Amarinder Singh Raja (National President, Indian Youth Congress) had recently left very vulgar and sexist remarks about Smriti Irani on Twitter. The trend was soon picked by many other members of Congress. Indrani Mishra (National Secretary, Indian Youth Congress) went one more step ahead and added her filthy statements to worsen the scenario.
After this event, Smriti Irani was also attacked by AAJ TAK journos who invited Smriti for a debate, but then shamelessly started triggering their malicious propaganda by trying to provoke and humiliate her by asking, “Modiji ne aapme aisa kya dekha ki aapko minister bana dia”. Smriti Irani not only blasted the anchor, but also showed him the mirror:
Where Ashok Singhal tries..TRIES..to humiliate Smriti Irani.But a lioness knws hw to defnd her honour #ShameOnAajTak: http://t.co/mmXnzTZF5n
— Vande Mataram (@UnSubtleDesi) June 1, 2015
Sadly, it is disgraceful for the nation that such act, which should have been confronted, was supported by fanatics of AAP and Congress who started fueling the obscenity by trending #GappuKiRani
भक्तो बजाओ ताली वही 6 नंबर वाली तुम्हारे पापा नयी रानी लाये है। अब जसोदा बेन को न्याय कौन दिलाएगा #GappuKiRani — Nitesh Khandelwal (@nit14323) May 28, 2015
These sexist attacks on individuals are not new in the political arena of India. The latest attacks on Smriti Irani originate from our old misogynous tradition, but it also talks about political raunchiness prevalent in the Indian political spectrum.
One can find numerous examples of sexual slanderings used to deride political figures, here are some of the most commonly used political examples:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi is often criticized for his experiments with sex. He used to sleep naked with young women of his Ashram, including his own grand-niece [Manu Gandhi]. Apart from this, it is also claimed that he was bisexual and he left his wife in 1908 for a Jewish architect and bodybuilder, Hermann Kallenbach. Great Soul, a book written by former New York Times executive editor Joseph Lelyveld alleges:
Gandhi wrote to Kallenbach about ‘how completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance’
The book also claimed that Gandhi nicknamed himself “Upper House” and Kallenbach “Lower House”. Even if Gandhi has admitted that he was doing experiments to control his sexual feelings and resists the intercourse, he is till now besmirched by his critics for his sexual experiments.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Nehru is often attacked for his relationships with Mridula Sarabhai, Padmaja Naidu, Shraddha Mata and Lady Edwina Mountbatten. It is widely rumored that Edwina had an affair with Nehru. The book India Remembered, written by Edwina Mountbatten’s daughter Pamela talks about the relationship of her Mother and Nehru. Edwina in her letters to Lord Mountbatten has written that her relationship with Nehru was mostly platonic. Mostly, but not always. In most of the personal attacks posted on the social media, Nehru is portrayed as a womanizer. The character assassination of Nehru revolves around his relationships with different women.
Atal Behari Vajpayee
Vajpayee is often criticized by his critics for his drinking habits. It was also widely claimed that he is a bachelor but not a Bramachari. Vajpayee moved into the marital home of his college love Rajkumari as the third head member of the family. Their unconventional relationship is often scrutinised and attacked by many rumours.
Apart from these cases, social media keeps denigrating individuals and organizations with snide sexual remarks. Indira Gandhi is attacked for her closeness with Dhirendra Brahmachari, Abhishek Manu Singhvi is frequently mentioned for a sex-tape, Digvijay Singh is maligned Amrita Rai, Kumar Vishwas was recently trending on twitter for his illicit affair with woman volunteer in Amethi, Narendra Modi is criticized for his “Wah kya girlfriend hai. Apne kabhi dekha hai 50 crore ka girlfriend?” remarks about Sunanda Pushkar.
Calling a spade for a spade may never solve the situation. But the other reality is – in the game of power and sex, these dust don’t seem to settle down soon.
