Intolerance

The right wing wants to turn the debate on intolerance on its head. It wants to now cast itself as the victim of intolerance while its own intolerance wil henceforth only be called nationalism. It wants to redefine nationalism and appropriate all national symbols. The right wing will make an enemy out of any voice questioning anything connected with Hindu religion, its gurus, its practices, its symbols etc. so that it can position itself as the champion of Hindu religion. It needs only imagined slights to do so. It will vehemently oppose n deride any debate on its policies or its definition of nationalism. Debate, counter voices, and a different narrative - these are signs of a vibrant democracy but these are threatening to the right wing. The right wing takes the rational legitimate questions posed by civil society, intellectuals etc. and makes these questions look like violent acts against the nation. While its own violent acts against the nation like destruction and killing of persons and goods of minorities, killing of hindu intellectuals like Kalburgi, Dabholkar, Pansare for speaking against superstition; killing of Hindu dalits by upper caste Hindus; Dadri killing; making announcements that it is ok to kill those who eat beef thus dictating the most fundamental of personal choices which is food; changing textbooks and history to favour a divisive anti-scientific agenda; shift in foreign policy favouring colonial powers and corporate interests abandoning morality; an economic agenda that is bent on helping corporates grow at the cost of the poor farmers, labourers and environment, attempts to intimidate and suppress debate in universities, suicide of Rohith Vemula etc. wil be considered as defensive and naturally occurring responses against anti-national forces.

Thus the right wing wants to bring legitimacy to its claim that those who call them fascist or intolerant are the ones deserving these appellations. The right wing wil now claim that its adherents are being persecuted unfairly for imagined slights. They wil continue this hollow cry at imagined enemies until they silence every opposing voice so they can make India into a Hindu Pakistan. Fortunately there are a great many sane voices in India who see through their agenda and are bravely struggling to build an India that is inclusive, pluralistic n secular; an India free of poverty, corruption n greed; an India where everyone has equal  access to quality education healthcare n food - the INDIA of our freedom fighters.