Theatre of the absurd

While his death was hailed as a “big success” for the forces and “setback” to militancy in the valley, Srinagar saw large scale protests against Wani’s killing

A debate on a serious issue like Kashmir and another on Dalits atrocities were overshadowed by a frivolous one: Rahul Gandhi’s cat nap.
 Kashmir is on the boil following the death of Abdul Wani Burhan. The dreaded terrorist was the commander of the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen. Burhan and two other militants were shot dead by security forces in an encounter between the cops and militants, some 85 kilometres off Srinagar.
 22- year old Wani was tagged as the poster boy of militancy in the social media. He was among the high-profile militant operating in the Valley. Recently, he had warned policemen of attacks and threatened to target the proposed colonies for security personnel in the state.
 Wani made  headlines in 2014 for the photographs he had posted on social media of himself and other militants wearing army fatigues and carrying Kalashnikovs. He had made it clear that his target would be security forces and not civilians.
 In his pre-Eid video address he had called for the creation of a data base of policemen in Jammu & Kashmir who he felt had turned into informers of the Army.
 Wani had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen at the age of 16. His claim to fame were his social media posts.
 He would pose with guns and post pictures taken in the company of other terrorists. Reportedly, Wani  was one of the main reasons why several youths from Kashmir Valley took to militancy in recent months, outnumbering  foreign militants. He had also succeeded in roping in
educated youth into militancy. For the locals, Wani was easily a hero:  a household name in the Valley and at his home town of Tral.  
 Last year, the army had gunned down his elder brother, Khalid Muzuffar, in the forests where he had gone to meet Wani who had left home in 2010.
 While his death was hailed as a “big success” for the forces and “setback” to militancy in the valley, Srinagar saw large scale protests against Wani’s killing.  
It was mayhem on the streets. Public sympathy is with Wani. Widespread protests have engulfed Kashmir where majority feel that Wani was a victim. Wani’s killing found echoes in Pakistan too. Renowned Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi called Wani a “shaheed”, martyr.
 The situation is volatile. Several civilians lost their lives and many have  sustained injuries after clashing with security forces in the state.
Earlier this week a 10  day curfew was imposed by the state government. Mobile phone services,  trains and internet services  remained suspended. Even newspapers failed to hit the stands.
 On its part, Parliament debated the issue with the Opposition slamming the government for the "heavy hand" of the state in dealing with protests.
The Government, meanwhile, said that Pakistan had never reconciled to the idea of creation of Jammu and Kashmir.
 Parliament also saw repeated disruptions on the issue of Dalit atrocities. The Opposition charged the government for its inaction against Dalit atrocities. This followed the Police stripping four men, reported to be tannery workers, tying them to a SUV and fogging them with iron rods in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, Gujarat.
 While the Government assured action, the Opposition said that atrocities on Dalits are on the rise in BJP-ruled states in the name of cow protection. It also said that there is lot of debate but in reality things don’t move beyond lip service.
 The debate was high on sentiment and rhetoric when focus shifted to Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. He stole the show. Literally. He did not do it with words or a hard hitting speech but did it through silence. He did not stand up to defend the Dalits and their dignity but sure managed to have everyone’s attention drawn towards him. He had dozed off: a point Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati made to reporters pointing towards the callous attitude of the Congress leadership on a sensitive issue concerning Dalits:  “When the discussion was going on in the House, Rahul was sleeping, so you can understand his attitude towards the issue and see how serious he is towards atrocities on Dalits,” Mayawati told the media.   
 The absurdity was when the media went berserk and flashed pictures of Rahul Gandhi napping. He slept in 2014, they shouted, and he slept again in 2016. There was, therefore, a clear two-year gap between his first “crime” and his second. The first time Rahul had dozed off was when the House was debating the price rise.
 It was much ado about nothing. The young Gandhi was being unnecessarily targeted. Heavens do not fall if someone closes his eyes or even dozes off for a few minutes. Being a politician and that too one who represents a Lok Sabha constituency can be strenuous and demand long hours. Gandhi’s work also involves steering the Party and therefore can take a toll on his nerves and physical stamina. So to take a cat nap is only human.
 Also it was not as if he had gone off to sleep for a long time and was oblivious to the goings-on. By all accounts, the much attacked nap  was less than three minutes. So it was not as if the country was disintegrating in those three minutes and Rahul was not there to hold it together.
 In any case, Rahul is not the first to do this. There were others and no less than Prime Ministers. Deve Gowda would often sleep in Parliament when he was heading the United Front government that was in power from 1996 to 1998. Manmohan Singh when he was Prime Minister had also dozed off in Parliament as also Narendra Modi. So if Rahul did it, there was nothing unusual.
  What, however, was the defense put up by the Congress the most absurd being from Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury: “The sun is so strong outside, when we come in, we close our eyes so that some moisture comes into the eyes," she told the media while refuting allegations that Rahul was sleeping in Parliament.
 Had the Congress looked the other way, the controversy would have been nipped in the bud. But the Congress kept it alive because no one wanted to be left behind in defending Rahul. Therefore, Renuka’s sunshine and moisture remark.
 The right thing to do was to admit that Rahul was human and the possibility of his dozing off for a few minutes cannot be ruled out. Ironically this was a point some Opposition members made to hammer the point that sometimes long hours lead to fatigue and there is nothing abnormal about a catnap. But the Congress was busy jumping the gun and worsened the situation by being in the denial mode. It was also busy painting Rahul to be a demi god who was above the human frailty of dozing off. Therefore, if the Congress needs to move on it needs to curb sycophants who seem to be live characters from the theatre of the absurd, as it were.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])

 

 

Theatre of the absurd

While his death was hailed as a “big success” for the forces and “setback” to militancy in the valley, Srinagar saw large scale protests against Wanis killing

A debate on a serious issue like Kashmir and another on Dalits atrocities were overshadowed by a frivolous one: Rahul Gandhis cat nap. Kashmir is on the boil following the death of Abdul Wani Burhan. The dreaded terrorist was the commander of the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen. Burhan and two other militants were shot dead by security forces in an encounter between the cops and militants, some 85 kilometres off Srinagar. 22- year old Wani was tagged as the poster boy of militancy in the social media. He was among the high-profile militant operating in the Valley. Recently, he had warned policemen of attacks and threatened to target the proposed colonies for security personnel in the state. Wani made headlines in 2014 for the photographs he had posted on social media of himself and other militants wearing army fatigues and carrying Kalashnikovs. He had made it clear that his target would be security forces and not civilians. In his pre-Eid video address he had called for the creation of a data base of policemen in Jammu Kashmir who he felt had turned into informers of the Army. Wani had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen at the age of 16. His claim to fame were his social media posts. He would pose with guns and post pictures taken in the company of other terrorists. Reportedly, Wani was one of the main reasons why several youths from Kashmir Valley took to militancy in recent months, outnumbering foreign militants. He had also succeeded in roping in educated youth into militancy. For the locals, Wani was easily a hero: a household name in the Valley and at his home town of Tral. Last year, the army had gunned down his elder brother, Khalid Muzuffar, in the forests where he had gone to meet Wani who had left home in 2010. While his death was hailed as a big success for the forces and setback to militancy in the valley, Srinagar saw large scale protests against Wanis killing. It was mayhem on the streets. Public sympathy is with Wani. Widespread protests have engulfed Kashmir where majority feel that Wani was a victim. Wanis killing found echoes in Pakistan too. Renowned Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi called Wani a shaheed, martyr. The situation is volatile. Several civilians lost their lives and many have sustained injuries after clashing with security forces in the state. Earlier this week a 10 day curfew was imposed by the state government. Mobile phone services, trains and internet services remained suspended. Even newspapers failed to hit the stands. On its part, Parliament debated the issue with the Opposition slamming the government for the heavy hand of the state in dealing with protests. The Government, meanwhile, said that Pakistan had never reconciled to the idea of creation of Jammu and Kashmir. Parliament also saw repeated disruptions on the issue of Dalit atrocities. The Opposition charged the government for its inaction against Dalit atrocities. This followed the Police stripping four men, reported to be tannery workers, tying them to a SUV and fogging them with iron rods in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state, Gujarat. While the Government assured action, the Opposition said that atrocities on Dalits are on the rise in BJP-ruled states in the name of cow protection. It also said that there is lot of debate but in reality things dont move beyond lip service. The debate was high on sentiment and rhetoric when focus shifted to Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. He stole the show. Literally. He did not do it with words or a hard hitting speech but did it through silence. He did not stand up to defend the Dalits and their dignity but sure managed to have everyones attention drawn towards him. He had dozed off: a point Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati made to reporters pointing towards the callous attitude of the Congress leadership on a sensitive issue concerning Dalits: When the discussion was going on in the House, Rahul was sleeping, so you can understand his attitude towards the issue and see how serious he is towards atrocities on Dalits, Mayawati told the media. The absurdity was when the media went berserk and flashed pictures of Rahul Gandhi napping. He slept in 2014, they shouted, and he slept again in 2016. There was, therefore, a clear two-year gap between his first crime and his second. The first time Rahul had dozed off was when the House was debating the price rise. It was much ado about nothing. The young Gandhi was being unnecessarily targeted. Heavens do not fall if someone closes his eyes or even dozes off for a few minutes. Being a politician and that too one who represents a Lok Sabha constituency can be strenuous and demand long hours. Gandhis work also involves steering the Party and therefore can take a toll on his nerves and physical stamina. So to take a cat nap is only human. Also it was not as if he had gone off to sleep for a long time and was oblivious to the goings-on. By all accounts, the much attacked nap was less than three minutes. So it was not as if the country was disintegrating in those three minutes and Rahul was not there to hold it together. In any case, Rahul is not the first to do this. There were others and no less than Prime Ministers. Deve Gowda would often sleep in Parliament when he was heading the United Front government that was in power from 1996 to 1998. Manmohan Singh when he was Prime Minister had also dozed off in Parliament as also Narendra Modi. So if Rahul did it, there was nothing unusual. What, however, was the defense put up by the Congress the most absurd being from Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury: The sun is so strong outside, when we come in, we close our eyes so that some moisture comes into the eyes, she told the media while refuting allegations that Rahul was sleeping in Parliament. Had the Congress looked the other way, the controversy would have been nipped in the bud. But the Congress kept it alive because no one wanted to be left behind in defending Rahul. Therefore, Renukas sunshine and moisture remark. The right thing to do was to admit that Rahul was human and the possibility of his dozing off for a few minutes cannot be ruled out. Ironically this was a point some Opposition members made to hammer the point that sometimes long hours lead to fatigue and there is nothing abnormal about a catnap. But the Congress was busy jumping the gun and worsened the situation by being in the denial mode. It was also busy painting Rahul to be a demi god who was above the human frailty of dozing off. Therefore, if the Congress needs to move on it needs to curb sycophants who seem to be live characters from the theatre of the absurd, as it were. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])