ZK is a man on a mission. His mission includes screaming in TV studios, an euphemism for discussion nowadays (you can even spot their jugular vein bulging, such admirable passion. So yell in ten seconds how to solve Kashmir problem??!!!. So asketh the god in a hurry. We have to go for a break and puhlease don’t go away !!). ZK’s concerns are understandable and we empathize. His attempts on striking a secularist cord with the viewers is also appreciated. Albeit he needn’t have worried since its part of legend that in contemporary India being a Muslim is in itself a justification on secularism!!. ZK quite rightly and justifiably so, rebukes the fundamentalist forces like Sangh parivar et al VHP,Bajrang Dal and so on. But he quite mysteriously is quiet about Shiv Sena- the zealots who live on divisive issues, froth hatred. A party with no great concern for principles. Its style is to take up a populist issue and dump it when it is no longer useful politically. Many of its campaigns are too simplistic and yielded results it never bargained for. Despite its avowed sons-of-the-soil policy (Marathi Manus looney tune), the Sena has unfailingly chosen non-Maharashtrians as its Rajya Sabha nominees, Chandrika Kenia, Mukesh Patel, Pritish Nandy (yes that scoundrel), Sanjay Nirupam (he is now a secular…its that easy to change…afterall we have only life!!).
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Right from early 60s they have been fomenting trouble. The initial victims were skilled labourers, primarily from the southern States, who came to Mumbai looking for jobs provided by new industries. They were branded as "lungi-wallas" and the businesses of South Indians were attacked ruthlessly. After the lungi-wallas, it was the turn of the Gujarati entrepreneur and more recently, it is the North Indian or `Bihari' migrant. It is ironical that during the Mumbai riots of 1992-93 the Sena allied itself with these communities to target Muslims. From ethnicity, the focus shifted suddenly to religion. If earlier it was anti south, in 90s it was vengeance on Muslims in Mumbai.In the communal clashes on the aftermath of babri masjid demolitions and Mumbai blasts, shiv sainiks were actively fueling and participating in riots (offcourse that doesn’t mean we negate the role of underworld-muslim fundamentalist nexus). They were responsible for killing and maiming many innocent people
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Right from early 60s they have been fomenting trouble. The initial victims were skilled labourers, primarily from the southern States, who came to Mumbai looking for jobs provided by new industries. They were branded as "lungi-wallas" and the businesses of South Indians were attacked ruthlessly. After the lungi-wallas, it was the turn of the Gujarati entrepreneur and more recently, it is the North Indian or `Bihari' migrant. It is ironical that during the Mumbai riots of 1992-93 the Sena allied itself with these communities to target Muslims. From ethnicity, the focus shifted suddenly to religion. If earlier it was anti south, in 90s it was vengeance on Muslims in Mumbai.In the communal clashes on the aftermath of babri masjid demolitions and Mumbai blasts, shiv sainiks were actively fueling and participating in riots (offcourse that doesn’t mean we negate the role of underworld-muslim fundamentalist nexus). They were responsible for killing and maiming many innocent people
Many Shiv Sena leaders who provoked riots have been named by the Srikrishna Report. The report findings, published in 1998 also indicted the shiv sena Chief Bal Thackeray for his fiery speeches and articles in Saamna (his party outhpiece) that provoked his party members to violence... The Commission also found that the Shiv Sena Supremo was directly involved in the riots by assisting in coordinating attacks on Muslims. Its part of great Indian law and machinery (as well as judicial system) that these killers are roaming free as is the case of any riots anywhere in India. That makes us a very responsible and great democracy. That’s another legend !!. The above ghastly photo...a reminder in case we forget.
The other day I came across these lines:
Let us honour the lost, the snatched, the relinquished,
those vanquished by glory, muted by shame.
Stand up in the silence they have left and listen:
those absent ones, unknown and unnamed—
remember their whispers fill the arena........... (Rita Dove)
So what does our man ZK do??. Well he wrote songs….so what’s wrong in that?. Being a (mediocre) lyricist it is natural for him to react to the situations and empathize with the victims and disapprove violence. We have examples throughout human history of great poets, writers and thinkers protesting on what is understood as wrong and killing (massacring is a better word) is most heinous. But our man ZK aint the same breed. So what did he do for chris sake??. Well he wrote songs for shiv sena!!!. So cute!!. And his explanation was “I am trying to have a civilized dialogue”. Yah taken and I am Ashoka The Great. Who’s kidding!!. Not surprising for this creed. It’s generally about one-upmanship within their circle. Consistency is off course a liability. Hypocrisy is diplomacy!!. Convenience instead of conviction is an easy way out. Some kind of predisposition for self delusion and self deception I guess. And because of pride, perception of reality is impossibility.
OK in case we take his hogwash. Do you try to have “civilized dialogue” by fawning miserable songs or bring out the issues, open debate and ask uncomfortable questions?. Balderdash of “civilized dialogue” is not something new. There have been instances where our melords in judiciary have tried to have “civilized dialogue” with rapists like for instance the coy not very subtle: Well rapist boy why don’t you marry her??. ZK might propose that since he is a lyricist, he can only do what he is good at (obsequiousness is purely coincidental)!!. Accepting this demented logic then why is our man so very repulsed with that UP minister Haji Muhammed Yaqoob Qureshi ( his claim to fame is for offering Rs 51 crore reward for the head of the Danish cartoonist) ?. Haji boy is doing what he is good at. He is another hypocrite politician good in making speeches. He is not a script writer or a lyricist like ZK. Its beyond me how ZK has the audacity to take such higher moral ground. When he criticized Pakistan for bomb blasts in Varanasi he spoke like some B grade irresponsible politician- blame it on Pakistan, wherein we never had any evidence, it was bit too early to speculate also most of the times it is a clever diversion from shoddy investigative machinery. My hunch is that ZK was working on his secular-muslim credential. In such worldview talking nonsense is never a second priority.
OK in case we take his hogwash. Do you try to have “civilized dialogue” by fawning miserable songs or bring out the issues, open debate and ask uncomfortable questions?. Balderdash of “civilized dialogue” is not something new. There have been instances where our melords in judiciary have tried to have “civilized dialogue” with rapists like for instance the coy not very subtle: Well rapist boy why don’t you marry her??. ZK might propose that since he is a lyricist, he can only do what he is good at (obsequiousness is purely coincidental)!!. Accepting this demented logic then why is our man so very repulsed with that UP minister Haji Muhammed Yaqoob Qureshi ( his claim to fame is for offering Rs 51 crore reward for the head of the Danish cartoonist) ?. Haji boy is doing what he is good at. He is another hypocrite politician good in making speeches. He is not a script writer or a lyricist like ZK. Its beyond me how ZK has the audacity to take such higher moral ground. When he criticized Pakistan for bomb blasts in Varanasi he spoke like some B grade irresponsible politician- blame it on Pakistan, wherein we never had any evidence, it was bit too early to speculate also most of the times it is a clever diversion from shoddy investigative machinery. My hunch is that ZK was working on his secular-muslim credential. In such worldview talking nonsense is never a second priority.
I cannot but feel sorry for this man. Such a pity. When an ex-M.P. Ahsan Jafri could be burned alive by the rioters in Gujarat it is clear fame, money or power will not save anyone particularly when you are a Muslim in Amchi mumbai. ZK knows it very well. Shiv Sainiks could decide its party time folks, anyday. And Dawood will not mind helping. So when gutsy Dilip Kumar, despite his age chose to fight back, our man chose to supplicant (keeping secular tag intact is where the action is!!). He chose to write songs for Marathi Manus…..MM jinga lala hoi hoi…is how the first line goes I am told and this they will sing next time they do killings or moral policing or calling Tendulkar or Asghar Ali green snakes!!. ZK can have a great future in kerala if he chose to, after all MM could even be Moustached Malayalaee or Malayalee Male (taking the cue from Geeta Doctor’s Sartorial splendour of malayalee male. Its an excellent essay). ZK despite his high decibel Salman Khan act in TV studios is quite a wimp. Collective Tch Tch for that. Bohuth nainsaafi hai. As someone rightly said: Men are more bribed by their loyalties and ambition than money. Sometime back I was reading Shiv Khera I liked this line in particular: Under pressure preferences become weak whereas conviction becomes stronger. Weak people can never be sincere and cowards like ZK shouldn’t preach morality.
This haiku by Yosa Buson for tolerating this write up !!!. Meditate on it. It’s incredible.
On a temple bell it has stopped,
and gone to sleep
-a butterfly
