Letter to a 'secular' friend

Dear 'secular' friend

I have been debating about religion most intensely with a variety of people recently including you. Casteist and Religious Hindus, Secular Muslims, Religious Islamists, Agnostic Hindus, Believing Christians, Agnostic Buddhists, Atheists, Spiritualists have all had something interesting to say and I have learnt a lot. I am not sure where I can categorise you. You are an atheist always preaching to me the harmful effects of Hinduism and the benevolence of Buddhism. Does that make you a Buddhist-atheist or atheist-Buddhist? You know best. I finally had time today to give words to my overwhelming feelings of despair whenever we have argued. I am not hoping to ‘convert’ you to my ideas. Merely hoping that you will see reason in my anxiety and that you will spend some time thinking about your own positions. I do that very often. I am never ashamed to admit that I could be wrong and unlike you I am not fixated on an ‘ism’ (in your case secular-ism) that only fences the terrain of thought than opening up spaces for critical enquiry. For me nothing is so sacred that it cannot be critiqued. For you, your secularism seems to be.

As you are aware, I visit the Helensburgh Hindu Temple in Sydney sometimes and also visited the Buddhist Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong recently. In India, have found myself fascinated by the Sufi dargahs and was lucky enough to visit Ajmer Sharif once. Hazrat Nizamuddin's shrine was a regular place of visit in Delhi. Have paid obeisance at the Golden temple in Amritsar, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, at the Sai darbar in Shirdi, at various historical Churches in Europe/Australia etc. I went to a Catholic school and my first academic job was in Catholic Ireland. I have admired the Yogoda teachings of Paramhansa Yoganand and his prayer to 'saints of all religions'. I have tried (unsuccessfully so far) to understand the vision of Swami Vivekananda and the divine consciousness of his Guru, Shri Ramakrishna. Meerabai and Kabir mess up my understanding of the world and what it offers. Guru Gobind Singh’s letter to God (mitre piyare nu), move me to tears as does Allama Iqbal’s shiqwa, jawab-e-shiqwa. However, my own relationship (or not) with the divine is not what I want to write about today but about the notion of 'secularism' that some people, including you, espouse that must actually privilege one religious belief over the other and must necessarily involve ridiculing one faith over others.

Let me start with the assumption that as a feminist, there is no doubt in my mind that ALL religions are rooted in patriarchal traditions and the deities, prophets, holy books, scriptures, rituals are deeply gendered. But this assumption alone cannot wish away the debate about religion and its importance in people’s lives. By religion, let me clarify, I mean its manifestation in popular culture and in ‘everyday’ life. In South Asia, it doesn't matter if you are a Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jain, you cannot be secular without also being religious and might I add, you cannot be truly religious, without being secular. Very often religious traditions, loosely defined, decide something as intimate as your diet, your expressions of grief or celebration. You have always taken pains to explain to me that Hinduism was the root of all problems in India, as caste was an issue that came with it. Perhaps. But it is also not irrelevant that I know many religious Hindus who do not believe in their caste, whose families have a long tradition of inter-caste/inter religious marriages and who are simply not obsessed with the idea of their surnames and the privileges (or not) it brings. I also know of Hindus who have struggled at a personal level to fight the inhumanity of caste practices. They may or may not choose to call themselves Hindus and that is not so relevant. That caste is not a Hindu idea of racial superiority alone, was also easily demonstrated in an encounter with a very well-known public figure in Kashmir whose first remark to me, when we met, was that he was a true "Qureshi". Not to mention that many Churches in India have had issues with allowing ‘dalit’ Christians from entering their premises. I am happy to elaborate further if you think it necessary. Your intelligent mind knows what I am talking about here. Exclusions are part of every society and the struggle for equality and dignity cannot be the struggle against Hinduism, I am afraid.

So back to what you, dear ‘secular’ friend have to say about Hinduism. You always argue in the end that conversion out of Hinduism is essential to end caste based discrimination. Really, is it that simple? I was born into a Hindu family and do not think I have fully understood even a miniscule percentage of the paradoxes of one of the world's oldest religion. I have questioned many patriarchal practices of this religion, even at the cost of some valuable relationships. Critique has come very naturally perhaps in a polytheistic faith where there have been multiple gods and goddesses and a variety of traditions often contradictory in nature. Hence accepting any one version of Hinduism, including that which suggests that caste violence is its ONLY reality is out of the question. (Please do not jump to conclusion that I am suggesting that caste violence is not rooted in Hindu traditions. Far from it. Hinduism is as patriarchal, feudal and exclusive as any other faith in this world). But if the right wing version of Hinduism and its dominant narrative of Ram janambhoomi was/is unacceptable to me, your narrative I reject.) Ram was not the presiding deity in my grandmother’s little temple and in Mithila, we pay attention to Sita’s story anyways. I grew up in a strong ‘Shakt’ tradition where the Goddesses were invoked and worshipped, but in a highly patriarchal social system that had otherwise little value for girls or women. That is how complicated ones relationship with religion and popular culture can be.

The inspiration for several art forms, music, dance, literature, paintings….Hinduism has evolved into a melting pot of culture, traditions (good and harmful). Surely a lot of this cannot be serving a communal agenda alone? Did you know that all great non Hindu artists (and I actually believe that artists are not rooted in any one religious tradition but since you insist on using labels freely) invoke Goddess Saraswati in their music? Did you also know that Pandit Jasraj invokes "meherban Allah" like no Mullah I have ever heard? Does your conversion logic also include doing away with every Hindu cultural symbolism anywhere? What does conversion mean anyway? Worshipping a different external God, believing in a different prophet, practising a different set of rituals, saying different set of prayers perhaps in a different language? I doubt you need to be reminded that this can never solve the problem of discriminatory practices that have evolved over a period of time. You want to make me believe one set of gods and prophets are better than the others. I say, they are all the same. Every religion can either be that benign source of inspiration and creativity or can destroy people and peace equally.

Dear 'secular' friend, just as all Islam is NOT fundamentalism/terrorism, all Hinduism is NOT communalism and Buddhism is NOT all equality, as you keep reminding me every time we have a conversation. This is weird because you are an atheist and any organised religion should be a problem for you. Might I remind you that Buddha himself was a patriarchal figure who had to be convinced to allow women into the sangha but not without several conditions that he imposed. Do I need to remind you of the consequences of political Buddhism in Sri Lanka? I often invoke this example in my classroom to make students think beyond ‘political Islam’ (which is a favourite topic everywhere these days!) As my wise mother whose long time wish has been to visit Bodh Gaya, once sagaciously remarked, "I don't understand this saint called Buddha. If I had the option to leave my family and become enlightened, I would have certainly been a success....but your father wouldn't have it that way." I laughed but my mother still wants to visit Bodh Gaya, to pay homage to the spirituality within her than to Buddha himself. She is not deluded into thinking that Buddha will solve all her problems. Your secularism, on the contrary, makes you delusional on many fronts.

Dear 'secular' friend, I love to hear MS Subbalakshmi singing praises of Lord Vishnu (yes a patriarchal God who has his consort at his feet!). I love Rafi sa'ab's divine voice calling out for "Hari darshan" or asking Krishna to fulfil his promise in the Gita when he sings “badi der bhayi Nandlala”, or reminding with all serenity, “sukh ke sab saathi, dukh mein na koi”. I feel emotional hearing Yesudas sing praises of Krishna as Lord Ayyapan (did you know that the temple in Kerala that plays his devotional songs would not still in 2012, allow him to enter the premises because he is a non Hindu?). I feel much moved everytime I play Mukesh's rendition of the Ramcharitmanas or Pandit Chhannulal Mishra narrating "Kevat Samvad" from Tulsidas' masterpiece where the boat rower (kevat) reminds Lord Ram that they belong to the same caste and hence he can't charge the Lord any fee for taking him across. He takes people across the earthly waters, and his Lord Ram across the cosmic waters and he wants the Lord to be true to a caste friend and not make him pay at the shores of the vast cosmic ocean which he must cross in his spiritual journey.

Dear 'secular' friend, I am very tired of your fanatic secularism, which has a very narrow understanding of religion. What bothers me is that you hail my knowledge of Sufi songs, my understanding of ‘other’ religions (as you see it) but make it a point to remind me every time that anything remotely 'Hindu' just uncritically becomes communal, casteist, gendered, feudal, homophobic and everything else you want it to be. As an Indian yourself (I assume you do not want to be reminded of the significance of your Hindu name?) I am amazed at your understanding and level of discourse. Please allow some self-reflection, some real tolerance to prevail and your prejudices to dissolve. It can be really liberating.

This is not meant to be a 'defence of Hinduism' article. No one knows my relationship with Hinduism's patriarchal legacy better than yourself and the prices I have paid for it. Religion is a very complex matter, my friend and in this techno-material age easy categories are not helpful. Easy labels are alienating people, breeding intolerance. Islamophobia is a reality as you and I truly believe in and we have seen the pernicious politics behind it. You are contributing to what I call 'Hinduphobia'. Why not instead, promote better understanding of faiths and practices than continuously churn out half informed ideas in the name of secularism? Fear mongering about religions in these deeply troubled times is not progressive politics of tolerance and critique. Let me conclude with a note of caution. You and your cohorts are empowering the Hindu right wing fanatics whose main argument has always been that those who malign Hinduism have never tried to understand it.

Flags, Flutter and Foul

Yesterday was marked as Australia Day. Australian flags were brought out everywhere as children waved them and cars and buildings flaunted them. If that wasn't enough the beaches were flooded with flag bikinis and briefs and even slippers (much to the horror of some Indians who would go to the courts if they saw their national flag on a chappal!:)) It seemed like a big occasion celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm. But what exactly was being celebrated? Australia Day is not about autonomy or constitutional empowerment or sovereignty. It marks a day when the first fleet from Britain landed in Sydney and this island of aboriginal people was claimed as British territory, with British sovereignty firmly entrenched. What followed the landing of the fleet was annihilation of the aboriginal people slowly and steadily over a 100 years. Many enlightened Australians (like one of my colleagues said the other day) mark this as Invasion Day. There is nothing to celebrate, is there? While it is true that subsequent generations cannot be held accountable for what their ancesstors did, surely a more sensitive understanding of history would imply atleast a recognition of any nation's embarrassing moments? Public apologies would be nice and communities can come together to officially remember the ills/evils of the past, children can be educated about their history and public debate can be held. Remembering a troubled past can be cathartic and a country can feel proud that they have moved on.

Instead of any of this, we end up celebrating occasions that we never even think about or care to find out more. Australia Day, becomes a flag waving, beach and barbeque day, bereft of any public debate about its real significance to the thousands of aboriginal people, who continue to languish, whose death rates are appallingly high, who remain in unlawful detentions and whose living conditions are worse than many third world inhabitants. I would love to do a survey to find out what majority of Australian youth think about this day anyways and what history they are taught. I am not making this point only in reference to Australia. Every nation has brutal histories that it should rethink how it marks. In South Asia, wouldn't it be nice if we had Pakistanis marking Bangladesh invasion day, India marking communal riots day (Godhara and Gujarat), Sri Lankan state officially remembering the anti Tamil riots of 1984. Real reconciliation with brutal histories can begin only when the brutality is recognised and not when nations continue to live in denial.

Australia Day celebrations in Canberra were marred by aboriginal protestors who targetted a gathering where PM Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbot were present. Gillard and Abbot were shown on TV, being shoved into a car by the PM's security and then driven off. The PM lost her shoe and was dragged to the car by security officials who were ensuring the protestors didn't get to her. She later said she was fine and it was sad that the event was disrupted. My first thoughts were that it was not funny to see the PM being 'protected' by her security men who dragged her and shoved her into the car. Is this the training the Aussie security has to protect their public figures from mob violence? It was utterly ridiculous. My next question was, if it was Tony Abbot, would he come to Julia's rescue as she came to his? (wink). Afterall the protestors were targetting him and not the PM. And thirdly, again I wondered why the pseudo event was so important to the PM than actually addressing the gathered aboriginal people or mark the day with some gesture of reconciliation. There was a message in it though for shoe throwing individuals everywhere in the world. In this case, the protestors got her shoe instead!! The PM's rescue has made media headlines worldwide and the story of how celebrations on Australia Day were marred has caused flutter in many circles, with people referring to it as the day of shame. Lajja, really? 'Shame' is when a few aboriginal protestors disrupt the official party of the PM? ah well...

This country has a great cricketing heritage but yesterday was a day of foul play, it seems. The match between India and Australia, being played at the Adelaide Oval, had the brightest moment ever for Indian cricket fans this summer when young Virat Kohli hit a brilliant century...majestic and thoroughbred. But the onfield tactics were dominated by sledging by both sides. Ofcourse, the Aussie cricketers are masters of that art, piling verbal abuses at any opposition, racist, sexist and all that. They hunt in packs. So if one guy has a bit of chat with the opposition, the rest gather and cheer him on as if its an achievement. We saw this yesterday with Nathan Lyon clapping away when Warner, Cowan were having a go at Kohli. Disgusting. And when Kohli and Sharma decided to return their verbal volleys, that elderly gent, Ricky Ponting decided to play Ban Ki Moon and intervened by dragging Kohli away and reminding him that if he said anything, he would get into trouble. Such has been the story that Aussies have gotten away with any kind of verbal sledge while any team that has tried to compete in that category has had to face music. So Andrew Symmonds being called a monkey was a national outrage in Australia (hypocrisy?), and when Bhajji got away with it (if at all?) they termed it BCCI bullying. They dish out the choicest of ridicule and abuses to opponents and when get sledged in return, cry outrage and BCCI bullying. For those of us who hate the BCCI, that's one good thing it seems to have done...established itself as the bully! So, Ponting intervened and instead of counselling his guys, he was offering advise to Kohli. As we say in Hindi: hazaar (in his case not nau sau) choohe khake billi haj ko chali. (after devouring 1000 rats, the cat's on a pilgrimage). ha ha.

I would not condone the sledging tactics deployed by the younger generation of Indian players even if they merely return the verbal compliments of their opponents. But cricket is a game between bat and ball and it is a very intelligent game. Australians' mental disintegration or sledging or banter that they proudly claim as part of the game is utterly ridiculous and disgusting and ICC should come down heavily on any kind of on field chit chat by anyone. Moreover, everyone knows Australian's sledge more when they are frustrated. The message: if you can't bat or bowl well, or the opposition is walking away with the advantage, sledge. Fair game? They have been pretty quiet all summer coz they have been winning but yesterday when things started looking good for Kohli, the sledge contest began. If we can't win fairly, sledging is fine! We should then have matches where no cricket is played and 11 players from each team can participate in a game of abuses to see which team is more offensive. Imagine, spectators paying for a game where abusing the opponent is integral to winning. Aussie way?

Australian criketers do not stop sledging even once they retire. The legendary fast bowler, Rodney Hogg yesterday decided to win the sledge contest by tweeting slur on Muslims. He wrote, "Just put out my aussie flag for Australia Day but I wasn't sure if it would offend Muslims . . . So I wrote 'Allah is a shit' on it to make sure,". He apologised later and said this was Aussie bad humour. Fantastic, say anything shit and then say its bad humour. Humour must take the toll here. Hogg is a public figure and surely he didn't write anything that he didn't mean? He wasn't using twitter for the first time and ofcourse what he wrote came to his bigotted, lunatic mind. He isn't the first Australian cricketer to do this either. Remember Dean Jones, calling South African Muslim batsman Hashim Amla, a terrorist in a live cricket commentary? He apologised later to Amla by saying something like, "Sorry mate, that wasn't supposed to come out on telly." Meaning clearly that he wasn't sorry for what he said, only sorry that so many people knew! I wonder why Indian Muslims do not get agitated at this racist moron, hired by Indian TV channels to talk about cricket as Prof. Dino. His sight doesn't offend people, and Salman Rushdie's does? Sometimes, one must concede, people don't think, they simply act. Thankfully true revolutions happen only when people think through their actions.

So, Mr. Hogg, "corporate speaker, legendary fast bowler, cricket commentator, author, respected public figure, perhaps always a bigot, racist creep etc. etc." has apologised. Media reported his tweet as upsetting 'Muslims'. Really? Shouldn't all of Australia have been shamed by this, outraged by this offensive tweet? The PM felt sad when the Australia day function was disrupted. Maybe she should feel worse that a public figure tweeted this. As for media that is portraying yesterdays aboriginal protest fiasco in Canberra as national shame, they should declare Mr. Hogg a national disgrace who has shamed the evolving multicultural identity and ethos of this country. Hogg's autobiography is titled: The Whole Hogg: Inside the mind of a lunatic fast bowler. I cannot recall getting insights about just how lunatic his mind is!

Meanwhile, it is the fourth day at Adelaide Oval and looks unlikely, India will save this match. Dismal summer and disppointing times for Indian cricket fans. Will rant about this again, but for now, Saurav Ganguly is annoying me. Such a petty, petty man who is venting his jealousy and frustration at the trio. Ofcourse they should be criticised, but Ganguly's agenda is singular, to target Dravid, VVS and Sachin and keep ranting about how useless they are. Dada, your ouster was painful to you when these guys are still playing and we understand/empathise but please maintain some dignity. Ah, do you have any left after pleading with IPL franchisees to hire you at any cost? You were more often than not, a liability, as a fielder and as a batsman...now as a commentator. You were the kind of captain who is the first to abandon a sinking ship. Wriddhiman Saha is a good batsman with lots to prove, and he isn't the 'best' wicketkeeper in India, only because he comes from Bengal! Dada, please have your maachh-bhaat and relax. You have served Indian cricket well, but your opinions are sad...atleast mask your personal vendetta. Sunil Gavaskar, among several others, is also criticizing the team but he has more insight and I guess authority?

In all this discussion, I forgot to mention about our very own Indian Republic Day, and the deshbhakti songs in full swing. Perhaps for another time. At the Adelaide Oval, the Indian guy who sang the national anthem, messed up his lines. That was bad omen methinks....:) Amar rahe humara gantantra. Atleast that's something to be proud of despite the dismal summer of cricket. :)

More soon...till then, hoton pe sachchai rehti hai, jahan dil mein safai rehti hai. Hum us desh ke wasi hain, jis desh mein ganga behti hai...:)

Lamentable Loss

The third test match between India and Australia ended at the WACA today. Just 2 and a half days of cricket and Indians are ground to dust. It seems to most of us that Team India is saving its worst for the last match at Adelaide because each performance is worse than the previous one. If you thought 191 at SCG was a pathetic first inning score, they made 161 at Perth. An innings defeat again at Perth and abject humiliation as the match did not even last 3 full days, thanks to dismal Indian batting in both innings.

One can argue that it was expected, but the scale of it is shocking. I am very sad indeed because I know this match has spelt doom for my favorite VVS Laxman. I know for sure, that he will be shown the door in the next match, making way for Rohit. A ray of hope comes as Dhoni is banned for the next match, thanks to his two over over rate in this one. Would the selectors make three changes for Adelaide? Saha will replace Dhoni as wicket-keeper and Vinay Kumar will have to give way to either Ashwin or Ojha. Will Rohit come in at the expense of VVS? Maybe, and it might be good to have a young player. I do not know how much of Rohit's test talent Ian Chapell has seen, but fact is he hasn't played any international test and his ODI record doesn't impress me either. We are often told IPL has brought several new talents in Indian cricket to the fore. I am sorry, I do not recognise any of the IPL talents as good enough to play tests, leave alone performing well in them. So Rohit is not my favorite cricketer. I must however say, that Kohli's attitute annoys me but he definitely showed promise today. Batted an entire session even though wickets kept tumbling at the other end. His shots are good, plays close to the body, leaves the unplayable balls, defends well and has a range of strokes. I think he is a 'lambi race ka ghoda'...He will do well.

So, there's much speculation about why India lost so badly. Dhoni said it was the batting because the bowlers did get 10 wickets in less than 2 sessions yesterday. yes, ofcourse the batting has been appalling. Lack of application. Gambhir, Sehwag, Laxman gifted their wickets, Tendulkar's was earned and Dravid was bowled again.It was sad to see Dravid struggling. His footwork and reflexes were definitely one of a 39 year old. The most anguish I felt was when Dhoni edged it in the slips. It was as if he had planned to. His captaincy is not any better than his batting. The way he rotated his bowlers and set up fielding somehow felt very fishy, almost as if BCCI had paid him to underperform, so that test cricket is decimated in India. Very unlike Dhoni and very fishy. So when he came armed with that famous captain cool grin for the post match press conference, you wanted to ask him to wipe it off. And now he must be relieved he will not captain India through the grand finale of humiliation at Adelaide.

The one thing that the Indian fans and media are not talking about is how the IPL has ruined test cricket. BCCI has already announced the IPL teams for the new season in the midst of this important international tour and there seems to be no outrage on this. IPL should have been for the retired players, but its become the main tournament for current and future players, run by the most corrupt BCCI that is minting money out of this. Imagine that BCCI officials have direct financial stakes in the IPL franchises. And, that odious Rajeev Shukla, BCCI VP will perhaps say that India losing is a good thing for Australian cricket! He said that about India losing 4 nil in England. Not only is he BCCI VP, and UPCB honorary secretary but have just discovered, he is a govt. nominee in the DDCA along with another parliamentarian, Navin Jindal. This man, whose rise to power has not been surprising given he is a political middle man, a creep of the highest order with friends in high places, he controls the cricket board. He strutts around making statements on Indian cricket and cricketers....which is a higher insult to the players than losing a match. Just looked at his website, this creep has his badges and passes as a BCCI official scanned and uploaded!!!! Check it out... In India, politicians and celebrities are so in love with themselves!

and how I feel about Sharad Pawar being ICC president? that will be a rant sesison for another time...Sharad Pawar? huh? In India to be a politician, you just need to be a creep. Many people including Gavaskar are saying that we need to relook at the pitches in India. BCCI is making billions and it's not such a tough job to get new pitches that help the fast bowlers...pitches that we see in SA, Australia. Is it so unreasonable to demand good grounds, good facilities for both players and spectators? If cricket is the only game we are remotely good at, to compete at the world level, how much do we spend on improving the level of skill in this sport? none! Can you imagine the schedule of these players, bullied by the BCCI to play IPL for two good months in the year? injuries are common and the technique never develops. Frankly those who like the game know, there is no fun watching sixes being hammered left and right. There is fun in watching a tough contest between bat and ball. Hostile bowling and batting that toughs it out. Remember Sachin's century in South Africa against Dale Steyn's darting/snaky spells in 2010? Thats the kind of test cricket that is superb.

and while we rant about Team India's dismal performance, I am not so sure the Aussies should be celebrating hard. Barring Warner and Cowan who were firing against an insipid attack, the rest of the team collapsed quickly. Ponting's dismissal was 3 times uglier than Dravid's as Yadav managed to remove his middle stump. ughhh. and the high point was Haddin's dismissal by Zaheer on zero...as some Aussie fan wrote on cricinfo... Haddin can't bat, can't keep and can't sledge! hahaha. Hussey, Marsh and Clarke himself looked very uncomfortable and did not make good scores. Aussie bowling is top class but their best scorerer in a test is a T 20 import, Dave Warner, they have some serious batting issues that they need to address without getting too euphoric about scoring runs against a poor Indian bowling side. They have had batting collapses of mammoth proportions in recent times, including 47 all out in SA. I cant even begin to imagine what Tremlett and Anderson would do to the likes of Warner and other struggling Aussie batsmen when they tour England. So while victory against any opposition is sweet, Aussies are far from being a world beating side. At this point England and South Africa have a more balanced team.

Well, I have to admit, it was disappointing today because at one point I thought an innings defeat would be avoided. Alas. I am not sure I want to follow Indian cricket anymore for a while and am eagerly waiting for the Pak-England series. Anyone who watches IPL or argues about its merits is a partner in crime, for decimating Indian test cricket. We shouldn't even feel good if we do well in the ODIs here. In 2008 we lost with dignity and Kumble's not every talented team fought hard after the MCG loss. Captain Cool Dhoni's experienced team has meekly surrendered to an inexperienced Aussie side. Its such a shame to go down without a fight. Thats not what cricket stands for. Its a sport thats all about character, courage and fortitude...there were days when batsmen like Gavaskar, Richards faced the fast bowling of Lillee, Walsh, Roberts etc without a helmet! Hard to imagine as it would take a lot of guts. The game has changed now and players have more protection, surely not because they can meekly surrender.

Cricketers are humans yes, but they are also professionals who are paid to perform their best. they are paid millions today and earn so much more through sponsorships, endorsements etc. It is not unfair for fans to expect that these professionals will give their best to the sport. The logic is simple, when you are paid to do the job, you must do it...or you are fired. The bonus is its a job they like, and a job they choose early in their lives. I pay more than 100 AUD for every day ticket to the ground and see my team go down like a pack of cards. I am happy to respect the players, but as a fan, I deserve respect too! Dravid talked about respecting the fan in his Bradman Oration before the start of the series and then forgot about it each time he went to bat.

So my final message for Team India. Please respect your fans and apply yourselves. Its not about winning or losing, but about how you approach the game. You guys have been shamelessly dismal....If they cannot salvage any pride at Adelaide, this team's test status should definitely be revoked!

more again later....so disappointed, sad...and now sleepy!

Cricket: That funny game....

So, its been a really long time and I have decided to revive my blog, put new life and spirit into it, something that the Indian cricket desperately needs on this 2012 Aussie tour. Infact, my blog has been pretty much like team India, brilliant start but didn't quite keep up with discipline, commitment and consistency. :)

I like being an academic but (test) cricket is like a religion to me like the rest of the billion Indians (though I know many of my friends wouldn't care about eleven players with the bat and ball, least of all seeing them battle it out for 5 full days when they could do so much work, and watch bollywood flicks, and catch up with friends and family!)I like the game because it does not rely on contact violence and physical prowess is tested more through mental strength when you battle/weather it out for 5 full days on the field. Cricketers get paid but spectators/followers must feel really passionate to be involved for 5 days. Right?

Last few years have been good for Indian cricket and cricket in general. Lots of good games, test matches with results, legends performing to expectations and underdogs coming up with surprise wins. My memories are of South Africa's fantastic victory in Australia on their last tour, England's Ashes victories in 2009 and 2011, India's victories against England and Australia at home, and most recently the wonderful New Zealand win at Hobart and Sri Lankan one match wonder win in South Africa. Like the rest of the world, cricket reflects a revolutionary change, the power centre has shifted and it's become more competitive than ever, more 'corrupt' than ever (with unfortunate match fixing scandals!), more globalised than ever with IPL, Big Bash and other domestic tournaments that bring all kinds of players together(Who would have thought Andrew Symmonds and Harbhajan Singh would share the same dressing room!) and more aggressive, more gendered than ever.

So, cricket lovers Down Under were waiting for this India-Australia series that promised to bury the memories of the controversial last tour in 2008. It was ugly, ugly, ugly and Ponting will forever not be forgiven for the role he played in that series. Coming back to this series, we drove from Sydney to Melbourne to watch the Boxing day test at MCG which India lost so badly. I still retained hope for the SCG test but it has ended on a sadder note for team India with a crushing innings defeat. I left the SCG ground after lunch on day 2 because it wasn't going to be a contest at all. Cricket lovers are despondent after India's performance and might I add, this new year has begun on a really sad note.

You win and lose in sports and it should be no big deal, but these defeats are reflective of our national ethos and dare I add, our foreign policy: marked by individual brilliance, general lethargy, lack of discipline and professionalism and lack of strategic thinking. The fielding is embarrassing to say the least, the bowling unit gets disheartened easily as was reflected in the runs they gifted to Aussie batsmen at the SCG. Sorry Michael Clarke, but your runs didn't come against a world class bowling attack but against an insipid team that gifted you runs to allow you that place in the sun. Infact Clarke shoud be thankful to team India members for their generosity, Hussey and Ponting should be grateful India has saved their careers! Lack of professionalism and discipline has been much talked about by the likes of Sunil Gavaskar (who ofcourse has no problems with IPL!)but it is also obvious to general public when they reach the grounds early for the match. While the Aussie team works hard in the nets and is seen warming up on all match days, the Indian team is nowhere to be found till you spot them, strolling lazily and moving their bodies as if its a burden they carry. So, it's not just Sachin Tendulkar with the monkey on his back. I remember watching the SCG Ashes test last year and the English team would always take to the grounds early and practice hard. Ofcourse Kevin Pietersen always likes to be where he can be seen!

Yesterday we still hoped Sachin and VVS would salvage it for us, but it was not to be. VVS played a career saving knock not a match saving one like Calcutta. And it was all over in 4 days. Questions are beng asked about Dhoni's captaincy and whether the young ones like Kohli are up to it, whether the old legs of Dravid, VVS and Sachin can carry further the burden of the team etc etc. Whatever the postmortem, fact is that the body is dead, this tour is over. The saddest thing is this is the best batting and bowling unit we have had in a long time but lack of planning, practice and discipline has resulted in scars that will be hard to heal.

I am taking it as a lesson for my own life. Talent is useless without hardwork, planning and executon. That should be my new year mantra. I know I will still follow the Perth Test quite intently remembering the last time India won there. Hope is never to be given up, but the disppointment is profound. It's a game that you invest emotions and time in and that should be respected by the players. It is not losing a game that hurts, but losing a game that you should have won, and losing it in such a humiliating manner.

It will also be fair to mention that while reading all the analyses, one finds a gaping vaccum....Peter Roebuck's exciting and insightful columns are missing. None are as eloquent as he could be and my thoughts on his story for another day.

This is a good place to vent and good place to fulfill some new year resolutions. So, dear readers, I shall keep you posted about this and that. Those of you who know me, know that I have much to say...but for now, a Happy New Year and here's to new beginnings.

Cheers

The ‘Boatophobia’ Debate: Dehumanising Asylum Seekers and Refugees

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers41/paper4003.html

Counter terror experts and security analysts are back in action and what do they fear this time? Not bombs, IEDs, nor suicide bombers but the ‘boatpeople’! I have gained sufficient insight into the issue, having camped in Australia for the last two months, to comment on what I call a new form of racism called ‘boatophobia’. At stake are the lives of faceless, nameless (not the men in the Australian Labour Party who ordered the political assassination of former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd!), men, women and children from war hit countries of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The two major Australian political parties, in their election campaign, made sure that the ‘boat peoples’ issue was projected as a national security issue. The Australian Labour Party leader and current PM, Julia Gillard, promised a detention centre in East Timor and a ‘small and sustainable Australia’; the Liberal National Party promised the reopening of the detention centre in Nauru and their leader, Tony Abbot, went around repeating as a mantra; “we will stop the boats.” The election has resulted in no clear mandate for either party, and a hung parliament, but the ‘boatophobia’ is here to stay as Australians continue to debate the threats from the faceless, nameless ‘boat people’.

The identity-less’ boat people’ are also back in news, ever since the Thai cargo ship, MV Sun Sea landed at the Canadian coast of British Columbia last week, with 495 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers. I haven’t seen any of these ‘boat people’ myself, but security experts, who are yet to visit the detention centres in Canada, have wasted no opportunity in declaring the Tamil ‘boat people’ as LTTE terrorists and potential threats to the ‘host countries’. The ‘boatophobes’ appear particularly concerned about the security of the host country, Canada, in this case and have accused the Canadian authorities of being slipshod on terrorism laws and granting asylum to terrorists and of endangering people’s lives. ‘boatophobes’ aka xenophobes from Canada would still have some legitimate concerns, because it is their country that is ‘under threat’ from foreigners descending on their soil to avail of their hospitality. Of grave concern is that ‘boatophobic’ experts in South and South East Asia are defining the ‘security’ requirements of the Western nations. Their arguments are not only patronising and racist but also dehumanise and demonise the Sri Lankan Tamil community, who have more than one reason to escape the brutalities of life in a country that they cannot even call ‘home’.

In the genre of writings on Sri Lankan ‘boat people’, N Sathiyamoorthy, published an article recently in the Daily Mirror from Colombo. In the article called Refugees, Who?, the author cautions against the dangers of granting asylum to potential LTTE terrorists, which would jeopardise the chances of genuine refugees seeking shelter abroad. He argues that “the whole world was monitoring the movement of the so-called ‘refugee ship’ and did nothing about it.” Chiding the Canadian authorities for a lax attitude, the author, writes that “they did not learn their lessons from a host of terrorist incidents elsewhere. Nor did insurgencies in other countries move their law-makers and lawyers”. In the light of such observations and allegations it is important to note that modern ‘terrorists’ have not travelled by boat to Western nations. There is no evidence that any 'boatpeople' turned into potential terrorists of the 9/11 types. ‘Terrorists’ in the West are often the products of societies that they have willingly and legally adopted as ‘homes’ and may not even be first generation immigrants.

The Canadian authorities have a tough task ahead as they scrutinise each individual asylum claim. The asylum seekers remain in detention from where their individual claims will be processed. To suggest that all of these people could be LTTE terrorists amounts to fear mongering in Western societies already brimming with anti-immigration sentiments. Without any evidence to suggest that any of the ‘boat people’ were carrying arms or plotting attacks anywhere, experts are speculating on their terrorist linkages. This speaks of prejudice and racism in itself. Security experts had expressed a similar outcry and fear mongering at the arrival of the ship Ocean Lady at the Canadian coast in October 2009, which was carrying 76 Tamil refugees. The refugees were all men and were held in detention on terrorism charges. All the detainees were subsequently acquitted of any wrong doing, and are waiting for the processing of their refugee claims in Toronto. So much for the ‘terrorism’ hysteria!

On the issue of possible persecution from which the Tamil refugees may be escaping, Mr. Sathiyamoorthy argues that, “if individuals were still being persecuted for their political beliefs in Sri Lanka, how is it that even anti-Government Tamil or Sinhala groups have been contesting elections and winning parliamentary and Provincial Council seats, and also addressing those august forums?.” Contesting elections is not the marker of any country's Human Rights performance. Zimbabwe and Burma are examples in this regard. India is a beacon of democracy where all kinds of political views are tolerated and elections contested, but there are communities which are still marginalised and claim persecution. In a deeply divided country that Sri Lanka is, where the war between the two ethnic communities has been the reality of lived experiences, ‘persecution’ has overt and subtle manifestations. The vehement opposition to the three member UN panel by Sinhalese leaders speaks volumes about the government’s intent to address the grievances of the Tamils and their blatant violation of international norms. The demonstrations against the United Nations expert panel were led by a government minister, Wimal Weerawansa and clearly demonstrated the government’s open hostility to investigations of alleged war crimes in the war against the LTTE that concluded last year.

Human Rights violations are unabated as detention, death and disappearances of Tamil youth are repeatedly reported by international agencies. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, apart from other independent international media have regularly published reports on the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. It is impossible to even imagine substantively, that a government that does not hesitate to intimidate the international community cannot threaten the lives of its own citizens, especially the vanquished in war! In April last year, 46 illegal immigrants died and 60 were found unconscious in an airless shipping container near Quetta in Pakistan. All of the victims were Afghan nationals including Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras who were trying to enter Iran through unfrequented routes of Balochistan having no valid travel documents. Were they ‘terrorists’, potential security threats? Could we, along the same lines, question their ‘persecution’ claims or human rights violations on the grounds that they have an elected government in Afghanistan to represent them and international forces monitor their country and enforce accountability?

The author further suggests that, “in the case of Sri Lankan Tamils, for instance – all those who are already there in far-off lands like Australia, Canada and all across Europe – India should have been their first and natural port-of-call, particularly if they did not have any terrorist links or even if their claims to refugee status in far-off lands were genuine”. It is unfathomable that, given the role India has played, and given the credibility it enjoys in Sri Lanka, India should even be considered a safe haven by the Sri Lankan Tamil community. It is very patronising to suggest that while migrant communities (including Indians) everywhere can travel to lands where there is prosperity and better economic and social opportunities, Sri Lankan Tamils, if ‘innocent’ should consider India their favoured destination from where they can return ‘home’, whatever ‘home’ implies. As for how India treats its refugees, we might ask the Kashmiri Pandits that, or other internally displaced people.

It is not a hidden fact that India provided material and moral support to the Sri Lankan government to decimate the Tigers and that India also absolved the Sri Lankan government for the large number of civilian deaths in the name of collateral damage. The IPKF experience was also a failed experiment by the Indian government, inflicting atrocities on the Tamil people. India has never played the role of a responsible regional leader in its relations with the neighbouring countries. In the post war environment too, India’s engagement with Sri Lanka intensified as a counter to growing Chinese influence and investments in reconstruction efforts. India’s role in Sri Lanka has been as disastrous as its handling of the ongoing Kashmir protests, which many of us, Indians, watch with horror and trepidation. In such a situation, to even suggest that Sri Lankan refugees should consider India their home, is not only a violation of their free will but also patronising towards the very people, whose lives have been affected by the policies of the Indian government, albeit indirectly.

The author concedes that the reasons for the long voyage undertaken by the MV Sun Sea asylum seekers might be “more economical than political. If there is politics involved, it may relate to the determination of a de-capacitated group to embarrass their own government in the international arena and media, alike.” I ask, aren’t economic migrants entitled to refugee status? What economic opportunities lie in a war torn country, that too, for the vanquished? They are not 'refugees' in such kinds of analyses but their intentions are suspect and they are labelled potential terrorists. Could we apply the same scrutiny and labelling to the Indians who travelled to Malaysia and then disappeared, willingly, for better life and economic opportunities? Are all Hispanics in America living illegally, terrorists? There is also a suggestion that these people may have travelled all the way to Canada to embarrass their government. Surely embarrassing governments is not a crime? It is difficult to imagine that ‘embarassing the government’ was the concern of these Tamil asylum seekers, (women and children included) who risked their lives in this long voyage without any guarantees of the success of their mission.

Several other analysts have argued that such asylum seekers abuse refugee claims and status and thereby, deny such rights to ‘genuine’ refugees. This false concern for the Western governments and how their rights and privileges may be exploited is a façade to delegitimise the demands of Tamil asylum seekers. Before the Sri Lankan Tamil ‘boat people’ issue, South Asian analysts were completely oblivious to the issue of illegal immigration and refugees in the West. Australia or Canada or the United Kingdom, do not need us to do their bidding. They have policies in place to address this issue and are governed by their own values and political convictions. Australia and Canada in particular are immigrant societies. John Moore of Canadian News talk 1010 reminds, “As the countries of origin of our newcomers became more diverse, each new wave was regarded as lazy, grasping, unwashed and unwanted. Trace your family’s roots and not only are you guaranteed to find an immigrant but also likely an ethnic or cultural community that was denigrated in its time. And how soon we forget it.”

None of these fear mongering analyses on the ‘boat people’ actually take an international stance against illegal immigration. Their concern is only the Tamil ‘boat people’. There are more illegal immigrants (large numbers of Indians included) who travel by other means than in an easily interceptible boat or ship which will be thoroughly investigated upon landing at any national coast. It is common logic to imagine why the Tamils would be running from Sri Lanka at a time when they have lost everything in war, an environment of fear persists and there is no leadership that can address their grassroots problems. Dehumanising the asylum seekers through fear mongering and through the ‘securitisation’ discourse speaks of prejudices that still persist on this issue. Every Sri Lankan Tamil is being seen as an LTTE sympathiser or supporter, thereby making a mockery of their plight and suffering.

Prejudices are bound to exist amidst diversity and where resources and access to opportunities of all hues are scarce and highly competitive. Scholars, analysts and policy experts do not operate in situational vacuum and are affected by biases too. It is worth considering that seeking asylum by boat is not "illegal". In fact, it is a right guaranteed under national and international law. It is neither requisite nor fair to punish people who are simply trying to escape harsher conditions of a post war society. Moreover, each asylum seeker’s case is dealt with individually and thoroughly. ‘Terrorists’ do not have predictable characteristics, neither do they come from a particular class or ethnicity alone. The so called experts and ‘boatophobes’ have hastily, in their zeal to brand the entire Sri Lankan Tamil community as ‘terrorists’, pronounced their verdict on the ‘boat people’ - Guilty, unless proven innocent.

The 'joys' of war!

Have just finished re reading Elina Penttinen's article (she first presented this paper at the Touching War Programme at Lancaster University, last year) on "Feminist imaginings or Feminist problem-making: Creating the world through observation", in which she appeals to the feminist IR community to not be trapped in its puzzles and problems and to stretch boundaries of imagination and analysis. She concludes that if we did focus on the cheerful, happy things in international relations, we would contribute to a more hopeful, joyous world, something that we all need to survive. What we are leaving out, in our quest for serious scholarship are moments and events when International Relations is about fun and being alive. How can we be sure that the stories we tell of violence and oppressions and pain and sufferings are the only 'true' stories? As feminists we can be liberated social scientists to speak of life as joy.

Elina's article does two important things. One is that it forces us to question the boundaries of our own scholarship and secondly it asks why certain topics have become taboos in IR. Are there prices to be paid for discussion of taboo topics? What if wars were to be joyous experiences for some, especially women? What if women did more than just wail and mourn? What if there were other stories to tell? I find her article exhilerating as I am quite tired of finding a theoretical/scholarly space to discuss the multiplicity of experiences of women who participate in wars and militant projects. Having closely studied the militant movements in South Asia (Kashmir, Sri Lanka), there are stories that never find a space in discourses. In feminist analysis any study of violent women, is caught between the binaries of agency and victimhood. Between these two 'ends' are stories of survival, hope, fun and of politics of subversion and purpose.

I recall my meeting with some former cadres of the LTTE. I am not sure I can address the question of their agency or victimhood as eloquently as many analysts have done and continue to do. What I do remember are the stories they shared, of joining the movement to escape the hardships of poverty, of escaping to a better world, of reliving their dream of a 'homeland', of escaping the harshness of violence at 'home', of escaping 'homelessness' to finding a 'home', of avenging their humiliation by Sinhalese soldiers, of finding real joy in the war, where they could do what they were best at. The end of war for them was brought about by the split in the LTTE and they were disbanded and were forced to return 'home'. This transition to the mainstream was not all a happy story. It seemed like the state of 'war' had more opportunities to experience joy and fulfilment than an enforced 'peace'. The state of 'homelessness' was unleashed on them in the absence of war. And I have repeatedly asked myself, what right do I have to deny these women, their politics, their joy, their sense of fulfilment and assign victimhood and/or empowerment in my scholarly language.

Then there is the conflict in Kashmir, where the only stories that are ever privilged (even by feminists) are stories of pain, of mourning and suffering. Unlike any other national project, Kashmir has only absented women from its politics. The silence of women is almost deafening. The message is often clear, women do not 'do' politics or militancy, but their grief and mourning serves many a political project. It testifies to the state 'oppression' and establishes the direct assault of the state on public morality and religious traditions. This is the gendered story of Kashmir. I ofcourse have read and heard different ones; of the romantic love and longing for the militant with the gun, of songs celebrating martyrdom, of hiding guns under their beds and militants in their homes, of nursing the wounded, of encouraging sons to fight, of creating and then shouting slogans against the enemy 'other', of holding on to their religious identity and of politics and activism that they believed would change their world.

Unlike Elina, I am not sure these different stories that I wish to tell are stories that can make the world better. What they can do is help interpret the world better, help understand the gender codings in these conflicts and map the silences that are often enforced on women to uphold the legitimacy of the patriarchal nationalist project. Hence, telling these different stories constitutes a political act itself that reveals a whole new world that would remain hidden otherwise. Elina's article gives me hope that feminist IR has much to contribute if any alternative discourse must emerge, and if women are not to be seen merely "as victims of gendered subjectivity in national narratives." Which brings me to the next important and related topic of emotions in the field of international relations, about which I shall write again.

While writing this, I am distracted by Nayyara Noor singing Faiz......aaj bazaar mein pabajaulan chalo...chashme nam jaane shorida kaafi nahin...tohmate ishq posheeda kaafi nahin....and my feminist consciousness stirs.....in search of new stories....:) More soon!

South Asia’s (En)gendered Wars

An old article, but nevertheless important.....

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers29/paper2895.html