Does Arun Jaitley, who holds the cabinet portfolios for both finance and information and broadcasting, realise just how offensive he is being when he describes the protests of scientists, writers, artists and filmmakers as a manufactured rebellion? Why does he have such a deep-rooted suspicion of anything that is scholarly or intellectually rigorous? Why does he believe that such endeavours are elitist and exclusivist? Why is he creating such a loathing and contempt for rationality, science, art, literature and ideas? Has Jaitley finally drawn the line for the Culture Wars – Hallucinatory Hindutva vs The Rest?
It's difficult to understand why Jaitley would believe that PM Bhargava, who founded the country’s prestigious Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, is actually faking his distress about the climate of intolerance and bigotry in the country, and that he is insincere in his protest on "the government's attack on rationalism, reasoning and science".
The accomplished and erudite Dr Bhargava, the 87-year-old chemist and biologist, has hundreds of research papers in his name on synthetic organic chemistry, anti-cancer research, genomics, genetics and evolution, cell biology and development, molecular biology, among other subjects. He has won several prominent global awards, from Cambridge University to the French Legion d’Honneur to Padma Bhushan. However, according to Jaitley, Bhargava is incapable of making a judicious decision about returning his Padma Bhushan.
Jaitely suggested that Bhargava has been influenced by his "political patrons" and demanded to know where the scientist was “when the country was rocked and looted with huge corruption scandals”. It’s almost as if he expects protesters to choose a time and controversy that suits the government.
His master's voice
One reason Jaitley may be pushing this line is that he's merely echoing the thoughts of his boss, a man who believes that plastic surgery and genetic science existed in India in mythological times. At the inauguration of a hospital in Mumbai last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “If we think a little more, we realise that Mahabharat says Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means that genetic science was present at that time… We worship Lord Ganesh. There must have been some plastic surgeon at that time who got an elephant’s head on the body of a human being and began the practice of plastic surgery.”
It's this kind of pseudo-science that Dr Bhargava has long battled. In 1963, he set up the Society for the Promotion of Scientific Temper and played a key role in incorporating scientific temper as a fundamental duty of the citizens of India, in the 42nd constitutional amendment.
But Hindutva fans aren’t impressed by the reasons Bhargava outlined for returning his Padma Bhushan: "The fear as we see in democracy today... the spread of Hindutva... I believe that [religion] really is a personal matter. It should not make incursions into politics as it is doing now... It is to condemn the government’s attack on rationalism, reasoning and science.”
Political conspiracy alleged
Jaitley believes this is a big political conspiracy. The people returning awards "are rabid anti-BJP elements, some of whom had gone to Varanasi, Modi’s constituency, to campaign”, he said, adding that the protest “has been stepped up in the middle of the Bihar election, I'm now constrained to say that this is electioneering by other mean.'
With its recent statements, the Modi government has made its position clear: anybody who disagrees with it is seen as a political incendiary, a conspiring infidel, a despicable traitor. It seems to want to outlaw all criticism and make dissent immoral.
As Voltaire said, It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
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It's difficult to understand why Jaitley would believe that PM Bhargava, who founded the country’s prestigious Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, is actually faking his distress about the climate of intolerance and bigotry in the country, and that he is insincere in his protest on "the government's attack on rationalism, reasoning and science".
The accomplished and erudite Dr Bhargava, the 87-year-old chemist and biologist, has hundreds of research papers in his name on synthetic organic chemistry, anti-cancer research, genomics, genetics and evolution, cell biology and development, molecular biology, among other subjects. He has won several prominent global awards, from Cambridge University to the French Legion d’Honneur to Padma Bhushan. However, according to Jaitley, Bhargava is incapable of making a judicious decision about returning his Padma Bhushan.
Jaitely suggested that Bhargava has been influenced by his "political patrons" and demanded to know where the scientist was “when the country was rocked and looted with huge corruption scandals”. It’s almost as if he expects protesters to choose a time and controversy that suits the government.
His master's voice
One reason Jaitley may be pushing this line is that he's merely echoing the thoughts of his boss, a man who believes that plastic surgery and genetic science existed in India in mythological times. At the inauguration of a hospital in Mumbai last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “If we think a little more, we realise that Mahabharat says Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means that genetic science was present at that time… We worship Lord Ganesh. There must have been some plastic surgeon at that time who got an elephant’s head on the body of a human being and began the practice of plastic surgery.”
It's this kind of pseudo-science that Dr Bhargava has long battled. In 1963, he set up the Society for the Promotion of Scientific Temper and played a key role in incorporating scientific temper as a fundamental duty of the citizens of India, in the 42nd constitutional amendment.
But Hindutva fans aren’t impressed by the reasons Bhargava outlined for returning his Padma Bhushan: "The fear as we see in democracy today... the spread of Hindutva... I believe that [religion] really is a personal matter. It should not make incursions into politics as it is doing now... It is to condemn the government’s attack on rationalism, reasoning and science.”
Political conspiracy alleged
Jaitley believes this is a big political conspiracy. The people returning awards "are rabid anti-BJP elements, some of whom had gone to Varanasi, Modi’s constituency, to campaign”, he said, adding that the protest “has been stepped up in the middle of the Bihar election, I'm now constrained to say that this is electioneering by other mean.'
With its recent statements, the Modi government has made its position clear: anybody who disagrees with it is seen as a political incendiary, a conspiring infidel, a despicable traitor. It seems to want to outlaw all criticism and make dissent immoral.
As Voltaire said, It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
