Shashi Tharoor, when declared as the UDF candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram, appeared too polished to be a politician and had a panache that was the much-hooted sign of the middle class professional entering politics. But that was just a resounding loud false alarm. No sooner was his candidature announced than skeletons started to tumble; and tumble they did from everywhere imaginable.
Though Tharoor tried to lure the netizen youth and NRKs (Non Resident Keralites) through his website explaining his candidature, he has been criticised in many Internet forums. Right from his being a member of the advisory committee of the Coca-Cola India Foundation to the legal tangle for allegedly disrupting the National Anthem; to his 1992 comments on Sonia Gandhi’s inability to lead the party, to recently the KPCC youth burning his effigy at the state capital.
These allegation standing, what should be of concern to the diverse electorate of Thiruvananthapuram are Tharoor’s views on Israel and his admiration for its military offensive in Gaza that left the strip in tatters earlier this year. In an article titled India’s Israel envy (Haaretz, January 23, 2009) Tharoor, contrary to India’s stand on the Palestine conflict (which incidentally is also Congress’ view), expresses his sympathies for Israel that is “a small country living in a permanent state of siege… surrounded by forces that are hostile to it”. Tharoor, displaying his pro-Western ideology, might overlook the fact that the “forces” (read Hamas) is a democratically elected government the people of Palestine have chosen, but he cannot or rather should not gloss over the human right violations that the Israel army has done in Gaza for which it is drawing flak from the UN Human Rights Council, a subsidiary of the UN that he aspired to head only a few years ago.
While sticking out his neck for the Israelis, Tharoor does not miss to take a dig at the Congress-led UPA and the sorry state of India’s national borders in, “… unlike Israel, India has seemed unable to do anything about it (terrorist attacks)” and “India is a giant country whose borders are notoriously permeable, an open society known for its lax and easygoing ways”. Tharoor’s “lax and easygoing” comment reminds one of an oriental view of a Westerner who sees Indians as a group of people who ‘need to be governed’. This is a view of a person sitting in Park Avenue or cooling off at Burj Dubai, not that of a peoples representative who has sweated it out in front of the secretariat or the streets of Thiruvananthapuram.It will be interesting to see if Thiruvananthapuram, which last favoured a LDF candidate, oblige Tharoor. Tharoor claims to know the state capital. The question is: Does the state capital know him? For a man who until 2007 was “living in and out of a suitcase” while in the city, Thiruvananthapuram must be more than a handful. When Tharoor says that the time he has spent in the city is enough to represent it, it reflects poor of the electorate he aspires to represent. Come May 16 and we would know if Thiruvananthapuram will have a parliamentarian who is an Israel-sympathising NRK.
Your major problem appears to be that Tharoor is an "Israel-sympathising NRK," because after all, if one does not sympathise with Palestine, one is politically incorrect and siding with the "imperialist west".
ReplyDeleteExcuse me! Look up your facts before you blabber in a public space. Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
1. UN voted to partition Palestine into two states, one for the Arab and one for the Jew in 1947, even when this was completely unfair on Israel. Becuase the land never belonged to Palestine in the first place. I can produce documentary evidence of the same.
2. The Jews accepted this unfair division, but the Muslims did not. "Let us come together and wipe out Israel as a nation," they said, and all the Arab nations waged war on Israel, invading the land. No human rights violations or disrespecting the UN here.
3. The war lasted 6 (six) days, and the war wagers were shamed. It is within the right of the winner of war (which was not called by them in any case) to hold on to the territory acquired during the war. It was the Arab nations' mistake to wage a war in the first place.
4. Apart from the numerous battles Israel had to fight after that, not to mention the suicide bombers and flagrant violation of human rights by Palestine, the Muslim intelligentsia started mobolising opinion against Israel.
5. Please look at your opinion leader, especially in your media textbooks, and you'll know that most of them are Hamas loyalists; some having even served with them. Especially look up "Orientalism," and read between the lines. Hamas, anti West again.
6. The dominant Marxist & BJP voice has so long been anti Israel, but that itself is stupid. Shashi Tharoor has been man enough to stand up for the hidden truth, though it might not be popular.
7. He might not win the election, becuase supporting Israel is not the in vogue thing - no intelligentsia has done a propaganda to project Israel in the right light, sadly.
8. And people continue writing the dominant wrong opinion in newspapers, affecting others too. Spreading cancer, spreading hate, silencing the truth.
Sherry --- Your problem seems to be that there are people who puncture your notion of ‘alls-well-in-the-western-front’ chimera.
ReplyDeleteYes, you have a point when you say that it was Israel that was the victim and Palestine and the Arabs were the prosecutors. The only problem here is that you read a handout given by the West. When the oppressor chronicles history, their cause is just and the ‘other’ is the villain.
If your argument of the Muslim ‘intelligentsia’ is to be believed, we would have the world breathing down the necks of the Jews and not the Muslims. We would have Zionist Jihad and not Islamic Jihad. The Muslims would not have been a minority that is having a tough time in our country and coming poorly on many human indices.
Don’t know the case of most of the media czars, but there are sensible ones who can see through this Israel-Palestine conflict.
About the Marxist and BJP being stupid- you’re entitled to have your view. About Tharoor speaking a ‘hidden truth’- wake up dude.
Whether he wins the election or not- little change it might bring to the constituency and state.
I don’t think the paper speaks the desired truth always. But it sure is trying to put the point right to people who hold your view. And they (media) seem to fail. Let ‘truth’ prevail (and with that a bit of sense!)
1. Purpose - the one word most stagger at (historically too), or conveniently ignore. Without a defined purpose, nothing is worth doing. Purpose goes hand in hand with truth. So if (real) purpose and (absolute) truth are not achievable ideals, we are just groping in vain, blabbering cos we can't do anything better. People communicate, because they believe that that truth is achievable.Truth is an achievable ideal, and it is not shades of truth that I am talking about, or truth seen through coloured goggles. Truth exists, even when it is denied, or not obvious. History is truth. One man's meat is not another's poison. Meat and poison are deducible to be what they are, so truth remains intact. All logic, science and knowledge stems from the fact that truth is achievable. Which is why we have to grow out of this 'truth is unachievable; we get only versions of truth' slogans we are fed by atheistic intelligentsia (stupidly again). And that is why I will have to disagree with your statement - "When the oppressor chronicles history, their cause is just and the ‘other’ is the villain." Truth about history is traceable, in objective parameters, and it reaches beyond whose propaganda one is listening to.
ReplyDelete2. Zionist jihad is an oxymoron. Understand religions before you comment on them, please. Jihad ({armed} struggle - let us not dilute it to include its peripheries) is a command to every Muslim. I am not being paranoid nor am I a hate monger, but just think why 'freedom' is lowest in Muslim countries. The (western) world is finally waking up to this reality. Think about it - there are 400 known terrorist groups in the world; 300 of them are Islamic. And if these 300 are somebody's idea of freedom fighters, well, seriously check your worldview, dude.
3. Media czars look only at money - wake up and smell the coffee. If they can see the reality (and have the conviction to speak it out) of the Israel-Palestine conflict, I can lay eggs. By the dozen. Green ones with pink polka dots.
4. Including BJP in the stupid tag - i take this back apologetically; was a slip of tongue. In fact, for them it is a case of the enemy's (Muslim) enemy (Israel) being one's friend, and thus would side with Israel.
4. Let truth prevail. Not shades of it, but achievable, absolute truth. For you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
I have quite a bundle on the unprivileged Muslim too, but I'll wait for your response. Check facts again, please.
ReplyDelete