Heights of Stupidity


Maharashtra came to a standstill as their “Tiger” Balasaheb Thackeray deceased on Saturday at 03:30 pm. Witnessed as one of the greats in Indian politics, this 86 year old cartoonist and writer was solely responsible for bringing about a change in the political scenario of his state, Maharashtra.

But it seems the rule of the jungle is still existent and that too in one of the most developed cities of the country – Mumbai. The king of the jungle is dead but his iron fist rule is still applicable. What I am implying to is the arrest of two girls in Mumbai when they objected to the bandh on the event of Bal Thackeray’s death. A 21 year old girl wrote in her facebook profile that people like Thackeray die almost every day and there is no need to make such a fuss out of it. Can someone please enlighten me whatever was wrong with her words? A great politician died. Okay fine. So what?! Okay I accept that he single handedly changed the entire political scenario of Maharashtra and was their savior and so on and so forth, but does anyone need to take a facebook post so seriously that they go on arresting that poor girl and vandalizing her uncle’s property? What’s the justification for such stupid behavior? The reasons for her arrest were that she hurt common people’s sentiments and misused the internet as opposed to the Information Technology Act. Talk of ironical situations! I’d say it was those goons who had ordered her arrest, had mistaken the gravity of the IT Act and misused its power on a simple facebook post like that. Seriously it’s stupid to the point of being amusing! And what was the other girl’s fault who got arrested along with her? Just because she ’like’d the post, so she’ll also be arrested?! Is issuing arrest warrants a joke?!! It seems Mumbai needs to come out of its filmy – duniya of over reacting and melodrama and face the reality. So what if she hurt the sentiments of the Marathis? She has been successful in arousing the sentiments of an entire nation.
I thought the nation encouraged young people to speak their minds out, and if this is the consequence of speaking the mind out loud, then I’m afraid the nation has lost its credibility in democracy and has become downright autocratic.

Personally, never being a fan of Bal Thackeray, I could never understand why he was so popular among the masses. He was a very shrewd man and a good orator - very essential qualities to become a politician, and that no one can deny. But the other instances of his brutal tongue and power play were what I despised so much in him. The unshakeable unity among the Marathis that was shown after his death was what finally broke my resolve of hating him. It is not an ordinary feat to command the people and bring an entire state to a standstill even after death, a thing which has been achieved by very few great people in this diverse country. But this latest folly of arresting two innocent girls for speaking their mind up was what made me change my mind again. I guess I’ll remain one of those people eternally disliking him, no matter how great he was. A man whose words were always controversial, it must’ve been his last wish to create a controversy of words even after his death!

RIP Balasaheb Thackeray

Comments

  1. Unknown20 November 2012 at 15:28

    And that 'standstill' was a ramification driven by fear, not respect. Shiv Sainiks should learn to respect dissent, not flout the rights given to us by the Indian Constitution just because it hammers the 'frail' legacy of a xenophobic. India is a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown20 November 2012 at 17:17

    I read about the whole incident today. While our country is in no way perfect, it is still a democracy, and being a democracy we are ensured certain "fundamental" rights that assure the continuity of democratic thought.

    Everything related to this issue is highly undemocratic.

    The IT act you mentioned here is another example of the Government's breach of our rights in the name of safeguarding public decency. The fact that a law exists in our country by virtue of which random innocents can be arrested for just voicing their opinion shows the extent to which our "democracy" has deteriorated. So sad at the state of affairs in the country now...:(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prateeti Chowdhury22 November 2012 at 00:32

      originally the IT Act was formed to punish those who are guilty for cyber crime. but the situation that arose here is a total misuse of the Act. by misusing this act,the Shiv Sainiks proved their utter disrespect for the law of the Government. it has turned to be a clear instance of the Shiv Sena fanaticism.

      Delete
  3. Big Laaf24 November 2012 at 07:12

    Bold post. We need such young, fearless voices to restore some sanity in our society. Whatever happened in Palghar/ Mumbai was out of fear of an increasingly expressive and perceptive youth. Keep it up, Bunbun!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pratik Bhaumik26 August 2016 at 23:00

    Those brutish should be hanged in a public place....

    ReplyDelete

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