The write-up on Yogi Adityanath by Swati Chaturvedi was indeed a very timely comment (“Yogi Adityanath: The monk whose prayer is to sow hate”, Gulf news, December 10). In fact, no words would suffice to compliment the writer for such a bold and realistic piece. Right from the word go, and until the end, she has portrayed a very true picture of the peddler of hate.
She has in fact enlightened the wider readers of Gulf News about the naked dance of hatred being orchestrated in the name of religion in India by Adityanath and his ilk. She has minced no words in projecting the demon that has been unleashed to the dismay and anguish of millions of secular minded folks in India and elsewhere.
What is more ominous and alarming now is the fact that communalism or ploys to polarise communities are no more debated behind the curtains. These are considered as the essence of election campaigns and hence Adityanath, who does nothing but spew venom on minorities, has become the poster boy of the BJP.
Open attack on minorities and use of innuendos and insults on rites and rituals of minorities have been the hallmark of his speeches which have not stopped even after gaining the seat of chief minister of the most populous Indian state. The spree of changing the names of cities, towns, villages, streets and roads from which he extracts pleasure have become nothing but a laughing stock.
The changing of Urdu Galli to Hindi Galli (Hindi Alley) stating that he was restoring the culture of India was the height of his ignorance. Who would let the bigot know that Urdu language or for that matter any language does not belong to any religion or community? Would he try now to obliterate the iconic Urdu poet of his town, Firaq Gorakhpuri? Would he disown him or project him as a Hindi poet to satiate his whims and fancies?
What would he do with another icon of his state, Munshi Prem Chand who wrote both in Urdu and Hindi?
The recent gory incident of mob lynching in Buland Shaher by the cow vigilante group, which resulted in the death of one police inspector and a young boy, did not make him desolate or sad. Instead of taking swift action against the mob and its leader, he was more concerned about the alleged cow slaughter and ordered arrests of people on false accusations. Unfortunately, what the followers of Sangh Parivar [nationalist Hindu body] do not understand is the plain truth that the leadership has no real interest in developing the people it boasts to represents.
They are using the Hindutva agenda to mask their failure on the economic and social fronts. Thanks to capitalism, one percent of the rich in India today control around three fourths of the nation’s wealth, leaving the 99 percent of the population to scramble for the balance one fourth.
- The writer is a writer based in Saudi Arabia.
