Must be Spring cleaning time. Because people are being taken to the cleaners. Yesterday I reported that Media Crooks gave an ex-judge of the supreme court of India (how do they select these fellows, I wonder) a dhulai and today I am reporting that Sandeep has stripped Rohit Pradhan at the dhobi ghat.
{For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Hindi, ‘dhulai’ means a wash, and ‘dhobi ghat’ is where the laundry is done. Not only do you get informed about important happenings, but you also get language lessons. What a deal.}
You have to read the entire piece by Sandeep which is titled “Rohit Setalvad Owaisi Pradhan’s Perverse Communalism.” Below I just give you a sense of what it is about.
The embedded quotes in the excerpt are from Rohit Pradhan’s article in Outlook magazine, “What Makes Modi Unacceptable.”
. . . we shall examine the first of his several essay-length contradictions.
The strongest argument against Modi is…that he is seen as the face of 2002 riots. He is viewed as emblematic of India’s unfair treatment of its minorities; a thin veneer of secularism hiding an ugly face of Hindu majoritarianism.
Sure Modi is “seen” and “viewed” as all these things in just the same way that I “see” and “view” Rohit Pradhan as a dimwit who can’t make a reasoned argument; in the same way that I “see” and “view” Rohit Pradhan as a Hindu hater and in the same way that I “see” and “view” Rohit Pradhan as someone filled with baseless hatred against Narendra Modi who has appeased no caste or community or sect so far, and in the same way that Rohit Pradhan’s Institution is emblematic of Think Tanks’ misleading representation of their stated goals; a thin veneer of Indian National Interest hiding an ugly face of Muslim appeasement.
And then in the very next line, he says:
Now, it would be unfair to blame Modi entirely for this troubling state of affairs.
In which case, why does Rohit Pradhan characterize him as emblematic of Hindu majoritarianism? Does Rohit Pradhan even know what real Hindu majoritarianism would entail? It would entail the fair and even sympathetic treatment of Muslims by Hindu kings—even the iconic Krishnadevaraya had a copy of the Koran kept next to his throne as a symbol proclaiming that he treated Islam with equal respect. Like him, almost every Hindu king gave grants to and allowed Muslims to build mosques and practice their faith without fear. And as things stand, Muslims in Gujarat are much better off compared to Muslims in other states. Rohit Pradhan also needs to show us evidence of exactly one riot or criminal act against Muslims under Modi’s decade-long dispensation. Just one. (Tehelka’s doctored reports and fake sting ops don’t count.) And this in a state notorious for Hindu-Muslim riots, all of them under Congress rule. Indeed, a Vastanvi heaping praise on Modi says a lot.
This then seems to be the ire of the likes of Rohit Pradhan. Under the guise of criticizing an imaginary threat of “ugly” Hindu majoritarianism, they want Muslims to be mollycoddled; they want Muslims to be treated as second class citizens instead of as equals who can compete on the strength of their merit; they want Muslims to be afraid of Hindus and they want special privileges for Muslims because they’re minorities—aren’t minorities human beings?; they want the Indian state to tax the majority to subsidize the minorities; they want the Indian state to privilege one group of people at the expense of the other based not on reason or need but religion. Why?
Go read the whole article by Sandeep.
Thank goodness that there are alternative channels these days — blogs and such — that allow people like Media Crooks, Sandeep and others to challenge the tripe that magazines and newspapers (broadly speaking “paid media”) like Outlook, Tehelka, The Hindu, etc., carry.
Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 
I can’t believe this is coming from a Takshasila Institution fellow.
It is unfortunate that PM candidacy is determined how well you can appease minorities, whether US govt is approving your visa or not (not related to this article but the general thinking of many Modi haters I came across), etc. The economic policies, vision of the candidate, track record of development, none of these matters…If nincompoops like Rohit Pradhan are considered “intellectuals” by any standards, then it does reflect the standards of debate on the PM candidacy though. Hope it will change in the near term for the better of India.
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Professor, read this excellent article by Jagannathan of FirstPost on how Congress party’s economic policies are leading India on a path of self-destruction. Although Jaggu has done well, he has his compulsions and has been wary of being completely blunt. I have no such problems.
http://www.firstpost.com/economy/budget-pm-chidu-will-create-a-bigger-mess-when-they-leave-633890.html
My comment :
Have you heard of Bernie Maddoff ? He is the famous hedge fund fraud who made billions by fooling ordinary investors. How did he do it ? He ran a Ponzi scheme in which he promised double the market returns to his investors. Instead of using any intelligence or investing wisdom, he basically took money from some investors and used it to pay other investors, pocketing the difference….he could run this scheme only as long there were enough investors willing to invest with him, only as long as there was more money coming in than going out. He was a very much celebrated financier and was heralded for being a genius.
The scheme worked for 30 years. But things were to change. Suddenly, 2008 economic crisis happened, and investors kept money at home and stopped investing in hedge funds, and those who had invested asked for their money back. And Maddoff ran out of money. His scheme was found out and he was discovered to be a fraud and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Same is the case of Congress, especially under Sonia Gandhi. Congress has spent an extraordinary amount of wasteful fiscally expensive entitlement schemes targeted at buying the votes of the poor and deprived. The idea is to keep the poor of India comfortable in their poverty. Give up ambition, be satisfied with very little, and always remember Sonia Mata and Rahul Baba as to who they owe their life and livelihood.
This scheme worked very well when Indian economy was growing at 8-9%. The idea was simple. The economy was doing very well, lot of investments were coming to India, lot of money was being created. Why not use this money to buy votes of the poor offering them entitlements, so that we can be in power for the rest of our lives as the poor will always be grateful to us ?
It worked brilliantly for a while and Sonia Gandhi and her NAC looked like geniuses. They came with one scheme after another. Free food, free medicine, free education, guaranteed jobs, now free money…….
But this was not to last. There was only so much license-quota Raj, political-bureaucratic control and corruption those willing to do business in India could take. Companies simply stopped investing in India, both MNCs and Indian companies. In fact Indian companies started a “Quit India” movement of their own, looking for pastures outside India, unable to take any more of the anti-business policies of the government. Unemployment rose, inflation jumped, and the economic growth rate dropped from a guranteed 8-9% to a struggling 5%.
In short, the Indian government is running out of money. How can they buy the votes of the poor by providing them with free food, free income, free medicine etc. when they do not have the money to provide them with these goodies and freebies ? As Bernie Maddoff found out, it is only as long as there is money coming in, you can have money going out, and pocket the difference. What will you do if and when there is no money coming in ?
This is the situation in India today. There is no money coming in. But a lot of promises of been made on money that has yet not been earned, and at this rate will never be earned.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul to buy Paul’s vote works as a vote catching philosophy as long as there are many more Pauls than Peters. What will you do when the Peters run out of cash and cannot give you any more money ? What will happen to Paul ?
Such is Congress party’s predicament.
How much longer can you use your establishment media lapdogs to distract the public from the real situation in India by throwing mud on the only real threat to you ? I speak of Narendra Modi. Lets understand the national mainstream media discourse on Gujarat under Modi..
Great roads in Gujarat: Okay, but what about malnutrition?
Great infrastructure in Gujarat: Okay, but what about malnutrition?
24X7 Power supply: Okay, but what about malnutrition?
Water in Sabarmati: Okay, but what about malnutrition?
Special incentives for girls: Okay, okay, but what about malnutrition?
Crores of investments: Yeah alright, but what about malnutrition?
Women can move safely: Who cares? What about malnutrition?
Modi is not corrupt & incorruptible: Corruption is normal, what about malnutrition?
Sex-determination tests banned: Minor issue, what about malnutrition?
Two times GDP growth over national average: Fine, fine, what about malnutrition?
DoubleDigit Agri growth for years: See the “larger” picture, what about malnutrition?
How much longer will you people get fooled by the Congress ?
Okay, despite the best efforts of people like me and many other so-called “Internet Hindus”… Congress party has very smart strategists, they have a lot of money and they have an entire media at their disposal. They might defeat Modi and win in 2014. But that is going to be a pyrrhic victory because if they continue the ruinous economic policies and wasteful fiscally expensive entitlement schemes in the name of helping the poor….by 2015, India is sure suffer an economic collapse like in Greece. At least Greece is a small country with a small population, and which was fairly rich with decent standards of living before the collapse. Imagine what will happen to a country like India ? Food riots, water riots, 24 hour black outs, run on banks, strikes, street fights, open looting, wanton mob violence…expect the worst. The lady from Italy will succeed in her quest to completely destroy India. Congratulations to people of India in advance for keeping her in power.
…by the way, if you are smart, and do not have the means to migrate to some other country by 2015, buy property in some Gujarati town or city right now. Gujarat’s economy and India’s economy are moving in opposite tracks. In 2 years time, everybody in India will be rushing to move to Gujarat…for it will be an island of prosperity amid a sea of economic ruin and destitution….
And when that happens, remind me again how Modi is Hitler and how much malnutrition there is in Gujarat, etc. etc……
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Well Well.. Atanu if you endorse this article of Sandeep, you should also agree to his views (actually dhulai) on the Takshashila Institution (of which you are a fellow), which I quote:
‘..From an ill-informed bashing of the mythical terror of Hindutva to whitewashing Islam’s historical atrocities on India to glossing over the violence wrought by illegal Bangladeshi immigration to defending Government clampdowns on free speech to apologizing for vile separatists like the Owaisi brothers, the Takshashila Institution has simply echoed the Congress party’s line…’
Never thought of you as ‘echoing Congress party’s line’. It’s a revelation. All those ‘anti-Congress’ articles were just ‘hogwash’?
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shaanse00,
As you point out, I am indeed associated with Takshashila. That does not mean that I endorse every position that Takshashila takes, or that I cannot disagree strenuously with it or its management.
I am capable of thinking independently even though I may be associated with a think tank. My positions on specific issues may be at variance with people or parties I generally support. It is called intellectual independence.
For instance, I am a supporter of Narendra Modi. Yet, I disagree with him on some specific issues such as FDI in retail, or the banning of fetal sex determination. I disagree and I am not shy of publicly stating that matter.
If you think about it, I am sure you will understand that being part of an association does not mean that one abdicates all personal responsibility and loses one’s independence.
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Atanu,
I entirely agree with your views about intellectual independence, and hence was surprised that you did not criticize Sandeep on his attack on Takshashila, on the basis of Rohit Pradhan’s association with Takshashila as a fellow.
I too don’t agree with Rohit’s views, and would have supported Sandeep in his valid criticism of Rohit’s views, but, in his enthusiasm, he has made ad-hominem personal attack on Rohit.
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Professor, didn’t know you were associated with Takshashila. I wrote this comment on Takshashila and Nitin Pai in Sandeep’s blog…. I dont know whether you agree with it or not. I have tremendous respect for you. I dont know whether associating yourself with Takshashila is the right thing for you or for us, people who have admired you for so long.
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The demise of Nitin Pai has been stunning. He started off as India’s favorite blogger, he was the voice of the right wing on the internet…buoyed by the support of people like you and me, he started many things…..Pragathi magazine, Takshashaala University….got together a group of bright young things and got them united behind a platform of free market capitalist centre-right wing politics, was an ardent advocate of anti-Congress movement…
…..but something happened down the line. He started aspiring for mainstream acceptance and fame, and suddenly realized that to be invited regularly to Barkha Dutt and Sagarika Ghose’s shows, and to get accepted as a bona fide “intellectual” by the establishment media, he needed to transform himself and his organisations into critics of Narendra Modi….otherwise he risked being condemned as an “Internet Hindu” and as a troll for the the rest of his life. Also, his many apprentices and disciples began to assume personal ambitions of their own, which could only be fulfilled by a strident anti-Modi line. People like Pragmatic_Desi, Rohit Pradhan were the main culprits. They even had associations with the famous Nilim Dutta, who made it a point to add the title, “Strategic Affairs Columnist for Pragathi, an Indian National Interest Review venture” to his CV…….
As the sanskrit saying going, Vinasha Kale Vipreeta Buddhi…. Suddenly Nitin Pai found out that the world he had created collapsed completely, as his core audience, his core support group – people like you and me, began seeing him and his gang for the frauds they are. Now they are accepted as “intellectuals” and invited to TV studios and to write for establishment magazines and newspapers…. but they have no supporters, and they have nobody who respects them. After all, how can anybody support Congress lackeys and boot-lickers of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty ? Aren’t there enough of them already ? Get in the queue.
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Wow, Ranger98806, just, wow…. You are completely correct. How can Atanu use his own independent judgement about working with Takshashila? This conflicts with your views about Nitin Pai – and your views are so damn important, you don’t have the guts to use your actual name to write comments maligning other people. Learn a lesson from people like Atanu or Sandeep – they atleast have the balls to say what they want to, straight to your face.
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thisisrubbish,
Thanks for your comment. However, I am sure that Ranger98806 did not mean any offense to me and I have not taken any.
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As the Professor said, I mean no offence…I have the deepest respect for him. I have no problem using my real name, but prefer not to do so as I am a junior in the corporate hierarchy, have done nothing of great significance in my just begun career so far, so wouldn’t wish to draw unnecessary attention to myself with my rather strong political views……..maybe in 5 years time, I will be confident enough and secure enough in my career to use my real name. And hopefully Modi will be the PM by then.
And the reasons for my opposition to Nitin Pai and his people are evident…. I cannot tolerate even the slightest hint of anti-Modi-ness from anybody. As simple as that.
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