[Reader-list] Revolts & Rebellions : Arundathi Roy Interviewed by David Barsamian

[Lalit Ambardar]

The whole conversation sounds depressing.
‘I’, ‘me’ & ‘my’ are symptomatic of narcissism that overlays the hate India campaign.
Besides self flagellation ad nauseam by her, Arundhati Roy’s affirmative contribution in ameliorating the living
conditions of the very people she purportedly is concerned about is hardly
anything. She has a list of grievances but no concrete suggestions to remove
those.

 

It is because of her chronic hostility
towards the state that she readily embraces even the proponents of   ‘azadi-
bara- e- Islam’ (freedom for Islam) in Kashmir.
Her comrade-in arms- Geelani who like other Kashmiri Muslim separatists regards
Kashmir as the unfinished agenda of Jinah’s religion based two nation doctrine
& wants Kashmir’s inclusion with Pakistan has just declared Osama a ‘martyr’
calling for mass prayers today in Kashmir. ADR does not mind this religious
blackmail of gullible masses. Her rhetoric on Kashmir might be a moral-booster
for Kashmiri Muslim separatists & their indoctrinated foot soldiers but it
can not erase Kashmir’s civilisational links with rest of India. It doesn’t bother her
conscience that those Kashmiri jihadists who self admittedly got trained in
Pakistan & ferried weapons from there & launched anti India jihad in
1989-90 & who deserve to be tried for crimes against humanity are roaming
free, practicing ‘politics’. Even the brutal ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindu
Pandits at the hands of Kashmiri pan- Islamists in the land of their origin
does not cause her any indignation.

 

Continued diatribe against so called upper
class Hindus is a crap. It is a deliberate attempt to divide Hindus. How many
upper cast Hindus, today preside over how many political parties in India at
national or state levels? The ruling party head at the centre who also is the
de-facto ruler of the country is of foreign origin & not a born Hindu.  Today upper class Hindus are also competing
in general category for the jobs reserved for the lower casts. One can only
derive sadistic pleasures in differentiating poverty & deprivation on the
basis of religion & cast.

Talking about exploitation of tribals, it
was way back in seventies that a journalist ‘bought’ a tribal girl from
somewhere in central India
to prove a point. Continued apathy towards tribals deserves utmost attention.
But is ‘violence’ the answer? Maoists’ guns have brought the Maoists &
their overt sympathisers in the limelight but development continues to elude.
Induced ‘Christianisation’ over the decades has only divided the families &
communities.

 As
if all that is evil exists in India
& in India
only. Yes, we are no where close to claiming a system that ensures a fair
degree of socio-economic justice. Crony capitalism is a serious threat. But
there is a growing awareness of our shortcomings & positive activism is on
rise. In spite of apparent pitfalls, it can not be denied that democracy is
evolving in India.
Civil checks & balances are necessary to counter the propensity to misuse
democracy. If there was 2G scam, the media exposed it & the Govt. of the
day is nailed. Civil society is pursuing introduction of severe laws against
corruption. People are demanding return of Indian wealth illegally parked
outside. Sustainability is the topic of discussion today. Peaceful awareness
& opinion mobilisation campaigns would go a long way in nation building
than antagonistic activism.

 Intellectual
manipulations do not bring about genuine revolutions & revolution need not
be synonymous with violence or anti India hate campaign.


Rgds all…LA 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> From: aswathypsenan at gmail.com
> Date: Thu, 5 May 2011 12:50:48 +0530
> To: reader-list at sarai.net
> Subject: [Reader-list] Revolts & Rebellions : Arundathi Roy Interviewed by	David Barsamian
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