{"id":509,"date":"2016-06-20T03:35:27","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T03:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=509"},"modified":"2016-06-20T03:35:27","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T03:35:27","slug":"om-puri-pakistan-indian-army-uri-pakistani-artists-fawad-khan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=509","title":{"rendered":"No Country For Rationalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T<\/span>he Rational Choice Theory is an economic principle that states that individuals always make prudent and logical decisions. These decisions provide people with the greatest benefit or satisfaction \u2014 given the choices available \u2014 and are also in their highest self-interest.\n\nIt\u2019s at play in matters of personal importance like choosing a nursery school for our children where we would make our choice on rational things like say facilities and location rather than colour of the uniform. But what happens when we try to be rationalists outside our homes, in matters that concern the country? Bollywood actor Om Puri got the answer to this question the hard way.\n\nPuri made the grave mistake of rationalising the idea of joining the Indian Army. (Bad timing Mr Puri. Logic is something you should steer clear of when keyboard warriors double up as experts on foreign policy and are busy redefining nationalism.) He called it a job. (Pause for shock here.) By calling it a job, he hinted that reasons like lifetime employment, subsidised accommodation, free rations, house building allowance, Canteen Stores Department facilities, Old Monk at \u20b9100, and other tangible perks weigh in, in their decision-making. So do the intangible perks of respect and an increase in attractiveness levels to the opposite sex. How dare he? The hyper-nationalists would like to believe that none of this matters.\n\nAnd yet the truth is it does. I\u2019m not questioning the patriotism of those who join the army and devote their lives to serving the country, but most are also making a career choice, keeping the pros in mind just as they are keeping track of the cons \u2013 the lack of a normal life and the off-chance that you get killed.\n\nAnd yes, of course, these men and women enlist knowing the dangers the job entails. Also knowing that danger is what makes the glory. There is a reason that night watchmen don\u2019t get state honours.\n<\/p>

Rationalism has been surgically stricken by nationalism, but it is a voice that needs to be heard.<\/blockquote>\nThe nation is up in arms against Om Puri\u2019s rationalism. His questions, flowing from the above rationale, have become the basis of an official complaint, a sedition case. \u201cDid we force them to join the army,\u201d he asked. \u201cMy father was also in the army… We are proud of them (soldiers)… I am asking you: Do you want India and Pakistan to become Israel and Palestine?\u201d\n\nDo you want India and Pakistan to become Israel and Palestine?\n\nThese are important, pertinent questions. Why is a Bollywood actor asking them? Why aren\u2019t journalists? The discourse on the idiot box has reached such levels of stupidity, that mainstream news anchors aren\u2019t really interested in peace anymore, or the safety of those who were martyred, because they want war, which, if anyone wants to know, means more soldiers will die.\n\nIndulge me for a moment, what is a better way to commemorate the martyred? Asking for a war to avenge them so that we let more sons of India walk toward their death or actually try to make sure Uri doesn\u2019t happen again?\n\nBut there is no room for rationalism in this time of rabid nationalism. \u201cAnti-national\u201d Kejriwal too is at the receiving end of social media hate yet again for \u201cinsulting the army<\/a>\u201d because he asked the PM to \u201cunmask the false propaganda of Pakistan\u201d, which translates to \u201cpointing his ugly fingers towards our beloved army\u201d and \u201cbeing a member of a Pakistani political party\u201d. Calling him a black spot was not enough. In spirit of true nationalism his face had to be blackened. And so ink<\/a> was thrown.\n\nSo blinded are the nationalists of today that even uttering the words Indian Army and Pakistani artistes in the same sentence is considered sacrilege. Javed Akhtar questioned the silence of Pakistani actors on the Uri attacks, which makes you think he\u2019s condemning Fawad Khan and the gang. And that should really be okay. But the patriot is hard to please and Akhtar has been accused of being diplomatic and amply saving his \u201cMuslim Paki brothers\u201d.\n\nRationalism has been surgically stricken by nationalism, but it is a voice that needs to be heard. Nationalism can be poisonous if it doesn\u2019t accommodate those who have a different world view.\n\nLike that of Puri\u2019s.\n\nPuri should\u2019ve asked why despite patriotism levels reaching an all-time high, over 50,000 positions lie vacant in the Indian armed forces<\/a>? Puri should\u2019ve asked why government after government delayed One Rank, One Pension for the armed forces. Isn\u2019t that directly going to reduce the confidence of our jawans? He should\u2019ve asked why do about 100 soldiers commit suicide<\/a> every year? Puri should have asked when veterans are protesting for OROP, why is it that our nationalists go into hibernation?\n\nWhat Puri does not know, is that questioning the institution of the army (not the patriotism of the jawan), being governed by a political party who made its bones with patriotic fervour is not good for business.\n\nFor all the patriotic fervour in our government and its spokespersons, the fact is that acche din remain nothing but a pipe dream for our jawans. And when the nationalist fever is over, the jawan will once again retreat from public consciousness.\n\nAnd we\u2019ll go back to a place, where the depression, sacrifice, and patriotism of our army men become secondary to Ranbir Kapoor\u2019s dating life and the number of sandwiches Indrani Mukerjea eats in jail.\n\n\u00a0\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So blinded are the nationalists of today that even uttering the words Indian Army and Pakistani artistes in the same sentence is considered sacrilege.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[768,769,770,262,771,732],"class_list":["post-509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pov","tag-fawad-khan","tag-indian-army","tag-om-puri","tag-pakistan","tag-pakistani-artists","tag-uri"],"yoast_head":"\nNo Country For Rationalists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So blinded are the nationalists of today that even uttering the words Indian Army and Pakistani artistes in the same sentence is considered sacrilege.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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