BETWEEN THE LINES OF PITRODA’S DECLASSIFICATION OF INDIANS PITRODA’S ‘IDEA OF INDIANS’ BECOMES A BEE IN THE BJP’S BONNET

Prime Minister Narendra Modi couldn’t have been more thrilled than when Indian Overseas Congress head Sam Pitroda spoke. On May 8, Modi feigned anger and outrage and gave Indians reason to feel divided after Sam Pitroda did what he thought was an honest classification of Indians and Modi declassified, i.e., separated Indians into racist cliques and slots by pointing out the alleged divisive agenda of the Congress in Sam’s assessment. By evening, Sam had resigned from his post and the entire lot of Indians was talking in scattered bites, and in bits and pieces.

The northeast stared into the mirror and looked for a hint of slant in the eyes. Southward, dark and handsome searched for African in the skin tone, and in the crinkly hair. “Black is beautiful,” said somebody, perhaps the only sane note heard. throughout 24/7. Otherwise, PM Modi’s “Aaj Mei Bahut Gusse Mei Hun” spread like wildfire with BJP leaders echoing Modi like trained parrots, “Today, I’m very angry.”

What got into Sam Pitroda is a matter of reading between the lines. But it is a historical fact that Africans did take to the sea to land on India’s southern shores and the Arabs of the old had done the same to gain a foothold on India’s west coast. As for stating that north Indians looked “White” is a fact not lost on anyone.

And if any group of people look the Chinese in the eye – even the Japanese, for that matter – it is Indians of the northeast. Why, till recently as half a decade ago, Indians everywhere had been making merry branding northeast Indians “chinky” every time a Naga, Mizo, Meghalayan, Manipuri crossed their path. Now to act self-righteous is a crock of you know what.

Also, to this day, calling all south Indians “madrasi” is a fashionable aside for north Indians of all hues. And “tere ghar mei talcum powder nahi hai?” follows the “madrasi” everywhere he goes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi harking back to Lord Krishna’s dark skin is an excuse for the “Goras” of north India. Suffice to say that on May 8, the Gujaratis came clean. The Congress party’s Sam Pitroda is the third most famous Gujarati after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Having said that, comparing Indians of various regions in India with people of various ethnicities isn’t casting racist slurs on them. The Africans aren’t complaining. The Arabs aren’t throwing tantrums. The ‘Whites’ aren’t taking it as an insult. The Chinese probably welcome Pitroda’s comparison of northeastern Indians with the Chinese as it forwards a Chinese agenda. But should India worry for as long as northeast Indians stand firm with India? Like the folks of Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh-Leh. Pitroda spoke out of turn and is now slurring in the confines of his four-walls in the United States. Then again, whoever in the Congress thought the day would come when Sam Pitroda of all people would fall foul of his own tongue?

The Congress realized the damage was done and it called for damage control. Sam will resurface some or the other day, but for now, he and the Congress are better off without Sam calling the shots. It is another matter that Rahul Gandhi is taking all the hits. Sam was Rahul’s mentor and Sam organized Rahul’s foreign itinerary, where he will speak, what he will speak etcetera, etcetera.

Sam won’t be missed though because he faces only a short cutoff date – June 4. Whether the Congress wins or loses, in both cases, Sam Pitroda will be back in action. If it is Congress victory, Sam Pitroda will be all over the mediascape. But meantime Sam Pitroda’s “controversies” are in currency. “We are a shining example of democracy in the world…we could hold a country together as diverse as India where people in the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arab, people in the North look like maybe white and people in the South look like Africa. Doesn’t matter, we are all brothers and sisters,” Sam dug his grave with that.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma kept the hurt-angry look on his face throughout the day. “Sam bhai, I am from the North East and I look like an Indian. We are a diverse country – we may look different but we are all one. Hamare desh ke bare mein thoda to samajh lo!” Biswa Sarma failed to realize that his statement and Sam’s so-called misplaced conclusion were of the same intent – “we may not look the same but we all are one.”

BJP gadfly Kangana Ranaut was also at Sam’s throat, haranguing him for the “racist and divisive jibes for Indians” and while at it taking potshots at Rahul Gandhi for his “divide & rule” ideology. In Kangana’s book, Sam had divided Indians with his “racial classification of Indians living in different parts of India.” Ranaut, if she wins her way to the Lok Sabha, could be the next Smriti Irani in Modi’s Council of Ministers and it will not be because she looks like a film star.

Sam’s problem is that Sam jumps the gun. Sam jumped the gun with his support and advocacy for a redistribution of wealth and inheritance tax, both of which were made into election issues by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for whom reading Sam Pitroda’s mind has become a hobby. Sam Pitroda seems to be short on patience and his comments have cost the Congress and the INDI-Alliance.

Pitroda also faced flak for his “so what” remark on the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots. Prime Minister Modi condemned the comment and linked it to Rahul Gandhi. Pitroda questioned the Balakot airstrikes and called for Indo-Pak dialogue after the Pulwama attack. And, very recently, Pitroda said temples will not solve unemployment and inflation. BJP called him ‘Hinduphobic.’ In between, Pitroda pointed out that Jawaharlal Nehru and not BR Ambedkar contributed more to drafting of the Constitution. The BJP called him ‘anti-Dalit.’ Sam Pitroda makes molehills that then become mountains.