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The people giving these labels belong to the other camp. They
have quite an elegant term to describe themselves liberals.
That sounds like a bunch of intellectuals sipping tea and gently
persuading each other with deeply intellectual arguments.
Nationalists, on the other hand, sound like frenzied activists
beating their chests on the streets.
Chetan Bhagat
However, let me tell you what those who call themselves liberals truly are. Our lovely liberals
usually have no clue on what India should actually be like, whether on matters of economic
policy or of secularism. They never have solutions, so it is hard to put a finger on what they
truly represent.
However, they exist, and operate in a predictable, herd-like manner despite claiming to be
freethinking intellectuals. So, who are they?
These liberals actually are people who grew up with a certain amount of privilege compared
to their peers. This class privilege comes not only in terms of money but also the level of
English medium education they received and the world culture.
Remember the kid in school who brought hotdogs in his tiffin when you didnt even know
what a hotdog was? Remember the boy in class who had been to Disneyland, while you were
waiting for your next birthday to go to Appu Ghar (if you were in Delhi, of course)? These kids
grew up and had a huge advantage over other Indians.
Chetan Bhagat
They
Since
Chetan Bhagat
Alas,
over time India progressed economically. Talent came into demand and
privilege mattered less. As merit and talent earned jobs more people had
money, even though they perhaps lacked the global cultural exposure the
privileged kids had received.
Also, the talented kids felt no need to belittle the local culture, language or
religion. This created a relatively large class of proud nationalists the
economic growth seeking generation of Indians who were perhaps not so
well exposed to world culture.
The privileged kids felt insecure. They ganged up as one and re-branded
themselves as liberals. Calling themselves secular, inclusive, tolerant and
conveniently forgetting how class conscious they are, they claimed to save
India from the Hindu invasion. Quick to attack any Hindu fundamentalist
trespass in the name of secularism, these liberals would not be found
attacking Islamic fundamentalists the same way.
They claimed to be modern and fair, but one would rarely find them
speaking out against Islamic diktats that militate against gender equality.
Liberal discussions on Godhra riots never touch on how Islamic
fundamentalists burnt trains with passengers inside.
Chetan Bhagat
There is a reason why liberals are derogatorily referred to as pseudo-secular, pseudointellectual and pseudo-liberal. For their agenda is not to be liberal. Their agenda is to
look down on the classes that dont have the global culture advantage.
If, for instance, Modi and Amit Shah had gone to Doon School, or studied in college
abroad, or at least spoke English with a refined world accent, the liberals would have
been kinder to them.
The sad part is we do need, quite badly, a class of real liberals and intellectuals in our
country. We need people who have new ideas and solutions as well as a desire to be
truly inclusive for all Indians. Hating Modi is not going to solve anything. Neither will
looking down on the less privileged and their desires and aspirations. Instead, come up
with ways in which Indian society can truly change.
If you want to be truly liberal and intellectual, then stop pointing fingers and making it a
Congress versus BJP game. Figure out solutions we need to implement as one society
be it a common civil code that supersedes any religion, a common agenda for
economic reform, English for all or improving educational facilities for everyone.
Dont depend on the politicians to do it all, for they have to defend their jobs and hence
vote banks first. If liberals and intellectuals in civil society can build consensus for
reform, politicians will also act on it. If you are planning to become a liberal, be solutionoriented, truly open-minded and anti-elitist. Sipping tea from fine china cups is optional
(and totally fine, of course).
Response to Bhagat
First of all, thank you very much for lightening our mood by writing
this extremely funny blog about Indian liberals. We all had a good
laugh. Allow me to clean your spectacles and help you see things
clearly.
1. You say our "lovely liberals" have no clue on what India should be
like. Let me break this to you gently, I am not lovely. And I am a
liberal. Deal with it.
2. Unlike you, I did not study in a prestigious institution like the IIT.
While you probably spent your summer vacations preparing to get in,
I spent mine toiling in the fields of my village in the badlands of
western UP. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
3. I am a member of the OBC and have spent my entire childhood in a
one-room house with four other family members. My teenage years
were spent at a place where an 18-hour daily power cut was the
norm. There goes your privilege and class argument for a toss. I am a
liberal. Deal with it.
Response to Bhagat
4.
I passed out of a government school and I don't speak English the way
you do, let alone in a French or Italian accent. I speak English in a
western UP accent. I am vernacular. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
5.
I did not know what a hot dog is, even during college. You surely went
to schools where kids brought hot dogs for lunch. I am a liberal. Deal with
it.
6.
7.
Forget visiting Disneyland, my family could not even afford Appu Ghar.
You, it appears, did manage to take a ride. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
8.
No, I was not exposed to "world culture". The only culture I had access
to was patriarchal, and casteist. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
Response to Bhagat
4.
I passed out of a government school and I don't speak English the way you do, let alone in a French or
Italian accent. I speak English in a western UP accent. I am vernacular. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
5.
I did not know what a hot dog is, even during college. You surely went to schools where kids brought hot
dogs for lunch. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
6.
Some of my schoolmates went on to sell boiled eggs on carts and steel utensils. I don't exactly have the
privilege of an old boys' network to leverage, if you know what I mean. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
7.
Forget visiting Disneyland, my family could not even afford Appu Ghar. You, it appears, did manage to take
a ride. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
8.
No, I was not exposed to "world culture". The only culture I had access to was patriarchal, and casteist. I
am a liberal. Deal with it.
9.
As a person with scientific temperament, I have contempt towards all forms of religious conservatism and
the politics born out of it. I am a liberal. Deal with it.
10.
Inspite of my modest background, I managed to become an IT professional and got to work in different
continents. This was possible because of the liberal India I grew up in, and the one "lovely liberals" are
fighting hard to preserve today.
You
Representation Signs,
Symbols and Metaphors
Representation -The
Ubiquitous
Modules in Culture
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Identity
Class
Gender
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Nation