One of the best-known cricket commentators Harsha Bhogle has responded sharply to an Australian scribe’s comment on the current state of affairs in India.
On Christmas Eve, Bhogle wrote an emotional reflecting on widespread protests in India against the new citizenship law.
So far 25 people have been killed and more than a thousand have been detained or arrested in protests spearheaded mostly by students and the civil society following the passing of the new citizenship law termed ‘anti-muslim’.
Bhogle, without naming the law or the protests, the prime minister or the ruling party, called upon the government to be benevolent and focus on education and infrastructure instead of creating fear.
‘This is a great time to be a benevolent government; to think of education, of infrastructure, of technology; to remove barriers, to embrace openness, to free this beautiful generation to take India beyond where we think it can be.
‘So why are we creating fear? Why are we driving wedges into society? Instead of giving this generation wings to fly, why are we putting weight on their backs? Why are we obsessed about our neighbours when, as an economic entity, they aren't even in the same book, let alone on the same page as us? We are shrinking our country by highlighting our differences and young India is telling us it isn't happy,’ he .
He then adds, ‘Winning elections isn't a good enough reason for highlighting differences between us. My naive view of the world tells me that creating opportunities through liberalisation and openness and togetherness could win more elections.’
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The post since then has gone viral and has been shared thousands of times on social media.
An Australian scribe, Dennis Freedman, applauded Bhogle for the post and wrote on Twitter, ‘His India is broken’.
Bhogle was swift in his response to Freedman and said ‘My India isn’t broken’.
Mr Freedman told SBS Hindi that he was surprised by Bhogle’s response.
“I found it interesting the way he said his India was not broken after his long post on the CAA issue. I honestly thought it was great that he shared and spoke out against what is going on. But was surprised how he turned it around [on me].
“I feel there are a lot of issues going on with the Indian democracy and the way BJP is addressing it. Not just the CAA but also the recent events in Kashmir and if you overlay that with internet shutdown in parts of the country, it says a lot. It is scary,” Mr Freedman said.
Mr Freedman, who has been heavily trolled online for his comments, has said he is not afraid of trolls.
“I quite enjoy them. Keep it coming,” he said.
Indians holds placards and shouts slogans during a protest against a new citizenship law out side Gandhi Ashram in Ahmadabad, India. Source: AAP
What is India’s new citizenship law and why are Indians protesting against it?
India passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 earlier this month, which fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from India’s three neighbouring Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Under the new law, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian refugees (anyone except Muslims) who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, and has lived in India for six years, can apply for Indian citizenship.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is closely linked to the CAA where the government plans to publish a nationwide register of citizens. Anyone who does not have documents to prove their Indian ancestry will be termed illegal.
Many Muslim citizens fear with CAA, those who belong to faiths other than Muslims will be granted citizenship, leaving them at the risk of being made stateless.
Thousands of Indian citizens, most of them students, have taken to streets across India to protest against the new citizenship law, termed anti-muslim and unconstitutional by critics.
Large demonstrations against the CAA have also been held in Melbourne and Sydney.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the CAA does not affect any citizen of India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally to launch Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections. Source: EPA
