A Letter to Pink Chaddis

RE:  Ban on Vishwaroopam

Dear Pink Chaddis,

I write to you, not as a member of that much loved fraternity – the Internet Hindus, but as a fellow Indian and supporter of free speech.  Though we may harbor a diametrically opposing world view, we share much in common.  Support for a free exchange of ideas being one such tenet.

Before you jump on the ‘But what about M. F. Hussain’ bandwagon, let me assure you that most Hindus didn’t really give a rat’s behind what MFH painted. 

Our anger arose from the shear lack of reciprocal and proportionate outrage when a Da Vinci code or Satanic Verses is banned.

The hypocrisy in your selective outrage is what gets our goat.

Having said that let me get to the point.  Ranting against us Internet Hindus is a zero-risk project for you Pink Chaddis.  You know there won’t be any retaliation other than our often witty and always acerbic tongue lashing.  You can even leverage our reaction as a badge of honor to further buttress your secular, liberal credentials on the cocktail circuit.

As you wallow in this celebration of “oh, look how I showed those Sanghis their place”, keep in mind that a far more sinister and ruthless enemy is nipping at your heels.  He’s no longer a fringe presence, far away from your existence behind the haloed walls of Lutyens or cuffe parade or Bandra.  This enemy is preparing to tear down your door.  Rip it from the hinges.  In countries and communities across the world, once this enemy attains critical mass, there’s no turning back.  He will come for you.

Because, he’s not against what you do, he’s against who you are. 

Every belief you hold dear, every privilege you assume as your god given birth right, insults and strikes at the very foundations of his belief system.

Unless you’re willing to change every aspect of your very existence, from the clothes you wear to the food you eat, to the dreams you dream, this enemy will impose his beliefs on you.  And this imposition won’t stop at a ban on your thoughts.  It will strike at your very existence.  Either resemble him in all its ‘glory’ and obey his dictates or give up your existence.

This enemy has presented us with voluminous evidence of his intent.  This enemy has repeatedly shown the will to take this intent to its logical conclusion.  It’s a blood lust demonstrated across geographies, across communities.

Either be willing to be its latest victim or join your benign bête noire – the Internet Hindus.

Stand with us, sink our differences and fight this evil that threatens all that our ancestors have achieved and protected over millennia.

 

This enemy is relentless and only a united front can defeat him. 

Divided we fall.  But you will go first.

Yours truly

A Proud Internet Hindu