On 11thMarch, as Uttar Pradesh assembly election results started pouring in, there was a complete rout of the left-liberal narrative related to the elections. Every analysis and every projection was flung and tossed around with an impunity rarely seen before.
As if that was not bad enough for the secular jamaat, 18th March saw huge amounts of salt being rubbed on to their still sore wounds. Yogi Adityanath was declared as the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. This was the classic case of adding insult to injury.
Every Media personality had his or her take on the “alarming” situation. Some rediscovered the ground beneath their feet quickly, while some others are still grappling with this unforeseen tragedy.
It was during that time that Vikram Chandra from NDTV tweeted about how around the world, ABNORMAL is now becoming the new NORMAL:
Around the world, the abnormal is becoming the new normal.
— Vikram Chandra (@vikramchandra) March 19, 2017
How does one qualify this situation as abnormal? Yogi Adityanath is a 5-time MP with an excellent constituency and Parliamentary record. Normal enough to be elected. What makes the situation “abnormal” is that he wears saffron clothes and has doggedly opposed minority pandering in Gorakhpur. In all fairness, these are subjective views which can be coloured by ones cultural, religious or political leanings. So, I would grant the media their right to be paranoid.
Now coming to the amusing bit. In the past three odd years, we have seen actual situations where the left-liberals have supported or opposed ideas in a manner which could not be deemed NORMAL by any rational, right thinking mind. Here is an attempt to list some of those:
1. Support for Yakub Memon
The country witnessed intellectuals knocking at the doors of the Supreme Court in a midnight rendezvous to save Mr Memon, someone who was judicially implicated for the death of hundreds of victims of the 1993 Mumbai blasts. To make matters worse, we saw publications like The Indian Express say “and THEY hanged Yakub”, in a clear attempt to portray the State as an aggressor. And that was only because it was the BJP government in the Centre.
But that was NORMAL.
2. Bharat Tere Tukde Honge
That some students in a renowned University chant about secession of states from India and our “respectable” intellectuals advocate their Freedom of Expression, remains one of the most shameful episodes of post 2014 times (or as they say, in Modi’s India). If that was not bad enough, there were youthful politicians like Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal who went there to express solidarity with the ones desirous of Breaking India. One still has not been able to digest the fact that secessionist forces were encouraged in TV studios and editorials. And that was only because it was the BJP government in the Centre.
But that was NORMAL.
3. Open Defecation
The PM launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014 with a lot of hope and fanfare. While execution and results can be debated, no one with their hearts in the right place can question the motives of wanting to have a clean India. Building toilets and reducing open defecation was an integral part of the mission. Now who could have ever had a problem with that? But where there is hate, there is a way. Thus, we saw website run by the former editor of The Hindu come out with an article on supporting, believe it or not, the right to open defecation! And that was only because it was a BJP government led initiative with the stamp of a certain Mr Modi.
But that was NORMAL.
4. Opposition to International Yoga Day
In 2015, The Prime Minister announced June 21st to be celebrated as International Yoga Day. It was an attempt to celebrate our treasured legacy, which has come to be much recognised internationally as well. The mere announcement led to haters tying themselves in knots to denounce the programme. This is a sample among many others of how their personal prejudices were articulated into Yoga hate. To the sane mind, what could possibly be wrong with the universally acknowledged practice of Yoga? Except that it was being highlighted by Mr Modi.
But that was NORMAL.
5. Child Marriage
India is a country where there is a law against child marriage. Despite this, minority pandering has led political parties in Kerala to offer tacit support to the law breakers in this regard. The issue assumes religious overtones as it contravenes the Muslim Personal Law. The then ruling coalition, United Democratic Front was forced by the Indian Union Muslim League to register marriages as legal, even if both the parties were under age.
Now the Left has historically boasted of challenging Patriarchy and has always claimed to espouse Women’s Empowerment. One of the leading luminaries of the Leftist thought process in media, Malini Parthasarthy, then the Editor at The Hindu, had this to say about illegal underage marriages:
@FakeJourno I do not support child marriage but I do say that it’s not for us the majority to dictate to minorities how to live their lives
— Malini Parthasarathy (@MaliniP) June 26, 2013
This was symptomatic of blatant minority pandering while turning a complete blind eye to Indian laws by a vaunted media person. Who in their right mind would stand for an illegal practice that is steeped in patriarchy and backwardness?
But this was NORMAL.
6. Batting for Illegal Slaughterhouses
Yogi Adityanath has hit the ground running to fulfil the promises made in the BJP’s manifesto for UP. One of the promises in the manifesto was the shutting down of ILLEGAL slaughter houses. This predictably has led to a huge hue and cry among the bleeding-heart liberals. The very same people bemoan general Indian antipathy to law and regulations.
Sadly, people who praise the rule of law in developed countries are the first to mock the law when an attempt is made here, citing loss of “public liberties”. The same set of people cry rivers for Jallikattu but encourage inhuman slaughter of animals. They question the impact of Diwali crackers on the environment while turning a deaf ear to the ecological impact of these illegal slaughter houses. Fighting for rule of the land is undermined only because it is being enforced by a BJP government.
But that is NORMAL.
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Sadly, this is not a comprehensive list. It is purely an anecdotal representation of how far the liberal narrative has moved from anything remotely NORMAL.
There have been jokes about how liberals would stop breathing if Mr Modi were to talk of the benefits of Oxygen. Though that hopefully does seem a bit far-fetched, it may not be too long before we see some of them extol the benefits of Gutka.
Soon you’ll come to know “10 nutrition & health benefits which only paan masala can provide.”
— K. S. Dwivedi (@theFirstHandle) March 22, 2017
