Eminent Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai: Yes, I too am anti-national

by Guest Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:28 pm

Yes, I am anti-national because in a plural democracy I believe we must have a dialogue with Kashmiri separatists as we must with those in the North-East who seek autonomy. I will listen to student protestors in Srinagar or Imphal as I will to those in an FTII or a JNU.
Prosecute all those who break the law, incite violence, resort to terror but don’t lose the capacity to engage with those who dissent. The right to dissent is as fundamental as the right to free speech: shouting down alternative views, be they on prime time TV or on the street, is not my idea of India.

Yes, I am anti-national because I don’t believe in doublespeak on issues of nationalism. If support for Afzal Guru is to be seen as ‘sedition’, then at least half the erstwhile Cabinet in Jammu and Kashmir, where the BJP is in coalition with the PDP, would be held guilty.
After all, the PDP’s stated position has been to protest Afzal’s hanging as a miscarriage of justice. If the Kashmiri youth today see Afzal as someone who was framed, they should be challenged to a legal and political debate but can they be branded as ‘jihadists’ simply because their views are repugnant to the rest of the country?

Would we then by extension also suggest that the Hindu Mahasabha, which even today glorifies Nathuram Godse every January 30, even as the rest of India mourns the Mahatma, is an anti-national organisation? Should BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj’s defence of Godse be seen as an anti-national act or not, or will definitions of nationalism be shaped by the convenience of power politics?

Yes, I am anti-national because while I am a proud Hindu who wakes up to the Gayatri mantra, I also like a well done beef steak, which, according to BJP minister Mukhtar Naqvi, is a treasonous act, enough to pack me off to Pakistan. I celebrate the rich diversity of my country through food: Korma on Eid, pork sorpotel with my Catholic neighbours in Goa during Christmas and shrikhand during Diwali is my preferred diet. The right to food of my choice is again a freedom which I cherish and am unwilling to cede.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/yes-i-too-am-anti-national-rajdeep-sardesai/story-OzLD58Idvt8Z7XbMxP5peI.html

by southindian Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:41 pm

Did you know calling themselves anti-national is the new fashion in India.

by Vakavaka Pakapaka Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:12 pm

southindian wrote:Did you know calling themselves anti-national is the new fashion in India.

Rajdeep and Sagarika are mediocre journalists who did well when CONmen were in power. Like Varadarajan and Vir Singhvi, they are not doing that well now. These junkies are praying that CONartists will pull the Sikular wool over the eyes of the voters and come back to power.

by Merlot Daruwala Fri Feb 19, 2016 5:34 am

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:
southindian wrote:Did you know calling themselves anti-national is the new fashion in India.
Rajdeep and Sagarika are mediocre journalists who did well when CONmen were in power. Like Varadarajan and Vir Singhvi, they are not doing that well now. These junkies are praying that CONartists will pull the Sikular wool over the eyes of the voters and come back to power.

Sure Unkil. Ignore everything he says and stick to namecalling. That reflects very well on your values and intellectual depth.

by Vakavaka Pakapaka Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:43 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:
southindian wrote:Did you know calling themselves anti-national is the new fashion in India.
Rajdeep and Sagarika are mediocre journalists who did well when CONmen were in power. Like Varadarajan and Vir Singhvi, they are not doing that well now. These junkies are praying that CONartists will pull the Sikular wool over the eyes of the voters and come back to power.

Sure Unkil. Ignore everything he says and stick to namecalling. That reflects very well on your values and intellectual depth.

Yeah, I am very bad. Chaddis like me are morons. Intellectualism only applies to extremely brilliant Sikularists.

by Merlot Daruwala Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:48 am

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:
southindian wrote:Did you know calling themselves anti-national is the new fashion in India.
Rajdeep and Sagarika are mediocre journalists who did well when CONmen were in power. Like Varadarajan and Vir Singhvi, they are not doing that well now. These junkies are praying that CONartists will pull the Sikular wool over the eyes of the voters and come back to power.

Sure Unkil. Ignore everything he says and stick to namecalling. That reflects very well on your values and intellectual depth.
Yeah, I am very bad. Chaddis like me are morons. Intellectualism only applies to extremely brilliant Sikularists.

Don't despair, unkil. There is still hope for you. Self awareness is the first step to self improvement.

PS: can you similarly make your pal Avivek aware of his inadequacies? Self awareness is just not happening there.

by Guest Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:40 pm

Read the comments. You'll get the pulse of the people. The comments are more entertaining than the article.

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