After the latest mischief by Tanmay Bhat, I think it would be safe to say that we finally have become a unique nation. One where a genocide under your watch may expedite your climb to the highest seat of power — in 1984 and in 2002 — but a joke on the Master Blaster or the Melody Queen will land you in jail, or at least generate a public outcry.
Sachin Tendulkar has been loved by this country like none other. Let us be fair. Sachin indeed was a batsman far superior to most during his time. And indeed he has given us many moments of joy. But was, he a good team player?
Perhaps not.
Rahul Dravid’s declaration at Multan left Sachin stranded at 194. How the Master Blaster reacted to that is not how a team player would react. Similarly, when Greg Chappell asked him to bat lower down the order in the World Cup of 2007, it did not go well with him. Well that’s all past and the purpose of this piece is not to dissect a fantastic career post-mortem. How do you make fun of a legend? Rather, should you make fun of a legend?
I have made fun of Sachin many, many times during my shows in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Dubai. Our demigods are not untouchable.
Recently I was in Karachi for the literature festival. There during my session I took pot shots at Mohammad Ali Jinnah. A few in the audience took offence to it. My answer to them was simple. A progressive society is one that learns from history and re-examines it heroes. The same holds true for India as well. Yes, heroes should be celebrated, cherished and even may be worshipped. The Lenins and the Maos of world still lie in their respective ‘shrines’. But does that mean one cannot make fun of these people or scrutinise them? I would like to think “yes, we can and we must”.
India is a strange place today. The Constitution is made fun of and questioned by Union Ministers almost on a daily basis. Secularism has been made a dirty word. The idea of India is insulted every single day, in Parliament, in the news channels, on the streets of Muzaffarnagar, and in the courts.
Thousands of farmers have committed suicide under duress and many more are on their way because they are not able to pay their loan of not even a few lakh rupees. Yet, business tycoon Vijay Mallya, who owes a fortune to the government, is allowed to leave. Bag and baggage! The victims of 1984 riots, the Bhopal gas tragedy, the 2002 riots, still await justice but I don’t see any one getting offended! What does it say about us as a society, I leave it to the esteemed reader to judge?
I am not even getting into the freedom of speech debate. I want to ask a few questions from the offense takers. Why were you not offended by the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula? Why are you not offended by the fact that manual scavenging still exists in your country? People actually die cleaning your sewers! Why were you not offended when a 13-year-old boy was hanged to death for being a Muslim who was just grazing his cows? Why were you not offended when Ikhlaq was murdered in Dadri on suspicion of eating beef? Why did you not find it insulting that while a human being lay lynched, meat from his refrigerator was taken for forensic testing?
I know why. I know why you want to push Rohith and Ikhlaq’s body under the carpet. They are not a nice sight.
You want to project India as a developed country and these bodies make that picture dirty. You don’t want to show a dirty picture of what you call an emerging, incredible India that will soon become a superpower. All we need is a few more Sachin Tendulkars. They do make this India picture look good. After all it’s Sachin’s records, Ambani’s Antilla, Mallya’s IPL team, the PM’s chest size that will make it as a nation that the IPL ad celebrates “ ek India happy wala ”.
I am offended. I want to file an FIR. Who is listening?
Sanjay Rajoura was born in New Delhi and has lived in Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, San Francisco and Singapore. After working in the software industry for more than ten years, Rajoura is now a humourist/stand-up artiste
