"Hello, friends!" Stand up comedian Vir Das did a show in the
US's Kennedy Center recently. "At
the end of the show, he recited a poem."
He named it 'Two Indias.' "A
satire, a social commentary on India."
Showcasing two aspects of India. "One,
the greatness of India." The rich
culture of India. The inspiring
philosophy of India. "And on the
other hand, the bitter truths." The
problems that India is facing today. There
is a huge controversy on this poem in the country. "On one hand, some people call it a
brilliant poem" they loved it and
thanked Vir Das for being truthful. "But
on the other hand," "some
people are so offended after listening to this poem," "that they question, 'why did Vir Das
say so?'" Why did he talk bad about
India in America? Why did he insult
India? Calling him a vulgar person. Calling him an anti-national. And saying that he should be prosecuted under
the UAPA. "In today's Blog, let's try to understand this." """Monologue by comedian Vir
Das" in Kennedy Center in
Washington DC has gone viral! But it has also attracted huge online hate and two criminal complaints "in Delhi and Mumbai.""" """If one takes offence," should one be allowed to file police cases?
Is it a penal offence?
"Should there be limits to free speech?""" """So is our skin too
thin" when we've taken offence to
what Vir says? "Or is this actually
treason?""" "Friends,
most people weren't bothered about Vir Das talking about India's
problems." They were bothered
because Vir Das talked about these problems in America. Talked bad about India to the Americans. Defamed India. "In my opinion, this type of
thinking" shows a very specific
type of attitude. Let me use an example. "According to the 2019 NCRB data," "more than 10,000 students died by
suicide that year." "On
average, each hour, one student dies by suicide in the country." What's the reason behind it? "Technically speaking, the reason behind
it is a clinical illness." It may
be depression or an anxiety disorder. "But
there is also an underlying problem, stress." Stress about what? We hear about student suicides mostly when the results of some exam are declared. Because students fail the exam. Failing an exam isn't a huge deal. One may take the exam next year again. "Even if it can't be retaken, one may
study something else." "One
may not earn in millions," but they
would still survive. One's life doesn't
end simply because one fails an exam. But
many students are scared of their parents.
The expectations of the parents is
seen as a major cause for the stress in
students. It isn't that the parents
don't love their children. The parents
are under a different kind of pressure. The
parents are afraid that if their child failed
what would the neighbours think? "If
people get to know about it," what
would they think? Mocking them that the
child they had praised has failed an exam.
"""Oh, God! What will people say?""" "This is the same type of thinking that
I'm talking about, friends." "We
can see this ideology in our society, our culture at many places." "According to the 2015-16 National
Family Health Survey," it is
estimated that 99.1% of cases of sexual violence go unreported. Can you imagine that? 99% of rape cases in the country aren't ever
reported. What's the reason behind it? A major reason behind it is the stigma attached to the rape victim. "If a family member is raped," then the family pressurises the victim to not register a police complaint. Because if they do register a police
complaint everyone would come to know
about it. The neighbours would get to
know.
And they imagine that the reputation of their family would
be lost. """It is what it
is.""" """Forget
about it now.""" """Because
if other people come to know about it,"
"what would they say?""" "Not only not reporting the
crimes," there are very simple
examples of this that we come across in
our daily lives. "We see people
buying expensive cars, by taking out a loan," "not because they need an expensive
car," rather so that they can show
it off to the people. Imagining what
people would say when they're seen with an expensive car. Fairness Creams. "All of us speak out against it
publicly," "but according to
the analysis by Moneycontrol," "last
year, Fair&Lovely reported sales at ₹41 billion." Who are these people buying fairness creams
secretly? Those who are concerned about
what people would say. Many people in
the country consider the country as a mother.
And suffer from the same complex.
"That if they talk about the country's problem to any
outsiders," "then,
"Oh, my God, what would people say?""" What would America say about our country? Considering it to be an insult to our
country. It is quite similar. "And in both cases, it is a very
problematic mindset." Because by
covering up the problems we are the ones
being harmed. "If a rape victim doesn't
register a police complaint," who
is at a loss? "If a student dies
due to stress," "because of
society's pressure," who is at a
loss? "If the problems of the
country aren't discussed," who is
at a loss? "Imagine friends," if the citizens of the other countries were
also afflicted by the same mindset. "Netflix
India has the documentary of Edward Snowden," wherein Snowden thoroughly exposes the war machinery of America and the intelligence agencies of America. But if an American pops up to say "that Snowden's documentary should not
be streamed in India," "because
their country is being insulted in front of the other countries," "and so the documentary needs to be
banned," because how could it be
allowed to happen; That we should
discuss America's problems in America only
and such documentaries should be watched in other countries. "Or suppose if a person from
Afghanistan," "gives a speech
in America," "or in
India," "against
Taliban," "sharing the
problems of Taliban," But then a
person in Afghanistan see it and is offended by it. Claiming the problem of Taliban to be their
internal matter and that it shouldn't be
shared with the outsiders. """Shut
up; you are slandering our country Afghanistan," "it is an insult to our
country.""" Isn't it
quite ridiculous? Because it is
ridiculous. The second point. "Let's suppose for a moment that 'what
would people say' mindset is not wrong,"
that it is justified. "But
even so, think about it," does
America not know what's happening in India?
"India isn't a country like, say North Korea," that is isolated from the rest of the world. "No, India is a country" that is a part of the new globalised world. "Today, we see trade across the
globe" imports-exports are seen
among almost all the countries. "According
to the 2019 data," more than 2.7
million Indian immigrants live in the USA.
"And according to the 2017 data," "more than 700,000 US citizens live in
India." "Additionally,
tourists are constantly moving between the two countries." There are also international media agencies.
"When the Black Lives Matter movement takes place in
the USA," "or the Capital
Riots break out," everyone in India
gets to know about it. "Similarly,
there are several US-based companies like CNN," with CNN News 18 in India. "BBC, a UK-based company," with BBC Hindi offices in New Delhi. It is an era where International Consortiums
of Journalists are formed for reporting
major stories. "Like the Paradise
Papers, or the Panama Papers, or the Facebook Papers." These exposés weren't done by a single
country. "Rather, journalists from
several countries came together to achieve this." And the Americans aren't being salty over an American company Facebook getting exposed
by the journalists from other countries.
Thereby insulting America. "Instead,
they are acknowledging their problems"
and are working to rectify them. Vir
Das isn't the first person "to
address what's happening in India in front of the world," "Before this, TIME magazine has printed
such articles." New York Times has
reported these. "The Guardian, Wall
Stree Journal, Los Angeles Times," many newspapers have reported on Indian
events. "Other than these, there
are international organizations," "like
the United Nations, UNDP, the World
Bank," "Pew Research
Center, Economist Group," all of them have researched India-related
issues and have reported on them. "And moreover," almost all social media websites are
international nowadays. "Twitter,
Facebook, YouTube," "anyone
can upload a Blog, and anyone can watch
it." So it is quite idiotic to say
that Vir Das has put these things in
front of the USA. People in the USA were
already aware of these. "If you
want to improve India's image," then
keeping your silence will achieve nothing.
You will need to look at the problems here and acknowledge them first. And then you'd have to work hard to solve
them. "Here, there's a common
misunderstanding among people" "that
if such news spread internationally,"
then it would give rise to hatred against Indians in the
other countries. Does it make any
sense? Think about it yourself. "When we hear about the terrorist attack
by Brenton, in New Zealand," "where
he killed more than 50 people," are
we then filled with hatred against every
person living in New Zealand? "Or
when we hear about the Taliban in Afghanistan," does it mean that we start hating every
Afghan man and woman? "When we talk
about the Israel-Palestine conflict,"
it doesn't mean that we hate all the common Israelis and Palestinians. There are some people indeed that like to
stereotype like this. And start hating a
specific community or a specific group of people. They start hating everyone whenever there are
a few incidents. And these are the
people harbouring the most inferiority complex.
"They are afraid that if the problems of their country are
discussed," then people would
insult their country and would start
hating them. "In any case, most of
the audience of Vir Das's show," were
NRIs rather than Americans. Non-Resident
Indians. On 9th January we celebrate
Bharatiya Pravasi Diwas. [Indian Expats'
Day] "In 2003, Pravasi Bharatiya
Samman Awards were constituted," "and
even Prime Minister Modi," praised
the near 30 million NRIs residing in other countries saying that they are the role models for the
other communities. "Whenever Prime
Minister Modi goes to another country,"
he meets the NRIs and expects
their co-operation. The roles of the
NRIs are limited to "praising Prime
Minister Modi," "and repeating
good things about his Party," And
never discussing the problems prevalent in India. What would happen if the NRIs come to know
about India's problems? "At most,
they would try to suggest solutions."
They learn from the country they reside in and they might be able to work out a solution
for India.
"Friends, you might have realised that" I have talked only about Vir Das speaking out
the bitter truths. About how Vir Das
talked about India's problems. "But
his show and his poem," was about
Two Indias. One of the India Vir Das
talked about is the one he feels proud
about. "India that has the largest
youth population," "India that
feels united through Bollywood," "India
that threw out the British in 1947,"
and India where people of all religions
live in harmony. He feels proud
of this India. But the anchors of the
pliable media are experts "at
showing clipped Blogs," and at taking things out of context. Many people did the same thing on social
media. "They showed some tiny clips
and screenshots," to show that the
entire poem is for humiliating India. It
wasn't so. Every country has its set of
problems. and every person living in
this world has the right to speak out
against any problem present in any part of the world. "If you keep pushing the trash in your
house into a corner," "then
it'll slowly become a mound of garbage,"
and your house will remain unclean.
"To clear out the trash,"
you'll have to look for it and throw it out of the house. It is important to identify problems like
this. Problems need to be acknowledged. They need to be discussed. And you need to speak out against them. That's true patriotism. Thank you very much! Speak Out! Even this short while is enough. "Before you die, and your voice
dies." Speak Out! Because the truth
is still alive. Say everything that you
want to say. Speak Out! You are free to
speak.