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What is Team India’s number 4 conundrum?

Anant Chetan
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What is Team India’s number 4 conundrum?

As soon as Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the tournament because of a fractured thumb, a Pandora box of India’s incompetence opened up. India is literally figuring out its playing XI for the world’s biggest cricket tournament during the tournament.

They say they are struggling with a “number 4 batsman” i.e. a batsman who could bat at number 4 after Kohli. Is batting at number 3 any easier than batting at number 4? Why can’t a batsman batting at number 6 bat at number 4? What is the difference? What is so peculiar about batting at number 4? If we find the answer to this question we might see why everything is not right with team India. What is this number 4 conundrum? 

Indians have started judging the players too much on the basis of some stats and have started ignoring the core cricketing skills. We look at averages, strike rates, runs, boundaries and many other things. The problem here is that statistics can’t define a player or rather they aren’t enough to profile a player. For example, if you compare the performances of India’s opening pair in India vs Pak game, most of us would call KL Rahul’s innings too slow. After all, he played with a strike rate of 73 and Rohit Sharma played with the strike rate of 123. But who faced Mohammad Amir the most in his first spell? It was KL Rahul. Rohit Sharma played most of the balls from Hasan Ali, who is nowhere close to Amir when it comes to lethal bowling. And even with this Sharma gave four inside edges that raced to the boundary. It is way more easy to score runs against Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali as compared to Mohammad Amir. You don’t look at the stats that tell you which player played which bowler and in which overs while making a judgement. Or which player scored how many runs out of lucky edges. Do You?

Likewise, stats don’t tell you in which overs did the batsmen bat. For instance – Kedar Jadhav who was recently dropped, he actually never got a chance to showcase his batting skills in this tournament. Except for one game, in all other matches he came to bat when only a few overs were left. You can very well find these stats, but it would simply be an overwhelming amount of data, making it very difficult to reach a conclusion.

India tried or is trying to play with players like Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Mayank Agarwal, who have negligible if not zero international exposure. I am not saying that they are not talented, I am pointing out to the fact that India plays around 30 One Day Internationals in a year, what happened to the other batsmen who were playing for India in international matches for past four years? Why didn’t India come with the tried and tested players like Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Raydu or Manish Pandey? Yes, you can again find flaws in their stats, but the players you brought had no stats at all. It is like make Kejriwal the prime minister because Modi is not 100%. The world cup is not a tournament to launch new players. Is it? Or did the IPL’s 20 over performance and glamour took precedence over the 50 over skills?

There is a reason as to why India could not find middle order batsmen. To explain it better, let us look at the last game India played in the world cup, against Sri Lanka. India had still not found its number 4 batsmen. However, the match against SL could have been used to find one. How? By resting its key players like Virat kohli or Rohit Sharma. India had nothing to lose, even if they lost the game, they were already in the top four. They could have asked Rishabh Pant to open the innings and Mayank Agarwal or DK to come one down. Playing Lasith Malinga would have given some necessary exposure to the new players and some hint to the team management as to if these players can deliver in a crisis. The problem is if you keep the top three fixed, they would play most of the overs, you won’t be able to test other batsmen at all. The only difference between playing at number 4 and playing at number 6 or 7 is the age of the ball the batsman plays with. India did the same all around the year, kept the star players in the team and try to experiment with the other players. If you have to test a player for the number four position, you have to make him play in the beginning, with the new ball and against the quality bowlers. It won’t help if the player comes to bat at number 4 but in the 30th or 40th over.

Indian senior players did not see anything beyond their personal records and the team management never saw anything beyond the rankings of the team.

ICC’s revolutionary move after 2011 World Cup of introducing two new balls from the two ends in an inning amplified this number 4 crisis. ICC’s aim was to make the middle overs more interesting and it did make the middle overs exciting. This move was coupled with shrinking the boundaries making it easier for the technically sound batsmen to score runs by pure cricketing shots like driving the ball, playing with the straight bat, using wrists and opening the face of the bat. Technically sound batsmen like Virat Kohli have successfully utilized these new rules. They are crunching runs like never before. However at the very same time, since the balls are never older than 25 overs now, it makes it even more difficult for pinch hitters to hit the bowl against quality bowling attack.

The problem occurs when the top order batsmen fail to perform. When I say fail, I don’t mean failing to score runs, I mean failing to stay on the crease for long enough. The pinch hitters or the hard hitters are simply incompetent to bat with a new shinning, quick ball. Playing with an old ball is relatively easy as compared to playing with a new ball. The people who have played cricket at even a club level would straight away agree with me. The same goes for the bowlers. If the strike bowlers of the team fail to take wickets or build pressure on the opposite team, the average bowlers don’t seem to be effective at all.

We see these two effects in Indian team every now and then. If the top three batsmen fail, the complete batting order collapses like a pack of cards. If one of the strike bowlers has a bad day, the captain is found searching for the bowlers in the team and end up bowling himself. This inadequacy of the team is politely called as Being Unpredictable.

India is taking hitters a little too seriously compared to technically sound players. If a player scores most of his runs by brute hitting force or scores most of his runs in Mid Wicket or Mid On (without using wrists), he should probably be sidelined. They are called “leg lapeta“, ESPN Cric Info actually added one such words in their list of local cricket words, “Lappa” which means “A wild swing of the bat, or a slog towards the leg side”. I think the Indian National team deserves better than Lappas. Technical batsmen can produce better results. If you look at Ind VS Aus, the only game that India won against a good team (against Eng we lost, with NZ the game was washed out), the top three batsmen scored 256 runs of 256 balls. By the time hitters came, the ball was already soft enough. Unfortunately, Shikhar Dhawan is not there to play with the new ball. Now we are dependent on only three players, out of which, Rohit Sharma gets a lot of edges and nicks. If he gets unlucky we lose the game.

Why don’t the teams send their pinch hitters (hard hitters) in the first ten overs during the power play? There are only two players outside the circle and hence the hitters won’t find a catcher in the deep while playing a lofted shot. It would make more sense. Wouldn’t it? Or why do a team’s best bowlers open the bowling attack? Why don’t we let the spinners open the bowling attack? The age of the ball!

I see a lot of people upset with the way Dhoni is batting. I don’t understand why. He was always a brilliant keeper, a brilliant strategist or captain and a brilliant hitter. He is still the same, but somehow people started expecting long innings from him. He won’t be able to do that with the ball not being old enough and on English pitches, it is simply not his skill set. He was a finisher and he is still a finisher, let him come after say 40 overs and he will be the finisher you are looking for. But if you expect him to play in the fifteenth over like a top-order batsman, he won’t be able to do much. His is the classic case where you misread the stats and profile of a player. Virat Kohli failed to do what Dhoni did before 2011 world cup; get rid of some popular faces. The team is currently playing with three wicketkeepers in the playing XI for starters, that’s a joke in the name of a balanced team.

As and when technique, skills of the players are given precedence against his performance in IPL or his personal records or glamour quotient, India would find its number 4. Finding number 4 is simply finding a reliable batsman. Most of the people who played even the very basic club cricket or are actively involved in professional cricket already know the things I mentioned. The question then arises, why isn’t anything being done in this regard.

The first explanation that comes to my mind is that cricket in India has become more of a source of entertainment for some & money for others rather than cricket as a sport. Indian Cricket authority is more interested in the means of generating revenue rather than winning the final of a big tournament. They would want India to reach the semifinals, and that’s it.

 

(This article was written before the India-New Zealand semi-final match)

Dhoni ‘prays’ into the bat as Indian cricket team’s top order collapses in India v New Zealand World Cup semi final

OpIndia Staff
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Dhoni ‘prays’ into the bat as Indian cricket team’s top order collapses in India v New Zealand World Cup semi final

Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the man every Indian cricket fan is pining their hopes on at this point. India lost wickets against New Zealand in quick succession. Dhoni, who was lined up at number 7, is now the only hope for India’s chances at reaching the finals.

Amidst all this, an image of Dhoni from the dressing room has gone viral. In it, Dhoni appears to be praying into or kissing the bat he will be playing with. Soon, netizens donned their funny cap and brought some comic relief in the otherwise tensed match.

Fans were even reminded of the IPL match where Dhoni had done a similar gesture on the field.

Meanwhile, Dhoni is on the field and here’s hoping for the best.

Thumke lagane wali ab BJP ke liye votes layegi’: Women’s commission slaps notice to AAP ally JJP’s Digvijay Chautala over sexist remarks

OpIndia Staff
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Thumke lagane wali ab BJP ke liye votes layegi’: Women’s commission slaps notice to AAP ally JJP’s Digvijay Chautala over sexist remarks

In a controversial remark against dancer Sapna Chaudhary, who had recently joined the BJP, Jannayak Janata Party(JJP) leader Digvijay Chautala said, “Ab thumke lagane wali BJP ke liye votes layegi (Now, a dancer will help the BJP win votes).”

Sapna Chaudhary is a popular Haryanvi dancer and singer. The shocking sexist remark from JJP leader comes two days after she joined the BJP. On Sunday, in presence of several top BJP leaders like former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Delhi city unit chief Manoj Tiwari, Choudhary had joined the BJP.

Speaking in defence of Chaudhary, Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala condemned the remark made by Chautala as ‘inappropriate’ and stated that every artist has a right to express his political affiliations without being unwarrantedly targeted with repugnant statements.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, Digvijay defended his tendentious comments saying such “vulgar” activities are not a part of the culture.

Taking a strong objection to the remark passed by JJP leader, the Haryana Women Commission has issued a notice to the JPP leader and asked him to file a response within three days, failing which an action would be initiated against him. The women commission in the notice sent to Chautala has mentioned that his comments have gravely hurt the dignity of a woman.

Before the Lok Sabha elections, there were many speculations floating claiming the artist might join Congress. Some images of Chaudhury meeting Priyanka Gandhi were circulated claiming that Chaudhary had joined the party. However, Sapna Chaudhary had denied it.

In the past, a similar statement directed towards BJP leader Smriti Irani was made by Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam that had sparked a massive controversy. Actress Jaya Prada, who was a BJP candidate against SP’s Azam Khan in the recent Lok Sabha elections, also had to face such vile and sexist remarks from her opponents.

Farmer commits suicide in Rahul Gandhi’s new constituency, fifth such suicide in 6 months in Wayanad

OpIndia Staff
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Farmer commits suicide in Rahul Gandhi’s new constituency, fifth such suicide in 6 months in Wayanad

A debt-ridden farmer has committed suicide in Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha Constituency in Kerala. This is the fifth suicide in Wayanad 6 months. According to reports, the deceased farmer had taken loans from three banks which he was unable to repay. As a consequence of the huge debt, he took the extreme step.


The farmer has been identified as Chulugod Enkittan. According to his relatives, he committed suicide due to financial liabilities. He was from Marakkadavu in Pulpally of Wayanad. Despite the presence of a river, the area suffers from drought. The cultivation this year was affected by it.

During the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Rahul Gandhi had accused the BJP of ignoring farmer’s distress. However, he had conveniently remained almost silent regarding the misery of the farmers in states where the BJP was not in power.

Even after winning the Assembly Elections in three states in 2018, The Congress party had done very little to address the farmer crisis. Despite Rahul Gandhi’s claims of a farm loan waiver, it benefited the farmers very little and suicides continue to occur. It remains to be seen whether he will address the crisis in Wayanad as the elected Parliamentarian from the constituency.

Gumption, resolve and commitment: Here is to Modi 2.0

Vin Sinners
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Gumption, resolve and commitment: Here is to Modi 2.0

A nation like India represents a collective of diverse ideologies that have, over time blended together in quite a mesmerizing manner.

This is the India I have always believed in. Being a son of a retired Fauji does make it easier though, especially when he had this massive battle scar on his leg to a sport like a trophy of sorts. But he had moved into a different role with the Government just before I was born so I never really lived in a Fauji household but more in the aftermath of one. This new role of his did give me a closer insight into the life of an Indian diplomat as we spent a close to 4 years in Rome, Italy.

During holidays in India, I would get to see and experience a different world; my Mother’s side of the family. A family name of great significance in the eyes of the people of Tamil Nadu. My Grand Uncle (Mom’s Father’s younger brother) was someone everyone knew and revered, worshipped like a God, treated with the utmost respect. His name was M G Ramachandran (MGR).

To me, he was just the guy whose massive portrait hung in the central hall of our family home, this superhero who would beat up bad guys on screen but would somehow never kill them but make them apologize instead.

Summer breaks from boarding school were filled with stories of the man’s great achievements in Tamil Nadu. My grandfather, whom I was extremely close to had wanted his children to pursue regular careers. They were made to work to make their living and were in fact not even allowed to step into politics. My mother was married into a military household while her Sister married a Doctor in the forces which could have so easily been some big movie star, industrialist or politician. It was a choice. A conscious one.

Over time I began to understand and respect that choice. The story of my grandfather and his brother, the famous actor turned politician was of very humble beginnings – having to work their way through the emerging theatre and drama in Madurai to small roles in cinema and eventually breaking through and then one of them becoming a big star. While grandpa chose to pick up character roles or play a villain occasionally (which was hilarious because he couldn’t hurt a mouse), MGR became a demi-God. No. A God. Not to us but to many others.

But none of this meant that any of us cousins had it easy. We worked our way through school like most others. I went to a Christian convent and was the only Hindu singing in a church choir for 4 years. I then went to a school in Chennai that was deep-rooted in Indian culture and tradition. I got to learn shlokas and started to appreciate India and everything Indian a lot more.  We worked through college and pursued careers successfully.  I took up a career in advertising and marketing and created an alter avatar by the name Vin Sinners, an individual with a band ideology. I moved to Dubai in 2005.

Vin Sinners released its 1st album in 2011 and after a brief tour of India in 2013 became the first rock band in the Middle East to be signed to a major label – Universal. The 2nd album was released in 2014. Soon after, being the songwriter for the band, I started to write lyrics that were socially aware and engaging. But music was well…just music. A hobby.

I believe my big wake-up call with regards to India happened in 2004 after I saw a ‘dynast’ family ‘appoint’ a puppet to run the country while they worked their way around from the sidelines. I remember writing on my blog ‘A black day for democracy’. Social media was only just becoming a force of awareness. I had strongly believed that the country had made significant progress under the strong leadership of Shri AB Vajpayee and I could not fathom how the electorate had not seen that. There was obviously a lot more to it.

In the years to follow, I read more, saw more and watched more closely as a once-respected politician was reduced to being a robot on a remote, watched as a young woman was gang-raped in broad daylight, as terrorists attacked our country repeatedly and we did nothing about it, in spite of knowing who was responsible. All we got was a bit of lip service – if that! Then when Anna Hazare started the anti-corruption movement in 2011, I believed in it. I actually believed it would be the face of a change that India so desperately needed. But the moment I saw the political ploy that Arvind Kejriwal pulled, I knew it would die its own death.

And then there was Narendra Modi who was the longest-serving Chief Minister of Gujarat who was now the challenger. I tuned into several channels to see what people said about him and realized that mainstream media abhorred the man. But why did Gujarat repeatedly believe in him? Clearly, if any of the accusations made against him were true, the electorate would reject him. But they didn’t. They repeatedly put him in office for over twelve and a half years. He spoke with conviction, displayed a blueprint for a new India, an inclusive India that could and would not be bullied. He respected Indian traditions but also made himself aware of new age matters like technology, social media etc.

And he came from humble beginnings and worked his way to a position of leadership. No entitlement whatsoever. To me, that ticked all the right boxes.

In Modi’s first tenure, I’ve seen liberals pounce on every little thing done or undone in an attempt to foil his larger plans for the country. The problem with any electorate is that they expect immediate results. While much of the grass-root development that was actually taking place was ignored by the media, the people took note. The media and the opposition chose to take on a leader on the basis of corruption with the Rafale deal and with poor economic growth as an aftereffect of demonetization. They tried to tickle the electorate into thinking of the challenges that so many people felt in the wake of de-mo. But Modi’s strategy was to let time speak for itself. Today, India is the fastest-growing economy in the world and we all know how the ‘chowkidar chor hai’ campaign by Rahul Gandhi was an absolute and total flop show.

Most importantly, the respect that Narendra Modi has for our Armed Forces is something I personally feel tremendous gratitude for. Our men and women, serving on the frontlines, keeping extremist forces at bay are the ones who ensure that 1.3 billion Indians can sleep well at night. His focus on governance and efficiency within the Government is something many Indians have never seen.

Yes, there are still many issues that need to be resolved. Yes, there is still a lot of red tape and yes, there’s still corruption at many levels. But not for long. The gumption, resolve, commitment and dedication that Modi has been able to percolate down to each and every one of his Ministers and bureaucrats is infectious. Very infectious.

This, my friends, is NATION 2.0.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNZgGaSPVnQ]

Poster demanding justice and answers from Rahul Gandhi put up in Amethi ahead of his visit

OpIndia Staff
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Poster demanding justice and answers from Rahul Gandhi put up in Amethi ahead of his visit

Ahead of the first visit of the former Congress party President Rahul Gandhi to Amethi today after his loss in the recent Lok Sabha elections, a poster was reportedly seen outside the local office of the Congress Party. The poster demanded justice for the family of a person who allegedly lost his life in a hospital in Amethi run by Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust.

The poster also sought the answers from Rahul Gandhi who is one of the trustees of the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust. It had slogans like “Nyay do Nyay do” (Give us justice, give  us justice), ‘Mere parivar ko nyay do” (Give justice to my family), “Doshiyo ko saza do” (Punish the guilty)and “Rahul Gandhi jawab do” (Rahul Gandhi give us answers) printed on it.

The poster further alleged, “Iss aspataal me zindagi bachai nahi gawai jati hai” (Lives are not saved but lost in this hospital). No name was mentioned on the posters and it only had “peedit parivar” (victim family) written at the end of it.

However, the Congress Party has alleged that the posters are a BJP conspiracy. “Now Smriti Irani has been elected from here. Such an act had been done by BJP men earlier also”, said District Congress Spokesperson, Anil Singh.

The Gandhi scion who recently tendered his resignation from the post of Congress President has been representing Amethi since 1999. He was defeated by BJP’s Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Smriti Irani had earlier lashed out at the Congress party when a man had died after he was allegedly denied treatment at this hospital in the month of May this year because he was holding an Ayushman Bharat card.

#BJPKidnapsMLAs What a time to be alive!

Nirwa Mehta
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#BJPKidnapsMLAs What a time to be alive!

The year is 2019.

The man who has grown up believing he has taken birth to become the Prime Minister of India is celebrating 10 million followers on Twitter. He has resigned as party president and the national leadership is as clueless as a headless chicken.

Half the senior Congress leaders have submitted their resignation from the posts of state chiefs. Half of them are currently eyeing the top post themselves.

Some states where the Congress formed the government with alliance partners are on the verge of collapse. Karnataka government can fall any time. Over a dozen MLAs have resigned and are refusing to talk to state leadership.

The 150-year-old political party in India is staring at an existential crisis. What does it do to make itself relevant again?

It takes to Twitter to trend a hashtag. ‘#BJPKidnapsMLAs’

Not kidding.

#BJPKidnapsMLAs trending on Twitter

Years down the line when another ‘historian’ Guha writes accolades for Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family, he will write how ‘BJPKidnapsMLAs’ was a strategic move for Congress.

The 10 rebel Karnataka Congress MLAs have booked a resort in Mumbai and have requested protection because they feel threatened by their own party leaders. DK Sivakumar, who was sitting outside the hotel after being denied entry, was detained by the police. Section 144 has now been imposed in that area.

Congress has now accused that the BJP has ‘kidnapped’ its MLAs. Congress’ solution to save the imminent collapse of the government is to trend a hashtag accusing its opponent of ‘kidnapping’ the MLAs. There is an amusing observation if you glance through the tweets.


See how these sample tweets all talk about DK Shivakumar? And how he is singlehandedly braving it all? How ‘DK Shivakumar’ is giving ‘nightmares’ to Home Minister Amit Shah?

When Congress managed to form the alliance government in Karnataka in May 2018, DK Shivakumar was hailed as the ‘Amit Shah’ of Karnataka. The mind who managed to forge an alliance to get first big ‘victory’ for Congress after a series of failures.

Going by the tweets, one wonders if there is more to it than meets the eye? Is DK Shivakumar himself looking to catapult into the national role piggybacking on the Karnataka crisis?

‘Ab Hindu pitega nahin’: VHP leader on Hauz Qazi incident says Hindus will no longer be silent victims of ‘Jihad’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Ab Hindu pitega nahin’: VHP leader on Hauz Qazi incident says Hindus will no longer be silent victims of ‘Jihad’

Speaking during a Shobha Yatra in Hauz Qazi, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Surendra Jain on Tuesday declared that Hindus will no longer take the beating lying down. “Hum Hauz Qazi ko, Ballimaram ko Ayodhya bana sakte hain. Ab Hindu pitega nahi, ye unko samajh lena chahiye (We can turn Hauz Qazi, Ballimaram into Ayodhya. Hindus will not be beaten any more, they should understand this),” Jain warned the locals of the area.

The statement comes following an incident in which idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses were desecrated and the temple vandalised by an unruly Muslim mob in the Hauz Qazi area. On June 30, a parking row escalated into a communal flare-up that led to the vandalism of temple.

On Tuesday, a rally was organised by VHP and a kilometre stretch at Hauz Qazi was blocked from all sides. The shops were shut and vehicles not permitted to enter.  A raft of people joined the rally and waved saffron flags while chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. The procession also included seven chariots, each followed by a band that played devotional songs in the background, and idols of Hindu Gods were carried on them to the temple and a havan was held later.

The new idols were consecrated at the temple with due ceremony and Hindu rituals yesterday.

In a press statement, the VHP leader has stated that Muslims should decide now that whether they want to embrace fanatic activities against Hindus and become like Pakistan or adapt Indian values to take their community towards development and peace. He added that Jihadi elements should know that the tolerance level of Hindus has a limit and that limit should never be challenged.


The Internation Joint Secretary of the VHP, Jain said, “This is not the last event in the locality, this is just a beginning. If the situation remains normal, then it’s okay, but if anything goes wrong, we will come again and this time we will get 10 times the number of people.” Jain further added that the Hindus contemplating to migrate from the area should not be afraid. He assured that he and VHP will be there by their side to take up the cudgel for them and will willingly die fighting for them.

Gujarat: Security agencies at Vadodara airport foil terror attack, detects RDX in parcel addressed to Punjab

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Security agencies at Vadodara airport foil terror attack, detects RDX in parcel addressed to Punjab

Security agencies at the Vadodara airport in Gujarat have foiled a possible terror plot. According to reports, RDX was detected in a parcel inside the aircraft’s cargo. The parcel was addressed to Punjab.


Security personnel had found the parcel to be suspicious during security checking and the parcel was segregated. After further examination, the authorities have now confirmed that the initial tests have indeed indicated traces of RDX in the parcel. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) have rushed to the airport.

Security agencies suspect that this was an attempt to smuggle RDX to Punjab and they are still trying to figure out who was responsible for this.

Doubts have been raised that this incident may have links with the revival of the Khalistani movement. In December 2018, the interrogation of the suspected terrorist Shabnamdeep Singh has revealed detailed plans of reviving Khalistani militancy in the state of Punjab. Khalistan Gadar Force is allegedly being formed under the guidance of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.

Netaji Bose wasn’t a ‘Nazi Collaborator’, dear Americans, and accusing Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of being anti-semitic over it is absurd

K Bhattacharjee
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Netaji Bose wasn’t a ‘Nazi Collaborator’, dear Americans, and accusing Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of being anti-semitic over it is absurd

The Indian populace often tends to believe that Indian politics and politicians are the worst. But if they care to pay enough attention to US politics, they will have a newfound appreciation for the political climate of our country. Since the Democratic and Republican establishment agree with each on nearly every major issue, everyday they discover a new frivolous issue to pick fights on. The latest frivolous issue that has captured the attention of the American political fraternity is a t-shirt worn by Saikat Chakrabarti, Chief of Staff of firebrand leftist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. The t-shirt carried the image of Indian hero Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

It is symbolic of the cesspits American politics has fallen to that they are labeling Bose as a Nazi Collaborator and a Nazi.


It is important to understand that their beef is not with Bose, they didn’t even know who he was two days ago. Their primary concern is taking Alexandria Ocasio Cortez down, whatever it takes. It also reveals that Americans and Europeans often find it difficult to appreciate that every country in the world has its own history and their own heritage due to the rabid Eurocentrism that permeates through every facet of their worldview.

As is obvious, Bose wasn’t a Nazi collaborator or a Nazi sympathizer, much less a Nazi himself. He had no part in the crimes that Hitler committed. At that point of time, the primary concern of Indian nationalists was to win independence from the tyranny of the British. It was by circumstances of fate that Bose found himself on the same side as Hitler. A collaboration was pursued specifically with the goal of fighting the British, not a genocide.

Americans should have a better understanding of such matters since their country allied with one genocidal maniac at the time and glorifies another genocidal maniac to this date. I am, of course, referring to Soviet Russia under Stalin and Winston Churchill. What moral authority does the American establishment have to demonize Bose when their own leaders collaborate with Stalin? They still glorify Churchill, a man responsible for the death of 3 million Indians, Bengalis to be more specific.

Sporting a t-shirt with Bose’s face on it, it appears, is a sign of anti-semitism. This is the latest instance where Democrats have been accused of anti-semitism. I am unaware of the minute details of the past allegations, therefore, I cannot comment on it. But to accuse Saikat Chakrabarti, Chief of Staff of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, of being anti-semitic because he admires Bose is patently absurd.

Consider this, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel is great buddies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bilateral relationship between India and Israel has progressed tremendously ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India. The leaders have made no effort to hide the great personal bond they share with each other. At the same time, Narendra Modi has glorified Netaji Bose throughout the course of his political career.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, he has made a dedicated effort to give due to credit to Bose’s cherished legacy. Is Modi anti-semitic? Is Benjamin Netanyahu great friends with an anti-semitic person? Their own President has praised Modi in glowing terms on several occasions. If Modi isn’t, then how is Saikat Chakrabarti anti-semitic? How is Chakrabarti’s t-shirt indicative of the anti-semitic inclinations of the Democratic party? It’s utterly absurd.

Americans and Europeans believe that they are the center of the universe and that the whole world revolves around them. Everyone should hate the same people they, everyone should idolize the same people they do and if they do not, then they consider it to be evidence of the moral inferiority of the people concerned and further testament of their own superiority.

Western media outlets, both Conservative and Liberal, have regularly made attempts to portray Indians as Hitler lovers. They interpret the distinct absence of emotional involvement that Indians have with the events of the Second World War as evidence of India’s fascination with fascism. Hitler is widely known in India and you could even find shops and local stalls named after him but it’s not because they support the genocide he committed. It’s merely because he is perceived as a strong leader and Indians have a natural preference for strong leaders.

There’s nothing wrong with the general apathy of Indians toward the second World War. It’s not our history, it was not our war although hundreds and thousands of Indians did die fighting for the British. There’s no reason why Westerners should expect Indians to have a visceral hatred toward Hitler when we had Churchill and the British committing a genocide of our countrymen. Moreover, World War 2 coincided with a critical period of our history. It was during this phase that the movement for Indian Independence really gained steam.

At a much more fundamental level, India suffered a partition in the 1940s. Hindus suffered a genocide. It’s no wonder then the history that Indian are taught during that period doesn’t focus on the second World War but on our own Independence, as it should. Therefore, to expect Indians to attach similar importance to the World War and Indian Independence is sheer lunacy.

On the other hand, it makes perfect sense for us to hate Churchill intensely. Churchill is responsible for the death of 3 million Indians. What Hitler is to the West, Churchill is to us. Does any Indian accuse Westerners of being genocide sympathizers merely because they praise Churchill? There are one or two loonies, sure, but Indians by and large don’t unlike the mainstream Western establishment which seeks to brand everyone anti-semitic merely because they idolize someone who was willing to collaborate with Hitler for his country’s independence.

While Americans are busy demonizing the heroes of other countries, their own leaders have gone around killing hundreds and thousands of people. George Bush is still widely respected among the Republican establishment despite the fact that he destabilized the entire Middle-East with his War on Iraq. Barack Obama is still the hero of the Democrat party despite the fact that he started a war with Libya and Syria as a consequence of which innumerable number of people died and slavery is back in fashion in the 21st century. The entire political establishment cheered for these wars.

Not merely that, the Western establishment has supported Jihadis worldwide and played a huge role in strengthening global jihad. Pakistan is still their ally, the country which shares the same beliefs as ISIS. Despite all of this, the political fraternity has the gumption to slander our national hero while making absolutely no effort to hold those who committed war crimes responsible for their actions.

To be clear, I am not fond of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. She is basically Rahul Gandhi on steroids. But to accuse her of being anti-semitic because her Chief of Staff idolizes Bose is wrong. If Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is anti-semitic, then so is Benjamin Netanyahu. And we all know how crazy that sounds. We are a different people, we have different histories, a different recollection of past events and that’s perfectly alright. We can still get along with each other just fine.

Regardless of the opinions of the Westerners, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will always remain a hero for our people. He fought valiantly for the independence of our country and established the INA to serve that purpose. And as long as India exists, and it will for a long time rest assured, there will always be Indians who will celebrate and cherish the great legacy of the national hero.

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