Bloggers Anthem

Fear and loathing in Switzerland

We will be talking about 3 idiots but first let's see what is my problem with Swiss minaret ban. Now all crypto Hindu fascists are more or less gloating over the ban and I think that's wrong. Before I state my problem though I think it should not be controversial to admit that this ban is motivated by an apprehension of Islam. This is not to accuse Swiss people of Islamophobia.


Islamophobia is a term frequently deployed by our Sec-Lib overlords to browbeat anyone critical of Islam, which is ridiculous as strictly speaking phobia is irrational fear of something, whereas there are at the least more than a few reasons for Swiss (or for that matter anyone, including Muslims) to be wary of Islam. The only purpose for terming any criticism of Islam as Islamophobia is to frame the criticism as a psychological affliction and therefore not worthy of reasoned response. This is a typical example of the how Sec-Lib establishment frames the narrative.


So apprehension of Islam is not my problem. My problem rather is this ban is just a reflexive response which doesn’t actually do anything to address the concern. Present situation in Europe has arisen because of their asinine immigration policy. Almost all European countries have a minority population which is ethnically distinct, socially depressed and culturally disconnected from the rest of population. These differences, hard to reconcile over in any case, turn to impossible hurdles in case of Europe due to two factors. One, specific to Europe nation states, is the gradual erosion of common culture first as a result of secularism and later socialism. In absence of any foundation, European nations are losing their relevance as political or social unit, only surviving owing to the fact that they are mostly mono ethnic, and Pax Americana. However this state of inertia is challenged by the second factor which is supremacist nature of Islam. 


These two factors combined are the origins behind tensions in Europe, and to address the European problem these factors must be addressed boldly. The ban on Minarets in no way addresses these factors. In fact, it makes the situation worse because it deludes Europeans into believing that they are confronting the problem as the situation becomes increasingly precarious. 

Jharkhand Debacle

I can’t share Swapan Da’s outrage over Jharkhand. Now don’t get me wrong, one is perfectly entitled to feel outrage over the rather unsavory spectacle of Rajnath Singh colluding with Shibu Singh Soren, otherwise known for rather dubious distinction of absconding from law as minister at centre, for spoils of power.  This crass display of opportunism is a perfect example of the cynical maneuvering infesting Indian politics that so disgusts decent middle class. So I get the outrage expressed by petite bourgeoisie over the fiasco.

 

Unfortunately however, for BJP supporters like myself (and Swapan Da, presumably), that boat sailed long ago when Kalyan Singh did bulk purchase of Congress and BSP MLAs to prop up his government, or when Keshubhai Patel rescued his government through rather questionable means.

 

If someone supports BJP at present it means he or she supports BJP despite the (hardly concealed) acts of corruption by BJP when in power both in past as well as at present. This fact makes any display of indignation specifically over Jharkhand puzzling at best. Of course there is always the proverbial last straw, but in that case it simply doesn’t make sense to reserve ire solely for Rajnath Singh or specific individual, rather pox should be on the whole Delhi Durbar, and that includes Arun Jaitley.

 

This is not to say a BJP supporter can not feel indignation, but the ground for that is markedly different from issue of ethics viz. the arrangement in Jharkhand is an ill conceived political strategy. This is because the action erodes BJP’s credibility at a moment when it can not afford to. Because BJP’s experience with coalitions is far from inspiring confidence, with delivery of gains in short term but severe liability to the party in long term. I think one can safely assume that present situation has been engineered by a coterie of fixers for personal gain over larger interest of party.

 

To reiterate what I said in earlier post, if BJP wishes to survive if must regain the trust of public, which is only possible if BJP gives heed to voters instead of Napur or Delhi.

Respecting the intelligence

Here is the thing. When I watch movies, I want entertainment. As long film entertains me, whether a screwball comedy, or a high adrenaline thriller, I am not really concerned if the director respects my intelligence. Movies are for escape, books are for enlightenment. I suspect that people looking for respect in films doubt their intelligence and hence look in the cinema for confirmation. Thankfully on account of being incredibly intelligent, I am protected from such madness.

Mandatory Voting

I am not a big fan of mandatory voting. This has less (read hardly anything) to do with individual rights. Even if I were a Randroid instead of a Hindu Fascist, mandatory voting is no more a violation of individual rights than mandatory taxation. The reason I am not in favor of making voting mandatory is it inconveniences people without anything positive to show for it. I have written it many time but it bears repeating, problem with democracy in India is disengagement at grass root level, people blame this disengagement for disenchantment with the democratic institutions and this is true to some extent, however the main reason for this disengagements, I believe, is that our democratic institutions, combination of Westminster style democracy and relics of colonialism, were imported, instead of being allowed to evolve from existing social institutions. The result of this was culturally there was hardly any connection between democracy and Indian society, which is manifested in the disengagement.  

Forcing people to exercise their franchise will not change this situation.

Disconcerting secrecy

While writing about global warming, I didn’t write on the CRU leak because I have only followed one side of the controversy, and so my opinion on it is naturally biased. However one particular aspect of the controversy which I find particularly troublesome is that some climate scientists are refusing to disclose the information about models used to analyze climate change, now with the caveat that I don’t know to what extent this is true, this is a serious matter. If the scientists are serious about the threat posed by climate change, they should be as open and forthcoming as possible, citing intellectual property rights as excuse for not disclosing the information just diminishes their credibility and what is important that of climate science.

Disnified Politics

As far as India is concerned, postnationalism is to reality what Winnie the pooh is to real bears.