The Tehelka Expose

Tehelka has done it again - another expose, this time targeting the Gujarat genocide. And of course, we have the familiar litany of accusations, escapes and counter-attacks: why now, what about Godhra, what about 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi, pseudo-secular, pseudo-intellectual...the list is pretty long.

Actually, I have never understood this pseudo nonsense. It means 'False or Counterfeit' as far as I know, but I don't understand how opposing vehemently the rabid pro-Hinduvta brigade make one pesudo-something. That's another word I hate, Hinduvta - it is, to me, the complete antithesis of Hinduism, which is a word I have always associated with peace and tolerance. Hinduvta, on the other hand, reminds me of riots, murder, rape and now, - most horrifying of all - saffron draped men ripping out foetuses from pregnant mothers. Its barbaric that many of us equate one with the other, truly.

I am not sure whether this is, as Tehelka claims, the most remarkable story of our times. I mean, this was mostly just verification of something we already knew in the back of our minds - unlike, say, the extent of the cricket-bookies nexus. Nor do I care if they were, as their accusers frequently claim, politically motivated - that is irrelevant to the content of the story. We actually have murderers and rapists bragging about what they did on camera, with no show of remorse.

Will the judiciary shed its customary lethargy and take action? Or are we still reduced to online petitions and replying to 'action-reaction' quotes? Will Modi be voted back to power yet again like last time, based on his 'economic reforms'? If so, I fear what I read recently is true: we are no longer a civilization, merely an economy.