Step out of your comfort zone and ask the guy who is lynched whether India is liberal or illiberal and you will get the answer, says slain journalist Gauri Lankesh's ex-husband and veteran journalist Chidanand Rajghatta.
It is very easy to take comfort in the idea of India as a liberal place if you are a part of the majority, said the US-based journalist who was in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss his new book "Illiberal India: Gauri Lankesh and the Age of Unreason".
Discussing the title of the book, "Illiberal India", the centre of burning debate in the country, Rajghatta claimed the issue is contingent on geography, race, religion and gender, and it largely depends on 바카라moral relativism바카라.
바카라It basically depends on where you are in terms of religion, wealth, security and even gender. Hindus, particularly male Hindus, feel secure in numbers and it is the same thing with white American male.
바카라The test of liberalism is you ask the minority -- minority in terms of religion, race, Muslim here or black in America or LGBTQI, women 바카라 and not the majority,바카라 he said.
Describing India as 바카라incredibly complex and unique바카라, Rajghatta said he wondered why Indians even compare themselves to the likes of Saudi Arabia, China, Pakistan 바카라 or even with the US for that matter 바카라 which were never a match for India's centuries old antiquity and diversity.
바카라India is a magnificent medley of religions, ethnicities, languages, cuisine, arts and culture and anyone questioning it irks me,바카라 he writes in the book.
Having said that, he did admit to finding many parallels in the present rise of rightist forces in India and the US. He gave a pendulum analogy to explain the shift of power between the left and right back in the US.
바카라 If you notice an ideological pendulum is swinging wider and wider. (Bill) Clinton begets (George W.) Bush, Bush begets (Barack) Obama, (Barack) Obama begets (Donald) Trump.
바카라So you look at the movement of the pendulum, from the centre it moves little to the left (Bill) Clinton, little to the right (George W.) Bush, further to the left (Barack) Obama, further to the right (Donald) Trump. I don't know how wider the swing will be in future,바카라 he added.
The book, according to Rajghatta, is not merely a biography of journalist-activist Lankesh, who was shot dead in front of her house on September 5, 2017, but a story of the India they both grew up in.
바카라It is the story of two young people growing up and becoming politically aware in a turbulent India of hope and optimism. This is also a post-Emergency journey of India as we saw it after having met in 1978-79 when the country emerged from a brief stint of authoritarianism바카라 It is the story of our times,바카라 the author says in the book's preface.
Walking down memory lane, Rajghatta reminisces about the time Lankesh would call him 바카라Non-Resident Indian', who according to her had abandoned India altogether.
바카라From journalist-activist she became an activist-journalist. We both processed things differently. Also, there were lot of issues we would disagree on, but nothing of that involved violent arguments. Everything was always civil,바카라 he writes.
Published by Westland, the book is priced at Rs 499.
(PTI)
