Arundhanti Roy- Wild or Worthy
Posted : May 24, 2006 at 11:17 am [IST]
Arundhanti Roy had been surprising Indian intellectual class. She is always one-step ahead of her peers. Booker Prize brought her in prominence. I bought the book-‘The God of Small Things’ and possess it till date. I tried two or three times to go through it, but failed. I couldn’t complete. Perhaps, it didn’t thrill me. Roy joining the Medha Patkar gang further disillusioned me. And then that contempt of court and her imprisonment totally distanced me. I thought she is an elitist but pretends to be someone concerned about the people of street to remain in limelight. This is another way of marketing oneself.
The same Arundhati Roy, the author of ‘The God of Small Things’ is reported to have told a 1,000-strong audience in New York this week that ”India is not a democratic country”. ”The biggest PR myth of all times is that India is a democracy. In reality, it is not.” It happened at a book reading function that Eduardo Galeano, one of Latin America’s most distinguished writers also attended. Was the aggression of the 1997 Booker winner’s speech to dominate the event over Galeano? She suddenly stopped reading ‘The God of Small Things’ midway and declared she wanted to speak on an issue, which had been bothering her for quite some time. She said she was confused, as India was passing through a terrible time. Amidst frequent clapping, she blasted the Indian government. While the whole of Indian diasporas is busy in bringing in the American politicians to India’s side, Arundhanti Roy is busy in impressing American intellectuals that India is no democracy. By saying so, does she want to impress upon Americans that their President’s decision to be nearer to the largest democracy of the world is a farce and useless?
Roy went on to predict even the possibility of civil war in India. ”There is no real democracy in India. Several states in India are on the verge of civil war.”
Roy blatantly challenged the much-acclaimed views of columnist Thomson Friedman praising India, a democracy of a billion population, for conducting peaceful elections year after year: ”He probably needs a new tour of India… Does Thomas know that in Kashmir Valley alone, some 80,000 people have been killed? In Iraq, there are 1,50,000 military personnel, whereas in Kashmir Valley there are some 7,00,000.” How has she simplified the whole thing to get to her conclusions?
Roy also included the Bush administration in her attacks; perhaps the subject goes very easily down the throat of American audience. ”Bush visit was the most humiliating experience of my life. The venue for Bush’s address changed from Parliament to Vigyan Bhawan to Metro Park, and he finally ended up addressing India from a Zoo. I am not joking. This is reality and the giraffes were disappointed.” Was it only to get the laughter from the audience?
Roy did not spare even the PM. She didn’t agree with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s views in his lecture at the Oxford University praising Britain for all the good things that India has, like its democracy, judiciary and bureaucracy. To her, India is a free market meant to steal from the poor and subsidise the rich.
I have only one thing to ask her. Will she like to go China and say the same thing? Is it not she can do and what ever she feels like only because India is a democracy that the whole world can envy? I don’t know what she would have or would say if by the god’s grace she happens to get a Nobel.
Oh, she’s so wonderful, that Ms Roy
The gorgeous Chinese
- Indra
Category: Government Policy/Administration |
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