How dare you question India's surgical strikes?
India is a nation of extreme faith and belief.
Nobody in the world doubts that, least of all the ever faithful Indians. There is a huge list of authoritative structures we believe in and never question - god/goddesses, parents, nation, army, surgical strikes and so on.
It’s not merely a co-incidence that no matter what education, which part of the world we Indians choose to settle down in with our ever so faithful wives/husbands and kids, we carry a part of this faith with us.
I am not saying we Indians are the only ones in the Ivy league of faith. But we definitely are ahead of most. Recently, a green-card holder, computer science graduate friend of mine bought a house in Sunnyvale, California. He posted pictures of his “griha pravesh” on social media with his wife and two young boys dressed in traditional Indian costumes and holding a Ganesha.
Our belief in the story of how Ganesha got an elephant’s nose is a testimony of our faith. And the recent confirmations, from voices that matter, that too from a platform no less than a science congress, that this was the first-ever case of plastic surgery, only goes to prove that this faith is not entirely goofy after all.
It’s a victory of a civilisation that is more than a 1,000 years old, over this modern western concept of rationality. Our faith is so unquestionable that when a six-year-old kid, in all her ignorance, questions the authenticity of this story, we are the first ones to admonish her and make sure that her rationality, that evil enemy of faith, is killed and buried for ever.
We are a fantastic nation. Even a small-time spirituality-peddling baba in our country can boast of more followers than Richard Dawkins. And I have serious doubts if any of Dawkins’ followers would be willing to kill for him.
We, on the other hand, can prosecute, kill and maim for our respective babas. Such is the power of our faith, such is our commitment to it. Asaram Bapu is a great example or ask that comic who goes by the name of Kiku Sharda.
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| Even a small-time spirituality-peddling baba in our country can boast of more followers than Richard Dawkins. (Photo credit: India Today) |
Rationalists may find it funny that while we may indulge in debauchery all year around, these nine days of Navratras is when we take a break and re-affirm our affiliation to our faith. And it’s a serious break.
No meat, no alcohol, even restaurants observe this discipline. During these nine days, even the best “galouti kabab” in the world stands no chance against “kuttu ka aata”. It’s enough to convince any “rational” person to appreciate the power of faith. But who can ever convince this dangerous species without an evidence!
According to us believing Indians, rationalists are an idiotic bunch, ignoramuses, irritants and definitely anti-nationals. They want proof, evidence, photo images, videos and what not. What they don’t seem to understand is that faith doesn’t need any evidence.
It is something one believes in so strongly that even if there is an evidence of otherwise, the faith, the belief will not shake. It is as simple as that. Is it such an abstruse concept for the pea-sized rationalist mind to understand?
No wonder they keep on looking for the god particle in a cyclotron, while god resides in every “maa vaishno mandir” built in every housing society in smart and un-smart cities of this country.
Now they are hell bent on questioning the “surgical strikes”, which is a matter of faith to us. Since we excel in suspension of reason and disbelief, these strikes deserve celebrations, not scrutiny.
Questions like how deep did we go, which choppers did we use, how did we escape enemy radar, who are the terrorists killed, are nothing but a rationalist attack on our belief system.
These guys have no idea how much damage even one such query does to the morale of one of the largest and toughest armies in the world. Not to mention that questioning is a sign of disrespect to the armed forces and is a familiar anti-national trait. If you cannot digest what you are told without asking questions, try Patanjali products for digestion.
Evidence or no evidence, it doesn’t matter to us. We believe that strikes happened and nothing can shake that belief. For us evidence is irrelevant. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, we don’t desire it because we are faithful believers not cynical rationalists.
We don’t question nationalism just like we don’t ask god to provide evidence. We believe in the power of the word. In the beginning was the word. And the word was “nationalism”.
Happy Navratras and bharat mata ki jai!