A group of people starts destroying public property, attacking symbols of the state such as trains, railway lines and buses. Physically attacking security forces. Meanwhile, ‘liberals’ stand back, intellectualizing the violence. They say that the criminals have a cause which is sacred. So sacred that we should overlook their violent revolt against the state. They hunt for “heroes” among the malcontents, lionize them in cartoons, poems, songs and movies.
Sound familiar?
This is exactly what happens whenever there is a Naxal attack in the forests of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh or Odisha. ‘Liberals’ say don’t look at the trail of destruction left behind. Instead admire the violent ones, sing songs with them, write poems about their valor. If you condemn the violence, that somehow makes you a terrible person who supports oppression of tribal people. Plus an imperialist and invader.
Now think about the ‘liberal’ reaction to what happened on the streets of Delhi or in Bengal the other day. Stones were pelted at police. Buses and trains were set on fire.
But the liberals saw nothing wrong with those who were trying to overrule Parliament with raw physical violence. Those poor dears! Bless them and their cause! If you condemn them, you are a terrible person who supports oppression of student voices. Plus a fascist and a Nazi.
The themes are strikingly similar. In both cases, ‘liberals’ intellectualize destruction of public property and attacks on security forces. This dangerous trend has now moved from Dantewada to Delhi.
I have always maintained that violence in forests of Jharkhand or Chhattisgarh is no different from violence anywhere else in the country. Sadly, ‘liberals’ were able to keep us on the defensive by guilt tripping us, by accusing us of being ‘outsiders’ with no understanding of the issues of people in the forest heartland.
Apparently, the only ‘insiders’ in those areas are the missionaries from all over the world and the ‘liberals’ from Delhi who swoop in to profile the poverty. They then sell those pictures in the US, Germany and Australia. For a hefty commission, they promise their foreign patrons that they will save the bodies (and the souls!) of the poor masses in India. That’s what makes them insiders and the rest of us outsiders.
But what now? Are we ‘outsiders’ in India’s metropolitan cities also? Will we fall for the guilt tripping and emotional blackmail here as well?
This is a test for all of us Indians. ‘Liberals’ are trying to hide their violent intentions under the garb of students. But, we’ve all been students. And no, burning buses is not on the syllabus. We can’t let ‘liberals’ get away with intellectualizing this.
We have to make sure of two things. One, put pressure on the state to come down *hard* upon criminal elements who may or may not claim to be students. Two, push ‘liberals’ to retreat from giving intellectual cover fire to violence. It doesn’t matter if they are Bollywood celebrities, public intellectuals or poets with sidey awards that nobody has heard of.
We have to demand that first of all, ‘liberals’ should come out in the public square and unequivocally condemn the violence. No ifs. No buts. Everything else is secondary.
Till yesterday, ‘liberals’ used to justify attacks on CRPF in Dantewada.
Today, ‘liberals’ are justifying attacks on police in Delhi.
Tomorrow, ‘liberals’ will justify genocide against us.
Oh wait, they already did. With Kashmiri Hindus. After the genocide, they will tell the survivors to grovel before their tormentors. They will say that ‘peace’ for the survivors depends on the goodwill of their oppressors. So it is the job of the survivors to prostrate before the Leftist-Islamist complex and beg for a right to breathe.
This will be our future unless we take a stand today. No more giving in to intellectual blackmail. No way.
