22.10.08

For Rahul Gandhi

My dear Rahul:

I understand that you are a very sweet boy (in India we call people boys and girls if they are not married or if they are married but act in television serials or films). Now, sweetness has its limits. The reason some of us like Laloo Prasad Yadav is because he minces no words. He did not like what Raj Thackeray was doing, so he called him “mental”.

You, on the other hand, said this: “What Raj Thackeray is doing is wrong; this will divide the country.”

No. If you look long and hard you will see that the country has been divided for many years. If it isn’t the migrant problem there are separatist movements; there are problems of divisions among the rich and poor, rural and urban. How can Raj divide the country when his uncle did not manage to do so? If the northies are prevented from working in Mumbai, the first people who will complain will be the Marathi maanus. They are so accustomed to sitting in Mantralaya and sipping tea from saucers that they will miss the auto rickshaw, taxi wallahs and paan wallahs. The hawaldars will miss their hafta!

You say, “The more walls you raise the more divisions are created; either India or no India.”

This is almost a Bushism. These walls are only curtains set on fire. Just make sure that mummyji does something with Shivrajji and gets him to move some motion, as they say in Parliament speak.

You said, “There’s nothing like North India or West India or South India—it’s only India and this you should remember.”

If you stand for elections will you dump the family constituency and contest from the South or Gujarat? It is easy to mouth these homilies and ask others to follow such honourable ideas. Besides, I do not think identifying yourself with an area is wrong; we have professions and ideologies we identity with. I feel very strongly about being a Mumbaikar. But I relish other places as well. These add to our repertoire. We are fortunate to have so many cultures.

By the way, by your logic there should not be coalition politics too.

Finally, you end, “If you start identifying yourself as a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, the differences will only grow and a Bal Thackeray will exploit it and someone else in another state.”

These exploiters brand you. That is different from identification. Incidentally, do ask your boys in the Congress, and girls too, to stop playing with that Imam Bukhari and other useless people for vote bank reasons.

Does it strike you that you gave this speech in Uttarakhand, which separated from its own due to identity reasons?

Otherwise, all is well that bends well, na?

8 comments:

  1. FV:

    These walls are only curtains set on fire.

    Amamzing. How could you even think of this line? Superb. I am simply unable to get over this one.

    These exploiters brand you. That is different from identification.

    We can have multiple identities, but not multiple brands. You have gone unleashed the new-age marketing concept of "branding" into religion and politics in India.

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  2. Rahul Baba is still Baba at 38 , he was born in June 1970 ...I am 2 months younger than him, I have been a fossil for ages and have already hit the mental menopause....Nawab Saif Ali Khan is also 2 months younger than him ......but I guess age is a number.....
    Rahul Baba should read Arun Shourie's books and his old editorials in Indian Express to know his family creditentials and he will realise that the "University of Internal Divison" was started only by their family ....even the BJP/Shiv Sena learnt the ropes from them ....
    Incidently the marathi maanus has woken up after a long deep sleep....the Parsis , the gujjus, the Marwaris and punjabis ...all came to Bombay ....if I just take a count on how much South Bombay is owned by Marathis, I am sure the number would be minority....

    Incidently , if he is so passionate about "One India" he should contest from Palaghat, or Mangalore or Latur or Midnapore ....Leaders have it in their guts and not in their inheritance ....

    Imam Bukahri ...in my view is the best friend of Ashok Singhal or Praveen Togadia ...they find their clientele in Insecure, scared, god fearing indians ...who lack empowerment ....which your grandmom denied indians by licence Raj...if she had her way ...me and you would still be driving Ambassador Mark 9 ..... :)

    Incidently someone should send the newspaper from Nov 2nd 1984 ....when a big tree falls ..the earth is bound to shake ...was his dad's reaction to 2000 sikhs burnt alive by mobs in delhi ....remember that baba ....you were in a boarding school in english countryside ....we were all here ...



    Manish ...

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  3. क्या ख़बर थी के मैं इस दर्जा बदल जाऊंगा, तुझ को खो दूँगा, तेरे गम से संभल जाऊँगा !
    अजनबी बन के मिलूंगा मैं तुझे महफ़िल में, तू छेड़े भी तो मैं बात बदल जाऊँगा!
    ढूँढ पाये न जहा ना याद भी तेरी मुझ को, ऐसे जंगल में किसी रोज़ निकल जाऊंगा!
    जिद में आए हुए मासूम से बच्चे की तरह ,ख़ुद की कश्ती को डुबोने पे मचल जाऊंगा!

    This is in response to your old blog ....one months back sep 22 .....Did you know me before you knew me...

    ...and will you know me after you have known me?

    Njoy Thrilling Thursday ....Manish

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  4. ख्वाबो में तेरे गर मेरी ख्वाहिश नही होगी,मुझसे तेरी आखों की परस्तिश नही होगी!
    आवाज़ मेरी बैठ तो सकती है थकान से, लहजे में अगर मेरे गुजारिश नही होगी!
    हो फिक्र जिसे ख़ुद वो मेरा हाल परख ले, मुझसे तो मेरे गम की नुमाइश नही होगी!
    माने के ना माने शेहजाद ज़माना,ये तय है के मुझ से कोई साजिश नही होगी!

    Sometimes i think he (Farhat Shahzad)writes exclusively for your blog....Manish

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  5. I want to know which way you vote FV!
    I'm sure you are not voting for BJP or any other right wing group. I HOPE you are not a communist. That only leaves Soniaji and Rahul Baba!!!
    I can't see any other options..oh yeah...Mayawati!! Surely...even I am thinking of voting for her this time..or even Lalloo..

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  6. PS:

    Are you accusing me of 'line maroing'?!

    Re. branding, I meant taggng.

    - - -

    Manish:

    Rahul is an uprooted tree, so he would not know much about the soil he talks about. It s sad that the future is this...

    And...thank you for the poems, am touched.

    - - -

    Ronin:

    You tell me, am willing to swing anyway now...!

    Once I voted for an independent candidate, just chose the best-looking symbol.

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  7. "do ask your boys in the Congress, and girls too, to stop playing with that Imam Bukhari a"

    Rahul baba started his UP campaign with a visit to the bearded creatures of Deoband.So asking him to stop his partymen from playing with Bukhari is stupid.

    BTw,Laloo Yadav also plays with the likes of Osama look alikes and Sahabuddins.Still he is liked by the closet jehadis.Naturally.

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  8. The above comment wasnt me....

    ReplyDelete

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