I generally like social media. I post a lot on it, especially TikTok. Instagram is a bit pointless to me with its pictures of vacations and food and clothes. Twitter I post on but get little engagement. LinkedIn I love.
So when this past week I was told by a normally intelligent person that Shah Rukh Khan had spat on the ashes of the beloved Lataji, I knew instantly what the person was talking about.
I’d seen a bunch of posts on social media already. All nonsense because even a child with an IQ of 10 would know that firstly no one would do such a thing let alone someone who obviously respects the deceased and moreover another ounce of thought would allow you to judge it must be a Muslim tradition to blow on ashes.
Now I don’t need to have Mensa level IQ to come to that conclusion. You do not need the wisdom of Solomon either.
There are few things on social media which can so easily show bias, hatred. This was a prime example. Others who came to the same conclusion as me labelled those calling it spitting as ‘bhakts’, Modi-fans; Hindu fanatics.
They let themselves down and through their thoughts let down Hindus everywhere for they revealed a knee-jerk hate at worse and bias at best.
Oh sure, they didn’t go out and murder someone. So let’s keep level headed in a way they were not. What they did is damage the reputation of that which they seek to protect the most. That is the characteristic of a fanatic. They play into the hands of those they dislike – in this case liberal secularists who doubtless they dislike, and harm the reputation of what they claim to love the most.
When Christians were persecuted, some would have a code word to prove their faith. It was the word ‘Shibboleth’ because it was considered one which only those of the faith would be able to get their tongue around.
The viral video of Shah Rukh Khan is a shibboleth of someone having Hindu beliefs and someone claiming to but damaging the faith.
What has Hindu got to do with it? What has Shah Rukh’s faith got to do with it? No one mentioned it but you Alpesh, you are the biased one?
Well, let me put it this way, at University I was once shown the electoral poster of a far right US candidate standing in Alabama with a picture of a white hand giving food to a black boy. I said to my tutor, what makes you think that is meant to be racist or provocative.
He looked at me in incredulity. He reminded me of my work experience including visits to CIA and the concept of ‘plausible deniability’ – do something wrong as long as you have some plausible believable way of denying it. This was the plausible deniability game. But we’re not stupid.
Anyone claiming that the video of Shah Rukh Khan paying his respects to Lataji was disrespectful fails the Shibboleth test of being Hindu. They are claiming plausible deniability of their true underlying motivations.
Yes, but Alpesh, what about all the Hindus murdered and persecuted for decades and today? To that I say, ‘a girl was raped in India and her whole village egged on the perpetrators. Why don’t you go and solve that problem first. Or are you too busy in WhatsApp and Google?’
Judgement is the most valuable asset any person can possess. Develop it, I want you to be my kind of Hindu.
