Shobhaa’s Take: Hey Ram! Will we never learn?

After watching Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sakshi Maharaj holding forth in Parliament about Nathuram Godse, something happened in the pit of my stomach.

You’ve guessed right I felt sickened and wanted to throw up! So now it’s come to that we are supposed to feign instant deafness and ignore the provocation? Worse still… maybe we are meant to smile and dismiss such rantings as the prerogative of the new self-styled, robe-wearing saints who happen to be elected representatives of the people? We… the very people they insult and offend?

Just before this man opened his mouth and unleashed a storm of protest, we had another “preacher” (Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti) unconcernedly using abusive language.

So far, the response from the BJP has been tepid more, a gentle rap on the knuckles than a public reprimand. Most right thinking Indians believe people like these two have no business to be in Parliament or hold public office.

That they are not just there, but are loud and audible, is the shocking part. That the Prime Minister chooses not to deal with these types more sternly, is still more shocking.

Frankly, Sakshi Maharaj’s Godse remark crossed the line and deeply offended citizens. That any Indian would try and make a hero out of the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, revered by all as the Father of the Nation, is bad enough.

Faced with widespread anger, the man half-heartedly retracted his obnoxious remarks and said, “I don’t believe in Godse as a patriot.”

Phew! Was the country supposed to heave a sigh of relief and applaud this crass, insensitive chap for his rethink? Even in terms of providing an opportunity to the Congress to express righteous indignation, this incident was exactly what the doctor ordered.

So there they were, the well dressed, well heeled, very posh Congresswallas, sitting at the feet of Gandhiji’s statue, staging a high-profile dharna while piously chanting “Hey Ram!” and milking the occasion to register their outrage.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is fast emerging as the outspoken, articulate and seriously cute face of the Congress, was quick to respond to presswallas, when he said, “It’s an insult to Mahatma Gandhi… and this remark hits us at the core of our existence.” Mr Scindia hit the nail on the head. It sure does!

Whether or not you are an unabashed admirer of Gandhi, the act of glorifying his assassin can only be described as a nasty, perverted tactic.

Whatever your politics may be, Nathuram Godse was a cold blooded murderer there is no getting away from that. By observing his death anniversary in Maharashtra, the signal being sent out to supporters of Godse (believe it or not, he has quite a few!) was abundantly clear let’s see what happens if we praise the man publicly.

Let’s test the waters. Perhaps there are millions of like-minded Indians who feel the same way, but are too afraid to declare their true sentiments. Well... they tried. It backfired.

People like the hate spewing Sadhvi and the Godse supporter Maharaj, are products of the new order. They dare to say what they do because they know nothing terribly awful can happen to them, since they enjoy the blessings of their political bosses.

They know there will be mild ripples of disapproval, which will disappear soon enough. By then, the intended damage would be done larger consequences be damned.

At a time when there is a desperate need for a moral compass, any attempt to denigrate the one unifying national icon citizens of India are rightfully proud of is condemnable.

Take away Mahatma Gandhi from our pantheon of greats, and India will be that much poorer. Gandhiji had his flaws who doesn’t? There are many academics who are openly critical of some of his decisions.

There are also those scholars who roundly and openly criticise him for being the chief architect of Partition. Why not? What’s a democracy for if fair, unbiased, critical analyses is not respected? But even Gandhiji’s most virulent critics would not try and make a hero out of the man who killed him while he was on his way to a prayer meeting on January 30, 1948.

There is something sinister and dangerous that’s taking place in our political ethos. And if we don’t recognise the signs, we may have to pay a huge price for ignoring the coming storm.

Any attempt to make a hero out of an assassin is perverted and grotesque. Indians are a sentimental lot. Mahatma Gandhi is recognised as the messenger of peace by the world. He gave the concept of non-violence at a time when nobody understood its inherent power to transform the destiny of nations.

Gandhi can be accused of making several mistakes by those whose thinking differs radically from the vast majority of Indians. That’s fine, too. Gandhi was not God, after all. But is there a doubt in anybody’s mind that Godse was a murderer?

We have to be extra vigilant about these Sadhvis and Maharajs in the political sphere. Or else we will be overwhelmed by the hate they create.

As citizens, all we can do is raise our voices each time someone like Sakshi Maharaj or Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti utters hurtful words. But equally, as citizens, we expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to forbid his party representatives from indulging in such despicable and destructive practices.

And if they defy his orders, they should be stripped of their posts and instantly sacked from the party. The day that happens, even sceptics/ critics of  Narendra Modi will be ready to respect the man who now controls the destiny of 1.25 billion Indians.

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