{"id":3905,"date":"2014-11-08T14:07:05","date_gmt":"2014-11-08T08:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?p=3905"},"modified":"2014-11-08T14:32:34","modified_gmt":"2014-11-08T09:02:34","slug":"haider-a-response-to-a-soldiers-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2014\/politics\/haider-a-response-to-a-soldiers-letter.html\/","title":{"rendered":"“Haider” – A Response to a Soldier’s Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lot of people are calling the movie “Haider” anti-national. In fact, an ex-armyman has given his\u00a0perspective<\/a> on why he thinks that way. This is a response to that letter.<\/p>\n

To start off with, I didn’t like Haider. It was boring as hell. I haven’t seen a more boring movie since Citizen Kane. So no one can accuse me of defending a movie just because I like it. With that out of the way, I didn’t see any thing “anti-national” in Haider. Granted,\u00a0I’m not a patriotic person<\/a>, and never will be. But I had heard so much hype about this movie, that I was expecting something explosive. I came out of it disappointed and relieved that the movie was finally over.<\/p>\n

Now it definitely shows some disturbing stuff happening in Kashmir, thanks to the army. Not surprising given that AFSPA is essentially a suspension of fundamental rights. And human beings WILL abuse power when it’s absolute. That’s just the way we’re built. An army consists of soldiers who are human beings. There’s nothing anti-national in admitting that atrocities have occurred and will continue to occur with AFSPA in place.<\/p>\n

Freedom of expression, freedom to live our lives the way we want. Due process. The right to a fair trial. That<\/i> is India.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don’t think anyone can defend some of the things Haider shows. Hauling people off to jail just because they refuse to say “Jai Hind”? I mean hello – Freedom of Expression includes the right to keep quiet. And yes – I know how unfashionable it is to talk about human rights and freedoms these days. But that doesn’t diminish their importance. According to the soldier who wrote the above letter, only a person who hates India can object to such a test.<\/p>\n

I don’t hate India, and\u00a0I object to this “test”.<\/p>\n

He claims to love India, but shows utter contempt for what defines India. Does he think that India is just a set of geographical boundaries? Is\u00a0that<\/em> what makes India special? What sets us apart from our neighbors? What separates India from Pakistan, China, and other Islamic nations?<\/p>\n

Freedom. Freedom of expression, freedom to live our lives the way we want. Due process. The right to a fair trial. That<\/i> is India.<\/p>\n

The author of the letter shows no remorse whatsoever for the Indian army trampling all over the freedoms of Indian citizens. Let me make this clear – if that happens, then the war has already been lost<\/em>. Without our freedoms, there IS\u00a0no India<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Other statements in the post are equally absurd. He says “If someone suffered most severe human-rights violation in history of mankind, it was the Indian Army in Kashmir”<\/em>. Is this rhetoric, or is he serious? I’ll leave you with this link to the 10 worst genocides in history<\/a>. You can decide for yourself whether the Indian army deserves to be a victim on that list.<\/p>\n

In all the “anti-national” accusations regarding Haider, I’ve noticed a complete lack of critical thinking and an unthinking adoration of the Indian army. As if they it\u00a0never do any wrong. Instead of treating them as\u00a0human beings like the rest of us, these individuals elevate the army to a god-like status. And that, in my view is completely wrong.<\/p>\n

No one seems to be examining Haider for its\u00a0accuracy<\/em>. Only on whether or not the facts it portrays shows the army in a bad light. And when we stop talking about facts and instead try and hide them or shape those facts to conform to a certain image we have, we’ve already lost the battle.<\/p>\n

I suggest we stop referring to Kashmir as part of India if we can’t protect the rights of citizens. Rights to a fair trial, right to due process. Right to freedom of Expression. Let’s just call Kashmir (and other North East states with AFSPA) occupied territory. Let’s not besmirch the\u00a0name of India by claiming as territory, an area where we’ve abandoned all the ideals<\/i> of India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A soldier claims Haider is “anti-national”. It’s not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-rights-and-freedoms"],"yoast_head":"\n"Haider" - A Response to a Soldier's Letter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A soldier claims Haider is "anti-national". 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