The Irony of Varun Gandhi
Varun Gandhi is in the dock. He has been saying things on his campaign that would send shivers in any one’s spine. We have had enough of hate filled massacres, let’s not create another round of it. We need to get out of all this. A lot people have misgivings against others, and that’s ok. But the right way is to do better than that incite the crowd to kill. People should be inspired to become better human beings.
And strangely his anger was not just against the Muslims, but also Sikhs! In fact a 70 year old Sikh veteran of BJP was asked to leave one of the meets that Varun Gandhi addressed.[1]
It must be really tough for this young man of 29, to carry a name that symbolizes power but with no rewards. All the rewards have gone to the heirs of the most unlikely son – Rajiv Gandhi! While heirs of Sanjay, who was called the heir apparent of Indira Gandhi, are languishing as rank “outsiders”.
I find Varun Gandhi’s actions sad, pitiful and also ironic!
Ironic because:
there have been enough stories doing the rounds of internet which explain how (i) Feroze Gandhi was a Muslim – who was “represented” as a Parsi, after Nehru hypocritically refused to accept a Muslim as his son-in-law and Gandhi eventually “adopted” him and gave his last name.. and (ii) that Sanjay’s main feud with Indira was because he was going to let out that his real father was NOT Feroze but Mohammad Yunus! So, if that were so, then Varun Gandhi is after all, at least partly a Muslim if not completely!
and even if all that is indeed just imaginative thinking, then still, Feroze Gandhi was really a Parsi. So there is a strong minority blood stream running in Varun Gandhi.
And now lets go closest to him – his Mother – Maneka Gandhi. She is a Sikh! That means Varun Gandhi has more minority blood running in him than “Hindu blood”.
What would make such a young man – with strong bonds to minority communities start spewing venom against the minorities? And he is not an uneducated and stupid young kid – he has been educated at London School of Economics (just as Feroze Gandhi had been). Therefore he knows exactly what he is upto!
In any case, BJP will do well to get such unstable characters who cannot perform on the National stage out of the party, if it has to be a long term alternative. BJP as a whole does have lots to offer as an alternative to Congress and Communists, and I feel it should be able to demostrate that strength. Not the imbalanced minds in its ranks.
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