A campaign to vilify individuals, especially Muslims who stood for the integrity and values of the country, has now taken a new form with rabid Islamists backed by our ‘liberal-secular’ media openly demeaning them. A similar hatred campaign against former President APJ Abdul Kalam has now begun with Islamists and left-wing propagandists openly abusing him by writing derogatory articles to question his contributions to the country.
In its 17th February 2020 print edition, Outlook magazine has given space to one Omair Ahmed who has declared that former President APJ Abdul Kalam was no ‘hero’ of the country as he ‘merely obeyed his political masters’. Ahmed went on to question the heroics of one of our greatest scientists by asking is it because Kalam gave great ‘phallic symbols’ to the nation that he is celebrated as a hero in the country. Earlier, journalist Sagarika Ghose had also referred to Kalam as ‘bomb daddy‘.
Read: This article from 2002 written by Sagarika Ghose gave me cancer
According to Ahmed, the missiles which were developed by APJ Abdul Kalam represented ‘phallic symbols’. Shockingly, the writer, who seems to have radical Islamic thoughts, went on to make lewd comments by asking whether Kalam was a hero for the right-wingers of the country as he did not use his own ‘phallic symbols’. Former President was a celibate and he never married.
Ahmed, whose only accomplishment in his life seems to be foul-mouthing successful individuals, goes on to declare that former APJ Abdul Kalam was no hero but was rather a weight and a burden forced upon the people to keep them silent and accept the status quo.
Read: When APJ Abdul Kalam was called a ‘Muslim in name only’ by Muslim ‘intellectuals’
“The stories of heroes inspire; the tale that is told of APJ is only a weight, a burden forced upon a people to keep them silent and make them know their place so they never upset the status quo. He is no hero, merely a prophylactic against the rise of real ones,” writes Omair Ahmed.
It is no surprise today that a section of Islamists masquerading as intellectuals and ‘journalists’ are showing their true colours by openly exhibiting their radical beliefs. APJ Abdul Kalam, despite being a Muslim never openly displayed his religious identity nor used it to propagate his own faith upon others. For Islamists like Ahmed, Abdul Kalam’s expression of being an Indian rather than Muslims is never unacceptable.
When the ‘masterpiece’ written by Ahmed somehow made it to social media netizens questioned Outlook’s intent to publish such as baseless articles.
Following the outrage, Ruben Banerjee – the Editor-in-Chief of Outlook, stepped into the scene and claimed that it was an editorial oversight. He said they were carrying an apology for it.
Contrarian views are fine but it cannot become derogatory or personal. We at @Outlookindia did fail in our duty for which we sincerely apologise. pic.twitter.com/v8M8hWsaWn
— Ruben Banerjee (@Rubenbanerjee) February 12, 2020
“Our gatekeeping failed,” wrote the editor, while apologising for abusing Abdul Kalam, an event that seemed to be deliberate. Ruben Banerjee also claimed that they failed in their duty and apologised for the same.
