As the nation celebrates the 75th anniversary of its Independence, the world is now coming face to face with a new India—an Atmanirbhar India that is intolerant of hypocrisy and doublespeak and demands answers for questions that have been lying dormant for decades.
The international community got a taste of this last month when Ambassador T S Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, challenged many nations in regard to their approach to religion and democracy.
Speaking recently at the International Counter Terrorism Conference, he confronted other nations with three questions. One, while they talk of Islamophobia, Christianophobia and anti-Semitism (all pertaining to Abrahamic religions), how come has the UN never focused on the attacks on other religions and on the menace posed by those who spread Hinduphobia? Two, if “left wing” is okay, why is “right wing” not okay when ideological diversity is central to democracy and these are choices made by voters in democracies? Lastly, why is the international community diluting the definition of “terrorism” and bringing in extraneous issues that will weaken the global war on terror?
Actually, India has rarely done such plain speaking in international fora. In fact, in the pre-Modi era, it would have been considered blasphemous for an Indian diplomat to talk of Hindus or issues confronting Hinduism. Nor would they enter the ideological thicket and flag the duplicity of those who demonise the “right wing”.
Happily, this has changed. Indian diplomats now speak the language that Indians have been wanting to hear for the last 75 years. A robust, honest presentation of what India stands for and how Indians feel.
Hitting out at several member states of the UN, which are driven “by their political, religious and other motivations”, the ambassador said that over the years, the UN has highlighted Islamophobia, Christianophobia and anti-Semitism. But what about phobias against other religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism? “New phobias, hatred or bias against other major religions of the world need to also be fully recognised.”
Emphasising the need for balance on matters of religion, Tirumurti said “the emergence of ...anti-Hindu, anti-Buddhist and anti-Sikh phobias is a matter of serious concern and needs attention of the UN and all member states to address this threat”. Only then, he says, can we bring “greater balance” into our discussion on such topics. Obviously, India needed a Narendra Modi as prime minister to put this on the table.
The second issue the ambassador has raised pertains to ideology. Given the shrill attacks on the “right wing”, he has said that it is important to understand “that in democracies, right-wing and left-wing are part of the polity” and they come to power through the ballot and reflect the majority’s will. More importantly, he hammered home the basic point that democracy by definition “contains a broad spectrum of ideologies and beliefs”.
It is indeed ironic that a primer on democracy has to be delivered, that too in the UN, but then who is better equipped to ram this in than the representative of the world’s most vibrant democracy? Is it not amazing that those who swear by Stalin (the man who engineered a genocide and exterminated millions of his political opponents) strut around as defenders of democracy! Equally strange is the fact that some of the noted academic institutions in the West treat these hypocrites as “democrats” and “liberals” and allow them to peddle their wares in the international seminar circuit.
Tirumurti’s observations about the “left” and “right” needs to be seen in the light of the mischief engineered by the “left” against India globally and its attempts to question the wisdom of India’s over 900 million electors. As regards terrorism, the ambassador has warned the UN regarding the dilution of its definition.
Recently, the prime minister too has cautioned citizens about the attempts to tarnish India’s image and said this should not be brushed aside. Modi’s remarks come in the wake of agenda-driven reports and analyses put out by Western institutions over the last two years, which seek to run down India’s liberal, democratic environment.
Sadly, many of these coloured reports are fuelled by Indian left and Nehruvian intellectuals, who stand fully exposed within the country. These unemployed, unemployable, diabolical minds are now looking for new pastures outside India to influence thought and run India down. The larger cartel of institutions wedded to Abrahamic religions are furthering this agenda. In the words of S Gurumurthy, Chairman of the Vivekananda International Foundation, this is part of the global agenda of the “doctrinally intolerant Abrahamic religions to tarnish the image of the doctrinally tolerant Indic religions”. He says the Indian ambassador to the UN deserves congratulations for his geopolitical defence of India’s civilisation.
One can see the firm resolve of Prime Minister Modi in ensuring that India confronts doublespeak in international bodies on issues pertaining to religion, ideology and terrorism. An Indian diplomat first flagged the issue of hatred and violence against Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs in the UN over a year ago. Thereafter, the Minister of State for External Affairs, S Muraleedharan, brought up the issue some months ago in the UN Security Council. This speech by Ambassador Tirumurti is indeed the clincher. India is now well and truly into the Modi era in international affairs. The humming and hawing of the Nehru era is over and there are no ifs and buts to the positions we take in international fora. The international community must now adjust to Naya Bharat. It has no other option.
A Surya Prakash
Former chairman of Prasar Bharati and Scholar, Democracy Studies
suryamedia@gmail.com