous political leaders
carry on unconcerned.
One
hangs one’s head in shame when political leaders extend their support
to a delinquent student leader who seeks destruction of India. Comparing
him with martyr Bhagat Singh is by far the most perfidious act.
Perhaps,
India is the only country that has an ignominious track record of
producing Home Ministers who revelled in shaming the country. One
concocted theories of saffron terrorism to please his party bosses. In
so doing, he presented a convenient propaganda tool to Pakistan. Another
Home Minister did the unthinkable. He declared a terrorist to be
innocent in an affidavit to the court. The aim was to ensnare the opposition leaders in a false case. Sadly, India’s intelligence gathering apparatus suffered immense damage in the process.
When
a leader declares ‘it's safer to be a cow than to be a Muslim in India
today’, he puts the whole country to shame. The world media flashes such
headlines with sinister pleasure. India’s image takes a terrible
beating. Just to score a brownie point against the government, he
presents a convenient propaganda handle to the hostile forces. How low
can a leader stoop!
Recently,
a renowned advocate and a former law minister told a TV channel that
shouting slogans for the destruction of the country is not debarred in
the constitution. According to him, freedom of expression was of
paramount importance. Even demand for secession (azadi) was
justified. As the interview progressed, one was not only amazed by his
perverted reasoning but also shocked to see the brazenness with which he
was arguing. Survival of India appeared to be of no concern to him. One
wondered if one was watching an Indian or a Pakistani channel.
Secondly, the media personnel:
the less said the better. From their conduct, it appears that many of
them are foreign plants and India means little to them. When
a leading media house invited a vicious and remorseless enemy like
General Pervez Musharraf and groveled before him, it marked the lowest
depths of shamelessness to which journalism could sink. Instead of
castigating him for the Kargil war, he was treated as a peace loving
guest.
Both
the electronic and the print media never report ‘positives’ about the
country. Ugly India sells (a la ‘Slumdog Millionaire’); and not
progressive India. Remember how a TV reporter failed to digest the
popularity of Modi in the US and tried to incite the crowd with
provocative remarks. But then they get paid to demean India, and not to
extol it.
Immense
damage is also being inflicted on the unity of the country by the media
through its Machiavellian and skewed reporting. Every news item is
deliberately reported with a religious, caste or creed slant – ‘a dalit girl molested in a Delhi bus’ (as if other women are not molested in Delhi buses) or ‘church guard killed’ (in reality an argument between two security guards had turned violent) or ‘Muslim driver runs over a boy’
(as if his being a Muslim is of any relevance). Recently, in a case of
cattle stealing, a leading newspaper could not resist the temptation to
add that ‘one of the five thieves is learnt to have had connections with
a cow protection group in the past’. How cunningly, a simply case of
robbery was given a communal taint.
Petty
vandals are given the coverage befitting a mass leader. It was
obnoxious to see two TV channels airing their interviews with a student
leader charged with sedition. The worst was the indulgent demeanour of
the TV anchors; as if a national hero was being eulogised. The
interviews were repeatedly telecast at prime time. Did these channels
think of interviewing war heroes or martyrs’ families? Forget it; that
would have been a pro-India act and that is an act of sacrilege for
them.
Thirdly, the self-proclaimed secular intelligentsia:
it has done the maximum damage to India’s prestige and standing. Some
of them appear to be fifth columnists masquerading as progressive
intellectuals. In which country of the world would the intelligentsia
write to the US government not to receive their Prime Minister?
Honestly, it is simply loathsome: duly elected representative of 1.25
billion Indians being subjected to indignities by a shameless bunch of
foreign-educated and foreign-paid anti-national elements. Unfortunately,
their protests get huge publicity abroad, thereby undermining all
efforts to raise India’s standing in the world forum.
It can be said with certainty that the well-orchestrated campaign of intolerance was
totally malicious in intent. The sole objective was to stall all
progressive reforms by tarnishing the image of the government. How else
can anti-nationalism be defined? As expected, having dented India’s reputation, sold-out media chose to ignore the true facts as they emerged.
Hundreds
of Christians, led by the church leaders, marched in protest on the
roads of Delhi against the alleged vandalism of churches and a theft in a
Christian school. Routine cases of petty crimes were cited to suggest
an anti-minority conspiracy. They ensured extensive coverage of their
protests by the foreign and Indian media, thereby damaging India’s
secular image. Foreign channels are only too eager to shame India.
Unwisely, even Obama got carried away with his uncalled for advice,
losing considerable goodwill in India. Reportedly, he said so on the
prodding of an Indian leader.
Soldiers and the national symbols:
the national flag, the national anthem and the national salutations are
representative of a country’s national identity and pride. They
symbolise ancient heritage, current challenges and future aspirations.
For soldiers, their sanctity is incontestable.
Thousands
of soldiers have sacrificed their lives to plant our tricolour on the
enemy strongholds, thereby earning the ultimate honour of having their
bodies draped in the national flag.
Notes
of the national anthem make every soldier get goose pimples. The
response is instantaneous and the effect is electrifying. Even in their
homes, they stand up with their families when the national anthem is
played on TV during Independence/Republic Day ceremonies.
Similarly,
national salutations like ‘Hindustan Zindabad’, ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Bharat
Mata Ki Jai’ make adrenalin surge through their bodies. The salutations
act as a rallying call to inspire the soldiers for the ultimate
sacrifice. All military functions conclude with full-throated renditions
of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
Therefore,
the current controversy regarding national salutations is highly
painful to the soldiers. They fail to understand as to how an Indian can
have difficulty in hailing the country. How can ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ be
assigned religious overtones.
Finally:
history stands testimony to the fact that a nation infested with the
virus of treachery, deceitfulness and perfidy has always been an easy
prey for foreign subjugation. No one knows this bitter truth better than
India. Yet, our leaders, media and intelligentsia keep discrediting and
harming the country through their seditious utterances and activities.
Under the garb of freedom of speech, they support those felonious
speakers who vow not to rest till India is destroyed.
When
Paris was hit by the terrorist attacks, the whole country gave a
unified response. Compare it with our Batla House encounter against
Indian Mujahdeen where two terrorists were killed and two arrested. A
brave police officer lost his life. Yet, many seditious elements had the
impudence to term the encounter to be ‘fake’.
Therefore,
the mystery remains unsolved. Why does India continue to produce so
many Jaichand and Mir Jafars? Is India a cursed nation or is treachery a
part of our DNA? One wonders.*****
Circulated By:
K.Raman.