Yet another Rebuttal to ‘Secular Hypocrite’ Jug Suraiya

Response to Jug Suraiya(second Opinion)

Times of India – 24 mar 2010

Jug Suriaya has baptized MF Husain as ‘Hindu’ Husain?’(TOI 24th march).
It fails my comprehension why the ‘secularists’ are laboring to prove
the point that Husain is secular and had no evil design to denigrate
Hindu gods and Goddesses. The author picks up a new line of defense for
the artist. ‘The basis of Hinduism of what has been labeled as Hinduism
is the opposite of zero tolerance: it is infinite tolerance. There are
almost as many Hinduisms as there are Hindus; it is a designer
religion..’ So we are reminded that in its infinite tolerance Husain
can and must be allowed to express his perverted sexual expressions
using Gods and Goddesses that is the litmus test of infinite tolerance
according to Jug Suriya. MF Husain’s parampara is one Book, one faith,
one path, one congregation, one god and Islam forbids any pictorial
depiction of the Prophet . So the parampara of Husain does not believe
in artists and their freedom or for that matter any kind of personal
freedom. Does that mean that he needs to operate the freedoms denied to
him by his own religion on the ‘designer religion’ –Hinduism thus
qualifying to becoming Hindu Husian? Simply because Hinduism is a
travesty of a myriad threaded fabric woven and rewoven for thousands of
years by the waft and the woof of rites and rituals of conventions and
norms, of cults and god experiences of thousands of rishis it can be
stretched to accommodate Husain’s vulgarization of what is held holy
and sacred by the Hindus of all the Hinduisms? A person from zero
tolerance faith and belief -one will expect to have some restraint in
beholding this fabric so artistical and religiously and patiently woven
for centuries. Can he so carelessly and ruthlessly tear it asunder?
What is blasphemy according to his religion becomes infinite tolerance
and hence valid namely to caricature and paint Hindu gods and
goddesses. The Freedom gagged and denied to him by his own religion
which he religiously abides by does not stop him from painting God and
Goddesses in the nude but leads him with his brush  to vulgarization
and denigrate them. No matter what Jug Suraiya accedes to as ‘strength’
of Hinduism –the designer religion will not and cannot accommodate such
perversity.

Jug Suraiya very artfully tries to tell us that the ‘strength’ in
Hinduism is its infinite tolerance and by protesting Hinduism becomes
weak. There are two aspects to this:-He wants us to accommodate
Husain’s perversion under the ‘infinitely tolerant religion of
Hinduism-.Husain the firm believer of zero tolerance cannot function to
give full expression to his artistic freedom in his religion. The
restraints of which he abides by to make him a good Muslim. Here there
is no written restraints-Hinduism does not go by the Book rules but
calls upon each individual to a self imposed discipline does not mean
there is no discipline. Freedom to perceive and experience god in one’s
own way is entirely different kind of infinite tolerance. One does not
have to look to god though another’s eyes-nor does one’s experience be
limited to another’s god experience. This is the infinite tolerance of
Hinduism-the many paths that lead to the Ultimate. Such an infinite
tolerance is on a different plane. It is not operational in allowing
freedom to maine, brutalize and denigrate the Hindu gods and goddesses.
For example the UK has no written Constitution, does it mean there are
no rights and no Parliamentary democracy-when compared to those which
have written constitutions I would say that UK’s parliamentary
democracy is more disciplined and vibrant.

Similarly, Jug Suraiya cannot use the absence of a Book-of written
rules and regulations as to what amounts to blasphemy as a license for
unrestraint freedom of expression-freedom to hurt the religious
sentiments of the Hindus. And all the secularists brand this infinitely
tolerant Hindus as bigots, and Husain has an array of ‘secular’
apologists who are vociferously, through the media-both electronic and
print, holding out the view that it is almost the duty of this
infinitely tolerant Hinduisms to allow Husain to brandish his brush and
disfigure that tapestry of a myriad threads woven beautifully depicting
the facets of the One omni presence as Gods and Goddesses-of this
‘designer religion.

And to allow such jihadi by brush under the Right to Freedom of
Expression.. Jug Suraiya goes one step further-he wants the travesty of
a myriad threads fabric to be shredded and torn apart when he warns
that a militant Hinduism will rob Hinduism of its breath of tolerance.
So what? If militant religions like Islam and Christianity can flourish
be appreciated as ‘secular’and pampered to I do not see the need to
continue this infinitely tolerant Hinduism in the face of zero
tolerance and be branded as bigotry and communal. If the Kashmiri
pandits were killed and driven out of their homes till date not
rehabilitated what is the use of this infinite tolerance. Using this
infinite tolerance to block and blotch human rights and community
rights is no way of making a case to uphold this breath of Hinduism
–tolerance. When zero tolerance cannot allow infinitely tolerant Hindus
of Hinduisms their own homes and hearths? So Jug Suraiya’s premise to
test the strength of Hinduism by allowing anything and anyone to do
anything and everything under the garb of its infinite tolerance is a
bad case. It cannot co-exist.

And the brief for Husain does not end here-Jug Suriaya has elevated his
client as an example-his testimony to the capacity of tolerance of
Hinduism-that in it there can be no scandalous liberties to be
censored-MF Husain becomes a Hindu and a good one too-by his adherence
to the zero tolerance of his own religion Islam he becomes a good
Muslim also. Eat the cake and have it too-policy. Do to others what you
expect others to do to you-is also a Book faith diktat is conveniently
overlooked. How very succinctly Jug Suraiya has led us down the path
with such carrots.. and full praise for ‘Hinduisms’ and its strength.
In its strength lies the message not to fight-not to face the
challenge-look the other way no matter what is done to you and your
gods and goddesses. No matter the insults and the injuries your
strength is to allow such things. This is a strange advice and message
to uphold Freedoms. It is an aberration of Freedom. Too long this
infinite tolerance has been exploited and too long the Hindus have
thought that ‘strength’ means to look the way. It is time to stem the
rot and it is time to face the challenge and expect everyone, artist or
no artist to abide by the law of the land-irrespective of religion and
age. We are a secular society and religious rules must be subsumed in
civil law and civil liberties. You cannot use one’s religious laws for
some and civil laws for others, All Indian citizens must and should
fall under one law and thus will Justice and Truth be upheld.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara

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