The following article was written for OpIndia. Pasting it here for reference.
The Prime Minister of India had given a call for all citizens to participate in the #HarGharTiranga campaign. He had also requested for everyone to have the Indian flag as their display picture in various social media platforms. Ever since he said that, the Congress party and sections of the English media went haywire. First, they thought that this campaign will go nowhere. Then they saw the tremendous support the people of the country were giving to this campaign. Left with no choice to adopt it, the Congress party came up with what they know best – worship Nehru and his dynasty even while referring to the Indian flag!
I was wondering how the mighty Congress party gets the public mood wrong every single time, until I saw the deluge of articles in the English media that were worshipping Nehru and Nehru only, for some mysterious reason! The occasion was to proudly display the Indian flag. The reaction of the Congress party and their friendly media was to display unflinching loyalty to Nehru! The coverage in The Hindu, over the past two days, aptly summarizes how this whole team celebrated Nehru instead of India. Let’s begin with the best article of all – published today – “The temples that Jawaharlal Nehru built”.
For a large part, the article repeats the same old arguments on how the awesome Nehru built IITs, Bhakra Nangal Dam, ISRO and what not. Perhaps the author also felt bored with these repetitive arguments and he decided to up the ante. He goes on to tell us that Nehru was so awesome, that even after his death in 1964, he was responsible for the Green Revolution (in 1965), the telecom revolution (in late 1980s), the economic liberalisation (in 1991), and the digital revolution (in 2017)! Today, in 2022, India is the fastest growing economy in India only and only because of Nehru’s dreams. The others simply happened to be there when these events occurred. If you don’t believe me, see it for yourself!
The author of this piece is a “Senior Fellow, London School of Economics”. Doesn’t it scare you that there are still such people sitting in reputed universities and guiding students on their future? The Hindu had no absolute qualms publishing this worshipping piece of Nehru. It is one thing for Jairam Ramesh and Rahul Gandhi to exhibit this level of worship. It is however a whole different thing for analysts, journalists and editors to indulge in this worship. If I were to follow only sections of the English media and the Congress handles, you wouldn’t fault me for thinking that it is Nehru’s anniversary that is approaching and not India’s Independence Day!
On the same day and on the same page on which we were told how awesome Nehru is, The Hindu also published another opinion piece – “The fragility of Northeast’s integration”
The author tells us that the landmark years of severe turbulent years for North East are 1949 (Nehru was PM), 1958 (“draconian AFSPA was promogulated”, we are told. Not told that the awesome Nehru was the PM!), 1963 (Nehru was still the PM!) and 1971 (Nehru’s daughter is the PM!). According to the author, the tide started turning in 2001 and 2004 (separate ministry for North East), and 2002 (Powerful panel established for infrastructure development). The Prime Minister of India when things started getting better, was Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the BJP! The author also fails to mention that the “draconian AFSPA” was actually repealed across multiple places in the North East by the Narendra Modi government.
You would think that the author will properly credit Congress and BJP at the various years he mentions, but the only time he refers to a political party is in his conclusion section. And that party is the BJP – “Assam vehemently opposed BJP-sponsored CAA but voted BJP back to power”! It is continually baffling to note how these folks are disconnected to reality on the ground. We have often argued that the silence of the supporter is much more powerful than the violence of the detractor. The loudest voice need not be the right one, and the election results time and again have proved this. Instead of reflecting on why they are not able to read the ground realities better, the writers and editors always find new ways to blame the people!
The Hindu also published an opinion piece by Dr. Manmohan Singh – India must protect its hard-won freedoms.
“Authoritarian arrogance”, he thundered. I was immediately reminded of the many times that Sonia Gandhi had arrogantly undermined the authority of the Prime Minister of India. “Linguistically chavunist”, he said. I was immediately reminded of the times that the Congress party sought to create a divide in the country based on language. “Communally divisive”, he rued. Beginning with the horrific partition of India, I was also reminded about the 100s of riots that happened in India under the aegis of the Congress party.
We can go on and on. But we mustn’t forget the occasion that was being celebrated was India’s 75th year of Independence. This was a time to celebrate India’s strengths; India’s victories; India’s people and India’s future. This was a time to visualise India’s 100-year celebrations. This was a time to plan to take India to greater heights in the next 25 years. For such a momentous occasion, we mustn’t also forget that the Congress party and friendly media chose to worship Nehru and sound despondent about our India. We definitely mustn’t forget.
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