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The Rise of Fascism in Modern India
“There’s something pitiable about a people that constantly bemoans its leaders. If they’ve let us down, it’s only because we’ve allowed them to. It could be argued that civil society has failed its leaders as much as leaders have failed civil society. We have to accept that there is a dangerous, systemic flaw in our parliamentary democracy that politicians will exploit. ” – Arundhati Roy, The Algebra of Infinite Injustice.
Today, Indian politics often seems to be just another topic to joke about at the dinner table. Something for the Eastern world to laugh at and the Western world to stare at, utterly confused. If an outsider is looking for anything else to be confused about in India (other than of course the religious hypocrisy and the various vernaculars), he can find it in politics. For me, as an outsider-insider Indian looking at my own nation from half way across the world.. you can only imagine my confusion. Read the rest of this entry »
Today I finally got a chance to hear Arundhati Roy’s speech called “Instant Mix: Imperial Democracy (Buy One Get One Free).” It was amazing. For those of you who are not familiar with Arundhati Roy, she is a writer who won the Booker prize for her novel, “The God Of Small Things.” She has since then written numerous articles that advocated peace and equality. This speech was given in NYC about 4 years ago but surprisingly, it still holds true today. I can’t believe nothing has changed yet. When will the change come? The empire just grows and the others continue to be crushed little by little..
The speech was as hilarious as it was serious… as thought-provoking as it was funny. Roy’s narration was simple and her voice was subtle yet her message was strong. Every sentence said by her was absolutely true.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6TCV8swmrE
Speech Text: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0518-01.htm
Arundhati Roy is amazing. Listen to her speech or read her words, they won’t leave your heart. We are great people. Let’s change. Now.
What they said..