October 15, 2020
I feel like I am constantly working to contain anger. Unexpressed anger is exhausting, so I am tired all the time. I also wake with free floating anxiety and fear, disproportionate to what is actually going on in my life. I think I am hitting the ‘second wave’ of covid internally. It is about the uncertainty of things because of covid changes in the world and not knowing when it will end. When covid first came on the scene I felt unusually stressed and unable to work. Then I adjusted but I had placed a time stamp on it internally. I thought after 6 months things would be different or at least we would know more. But scientists still seem to be floundering and we don’t know how long we will be living under restrictions.
The anger is about India and the goons running India. It is also about the people who support these goons. It is mostly about how both the goons and their supporters keep calling India a democracy. So much is going on in India but the same people who constantly posted about Sushant Singh Rajput, or comment on racism in the US, and Trump’s rightwing populism won’t speak about the atrocities at Hathras. The shutting down of democratic procedures and the disrespect of human life there. Yes, people have a right to talk and comment on whatever they choose, and they choose to be silent on these matters. It says something about the kind of person you are, who you choose to be, doesn’t it?
The latest thing that is bugging me is the Tanishq jewelry ad and the saga around that. It was an ad about a pre-birth ceremony for a pregnant Hindu woman married into a Muslim household. There are many messages from that ad that I don’t particularly love but it is a sweet ad that promotes inter-religious mingling and celebration of adopting each other’s customs. Of course the rightwing goons had a problem with this ad. It was heavily trolled, employers of the company received threats, and the company decided to withdraw the ad. Even after it was withdrawn a goon went into a Tanishq shop in Gujarat and demanded an apology from the owner. He also demanded that the apology should go viral. The apology was for making a secular ad which hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Seculars have been called sickulars for quite a while now. The apology was also posted outside the shop. The police downplayed the threat saying that there was no physical threat just a request. BFS!
What can I say except Trolls and Goons are running my country. It is natural to assume all those not outraged by this are in collusion with it? Sure, if most of the people don’t want to remain secular, then say so. And stop calling India the largest democracy in the world. At least have the guts to admit that what they want is the Hindu Rashtra the goons they support are moving the country towards. The mirror image of Muslim countries they despise.
One of the debate shows I watched had an adman who said that an ad reflects the values of the company. Beyond the product it also shows what the company stands for. The product was jewelry, what they stood for was communal harmony and celebrating diversity.
On the show, one of those supporting the trolling and the withdrawal of the ad said, ‘Why is it that a Hindu woman is shown marrying a Muslim man. Why didn’t they show it the other way around? A Muslim girl in a Hindu household.' That statement needs a ton of unpacking, doesn’t it? But I’ll leave that for another post as I have to rush right now.
When is it not I don’t know, but right now definitely, urgently, a time of pondering our values and what we stand for.
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