I'm addressing this to the "Bigoted Indians"(BI) who are uptight enough to call for a ban of the reality TV show - 'Sach ka Saamna'. I have a valid point against your rhetorical argument. Those who don't have a problem with the show, can skip reading this as you are already quite ahead in the evolutionary scale. I would call you the "Intellectual Indian"(II). Kindly excuse the angry language and tone used in this post as I normally reserve the tone for my other, more informal blog site; it just shows how agitated I am at the hypocrisy of self-appointed moral guardians.
I am reading Gandhiji's autobiography. Since you "Bigoted Indians"(BIs) lack basic general knowledge because of your penchant for ignorance, let me elaborate: 'auto - biography' is a story about a person's life written by the person himself. In his book, Gandhiji has elaborately and truthfully described his sex life with his wife Kasturba Gandhi. He has even admitted to the fact that while even while tending to his dying father, all that his mind could think about was sex with his wife. He has described how he used to force her to have sex with him by waking her up when she was fast asleep. And yes, he has also mentioned how he went to a sex-worker's den once.
Does the above paragraph make you squirm? If it doesn't then you should not have a problem with the show also. If it does, then you should have protested against Gandhiji first. This is because the questions asked in the show appear quite harmless in comparison with what is described in the book. I know why you will not protest if I have properly sized up the typical "Bigoted Indian"(BI).
I am reading Gandhiji's autobiography. Since you "Bigoted Indians"(BIs) lack basic general knowledge because of your penchant for ignorance, let me elaborate: 'auto - biography' is a story about a person's life written by the person himself. In his book, Gandhiji has elaborately and truthfully described his sex life with his wife Kasturba Gandhi. He has even admitted to the fact that while even while tending to his dying father, all that his mind could think about was sex with his wife. He has described how he used to force her to have sex with him by waking her up when she was fast asleep. And yes, he has also mentioned how he went to a sex-worker's den once.
Does the above paragraph make you squirm? If it doesn't then you should not have a problem with the show also. If it does, then you should have protested against Gandhiji first. This is because the questions asked in the show appear quite harmless in comparison with what is described in the book. I know why you will not protest if I have properly sized up the typical "Bigoted Indian"(BI).
- The typical BI does not take a lot of risks. He is cowardly. He is also nationalistic. Speaking against the Father of the Nation will make him unpopular against fellow prudes. It is one thing speaking out against liberals as all they can do in retaliation is put up banners. But speaking against Gandhiji requires courage which I'm sure their scrotal sacs don't have.
- The reason Gandhiji wrote all this was to point out the fallacies of the regressive Indian Culture: child marriage, male domination, treating women as inferior, etc. The evils of this culture are well-known. However, the Bigoted Indian is comfortable with it. It is the other side which he is not comfortable about - the sexual cravings of a married person for someone other than the spouse: cravings of a woman in particular. He does not want to hear such truths and hence asks for a ban.
I know the show is voyeuristic and will go to any lengths to achieve high TRPs. But if we can tolerate Gandhiji's truths, why can't we do the same for the common man?
Salil,
ReplyDeleteExamples set by Mahatma Gandhi’s more important acts far outweigh the effects of his morally questionable actions. This is what leads to people being more tolerant towards his eccentricities. What's your reasoning behind equating the tolerance deserved by Mahatma Gandhi and that deserved by a common man?
When you mention the incident about him having sex with his wife instead of tending to his dying father, you haven't mentioned his reaction to this action of his. His self-confessed deep shame for doing so led him to take up celibacy. This goes against your argument of why he put his sex life in his autobiography. It wasn’t necessarily a protest against the evils in Indian culture; it was more of a plain statement of truth.
Let me now address your classification of Indians into the two categories; Intellectual and Bigoted. If I understood your post correctly, I will try to summarize the characteristics of these two categories below. I need to do so because some characteristics are explicitly mentioned while others are implied.
Bigoted
- Cowardly and risk averse when it comes to ideas, in other words a hypocrite
- Male chauvinistic
- Abhors adultery and polyamory
- Believes dirty laundry shouldn’t be made public
- Believes that a medium like TV should maintain some standards when it comes to moral issues
Intellectual
- Able and willing to stand up for his/her ideas
- Believes in gender equality
- Considers adultery and polyamory a fact of life
- Believes that people have a right to make their affairs public if they wish to do so
- Believes that people aren’t necessarily going to be influenced adversely by what is shown on TV and people are smart enough to make morally sound decisions in their own life
Nearly all points in the “Intellectual” category make sense except for the last one. The Intellectual’s assumption is that everyone is smart enough to know what is morally right. It is possible to believe in the first four points from the “Intellectual” category and still believe in the last three points from the “Bigoted” category. These are not mutually exclusive. This is why I believe that the classification is not correct.
Now if the question is whose morals we are talking about, then that’s a completely different discussion altogether.
Firstly, Mahatma Gandhi has clearly mentioned that he has mentioned those truths to point out the oppression on women, in the garb of Indian Culture. Also, I'm sorry to say, according to your definition, this also falls under washing your dirty laundry in public.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, there is nothing wrong with the common man if he wishes to follow that example to come out with the truth.
Finally, you say that people watching the show will be adversely influenced. This is where I disagree with you the most since such shows will definitely benefit the society rather than badly influence them. Hiding the truth has benefited no one. The more people know about the society they live in, the more they become aware of its evils and that cannot be a bad thing. Also, that is where I have a problem with the Bigoted Indian. He believes that he'd rather live in a world of ignorance than a world of bitter truth.