Naturalised citizens suffer when something that should always feel good and right turns ugly. It happens when things go wrong in the country of their birth, and it happens when good things turn ugly in the country of their re-birth by naturalisation.
Recently, Cyber bullying and distribution of intimate images of two beautiful and promising young ladies, Rehtach Parsons and Amanda Todd, was turned into something so ugly that it ended in unbearable tragedies. I cannot imagine what their parents go through when they enter their bedroom; see their wardrobe or their photos on the living room walls. I agonise whenever I read or hear about them.
Then, what has been happening in India, the decay of its foundation of our ethical structure, decay of its core principles of governance, decay of its parliamentary decorum and standards of individual and collective behaviour, is also making me sick.
The recent May 2014 Indian general elections were the first since 1984, when the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win enough seats to govern the country without doing any political horse-trading with the opposition. But that does not seem to be turning out. It is because of an inconvenient truth.
The opposition though toothless are still managing to take big bites off the BJP agenda, as a few of the members of the governing BJP are die-hard fundamentalists, lacking the discerning wisdom required to rule. They are unable to think in the present and plan for the future.
They are stuck in the glorious Treta Yuga, when Lord Rama lived and ruled India — the second out of four ages of mankind in Hinduism. This was the period when the Dharma bull symbolising morality, stood on three legs. During the first Sat-Yuga the bull stood on all four legs, during Dwaper, when Krishna lived it stood on two legs. However, during the current Kali Yuga, known to be the most corrupt age, it stands only on one leg. The rest of the legs are broken; the system is broken.
Prior to winning the elections, Giriraj Singh, a BJP personality, made a controversial remark that those who oppose Modi will have to go to Pakistan after elections, meaning they will have to leave India for good.
It is not that Mr. Singh was a political novice, or he did not have a political persona. The truth is that prior to jumping on Modi campaign wagon, he served as a Cabinet minister from 2005-2010 & from 2010 to 2013 in the state of Bihar and has been a staunch Modi supporter from day one. In other words, he had been learning and practicing politics for a long time.
May I ask him why would he ask my aging brothers, my sister-in-laws and nephews and nieces to leave India if they did not supporter of Mr. Modi? For God sake, they were born and raised in India; have worked in India have paid taxes to India and will die in India.
Or why would Pakistan accept more than 60% of India’s multi-faith population, including millions of Hindus and ruin their comfortable Islamic balance?
Listen to what the Hon. Minister Jyoti said, “Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ram-zadon ki banegi ya haram-zadon ki. Yeh aapka faisla hai,” meaning, you have to decide whether Delhi will get a government of those born of (Lord) Ram’s followers or of those born illegitimately. This question had been asked by a social worker, as she claimed she was prior to becoming a federal minister.
Let’s not forget that when she made this comment she was cloaked in a saffron colour cotton sari. Culturally, this colour indicates that the individual, who wears this colour, has been distancing himself or herself from materialism and living a spiritual life, has been gaining control over emotions, and has been dedicated to duty (dharma), truth, and compassion and he has been advancing on the path to moksha.
Here is Babulal Gaur, the Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh. As he could not hold his tongue either he landed himself in trouble with the remarks, “…no government can ensure rape is prevented, and action can be taken only after the act. It is a social crime which depends on the man and the woman. It is sometimes right and sometimes wrong. Unless the person wants, no one can dare touch her…”
The Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, converted something that is so good, so right and spotlessly white into something controversial. She would like to see Modi government to recognise “Bhagavad Gita our Rashtriya Granth” – the principal national sacred text.”
Millions of individuals know that the Bhagavad Gita is internationally admired and has been translated into every classical international language. It is ‘The Song Celestial,’ as Sir Edwin Arnold called it.
I read it. I chant it. I quote it and use it as a therapeutic textbook, and so does Pratima Dharm, the first Hindu Chaplin appointed by the US Government. She has used it to counsel many of her soldiers (Hindus and non-Hindus alike) afflicted by PTSD, steering them away from suicide, and helping them reclaim their familial relationships.
Yet, I cannot think of recommending it to be recognized as the principal national sacred text of India. Because India like Pakistan, which is an Islamic Republic and ruled under the Islam laws, is not a Hindu Republic.
India, constitutionally, has no official State religion. India is required to treat all religions impartially. Therefore, neither the Bhagavad Gita, nor the Quran nor the Bible or Guru Granth Sahib can be named as the principal national sacred text.
I have been living in Canada for over four decades. During this period I have been called all sorts of things by ignorant racist people, but have never been instructed ‘to go back to where I come from’ by any cabinet minister, or called a bastard for not supporting him or his political agenda.
However in India more than often, I hear some minister somewhere is always ready to shoot his or her mouth and leave the Prime Minister to deal with the aftermath. I say the PM Modi should not only ask the citizen of India to keep their streets clean, but he should also be demanding his ministers to keep their mouths clean. Vulgarity has no place in a civilised world.
