If you have spent any time on social media, you know there are certain red lines (pun intended) that you should never cross. One, you don’t question the Asaram Bapu trolls. The second; and I can’t stress this enough, you don’t question CPM’s “Kerala Model.”
Because once you step on the toes of this sacred article of faith, nobody can help you. Not even Asaram Bapu with his hotline to heaven. You must prepare for a lifetime worth of abuses and lectures within a short span of 24 hours. On everything from the glory of beef eating to foreign remittances to highest HDI (what exactly is that?).
By now, who hasn’t heard of the Kerala model of “hammering the curve flat”? The fanfare is captured by this fawning editorial from The Hindu, titled “The mark of zero.”
The story of this great victory was heard around the world, fueled by the patrons of the left liberal system: Washington Post, Al Jazeera and of course the BBC. In fact, Kerala’s Health Minister was so excited to speak to the BBC that she mixed up Goa with Puducherry and ended up telling foreign media that Goa does not have enough hospitals. Either way, it seems clear that Minister K K Shailaja was determined to show the BBC that she is better than the rest of us natives.
But amid all the fanfare and publicity, the data kept ticking. On July 20, Kerala reported 794 new cases from 13,495 tests, with a test positive rate of 5.88%. It may or may not be of interest that on the same day, Uttar Pradesh reported 1913 new cases from 43,401 tests, with a positive rate of 4.42%.
This was over two months after The Hindu wrote about “The mark of zero.” And over five months after the Kerala govt had successfully fought and contained the virus on Feb 14, 2020.
And with that the elite media’s torrid love affair with the Kerala model, begun on Valentine’s day, came to an end. The BBC’s headline was the most cruel of all.
Hear that? Talaq – Talaq – Talaq.
Let me state that I take no pleasure in this. I would never descend to the level of a Communist troll. I only want to take this opportunity to make a few observations.
Observation #1 First, like most BBC articles on India, this one on Kerala is unfair and hypocritical. Kerala has 3 crore people and so far about 14,000 confirmed cases of the virus and just 45 deaths. The BBC has some nerve going after Kerala when the UK, with its 6 crore people, has 3 lakh cases of the virus and 45,000 deaths.
That’s right. Kerala has seen 45 deaths. And the UK has seen 45,000 deaths. That we know of. In old age homes across the UK, literally thousands of people died from Coronavirus with nobody counting them in the death toll. That didn’t happen in Kerala. That did not happen anywhere in India.
Again, I take no joy in the plight of the UK. But as an Indian, I won’t take the insults to Kerala lying down.
Observation #2 Communist trolls should realize that BBC is not the friend of any Indian. Until now, their praise for the “Kerala model” was just a tool for them to take potshots at the rest of us, especially those who support the Hindu right.
So when the Communist minister went to BBC and started trashing the rest of India, the BBC was laughing at her just as much as it was laughing at the rest of us. Perhaps even more at her for being an Indian who is taking delight in making other Indians look bad.
And now that Kerala model has hit a rough patch, your imaginary friends at BBC have left immediately. And are laughing at *all* of us Indians as a whole. Again.
Dear Communist trolls, BBC is not your friend. No, they don’t think you are special. You belong with us, whether you like it or not. Incidentally, the same Soutik Biswas who wrote the article mocking Kerala wrote another fake news article years ago denigrating Gujarat’s GDP growth to make Modi look bad (and had to correct the headline and story when caught)
Get it? Gujarat or Kerala, CPM or BJP : BBC is nobody’s friend. They don’t like India.
Observation #3 Like I said, you don’t mess with the Kerala model when you go online. And you sure don’t have to wait for a Karnataka based right wing Bengali from Jharkhand to defend it. The Communist trolls descend upon anyone who dares to question the “Kerala model.”
But what happened yesterday? How come the BBC was not stormed with internet storm troopers armed with HDI data?
How come? Communist trolls having an off day? On strike, perhaps against the gold scam?
This says something deep and unflattering about the mindset of the Communist troll. Deep down, there is no superiority complex. There is only an inferiority complex. Towards the West in general and the colonizers at BBC in particular. That inferiority complex showed when the Communist minister was trying to impress the BBC by explaining how she is doing better than other natives like us. Today, when the Communist trolls refused to take on the BBC, that complex showed even more.
Here is a word of advice from a BJP supporter to Communist trolls. You can hate me as much as you want. But I am proud of Kerala. I am proud of India. You should be too. And learn to be bold enough to say this to the BBC’s face.
