I’ve been asked multiple times by people back in India about how I’m doing in “the riots” in Paris. This long thread is for them.
I’m fine. Firstly, the main venue of the protests is not close to where I live. It’s >5 km away like I live near Ballygunge, protests are at Brigade.
People can have differences and nuanced takes on CJP but it is inexcusable to remain silent on the custody of Ashutosh and Saurav. This is an egregious violation of a citizen's liberty. Please speak up. If not on principle, than in self-interest, for this is setting a precedent.
He was 14 when grandma was pumped with 33 bullets by her bodyguards & 21 when his dad blown into pieces. Regardless of how their own military policies precipitated the deaths, imagine yourself in Rahul's place. Would you still get into politics? I wouldn't get out of bed!
Most Indians don't know this, but the Dreze family are literally academic royalty in Belgium.
Jean's brother the late Xavier Dreze was a highly regarded Marketing professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. He was one of the very very few who could do both modeling and consumer behavior research. He died very young at age 48. His obituary says he was a true polymath with multiple academic and sporting talents.
Jean's father the late Jacques Dreze was an economist at the Université Catholique de Louvain. He was a highly regarded economist and the first president of the European Economic Association. He has collaborated with nobel laureates Robert Aumann and Franco Modigliani and his publication record is comparable with the best in the field.
Jean Dreze could have had a very cushy life with his family legacy, white skin and European passport. Even in India, he could have been a social butterfly flitting in and out of five star hotels and running think tanks funded hy veated interests. Instead, he took Indian citizenship, learnt Hindi and roughs it out in rural Jharkhand. He designed many schemes and his footprint is all over Indian economic policy.
You may like him or hate him. But Jean Dreze is more Indian than anyone who was born Indian, including you and me. He chose to be Indian. And he has dedicated his life to India.
Think of this the next time some illiterate journalist asks "Who is Jean Dreze?"
Time and again Abhijeet Dipke tries to be the bigger person and yet some respond with nothing but pettiness and insecurity. It has been eye opening to watch this play out.
When CJP was granted permission to protest, many were quick to float conspiracy theories that we were planted by the BJP.
Yesterday, the INDIA bloc held a massive protest, but there was no crackdown like the one we witnessed on October 10.
This is exactly how the govt plays us against each other. By treating different protests differently, they create suspicion and mistrust among people who are ultimately fighting for the same cause.
My only request to everyone is to see through these tactics. Today, they may allow one protest and crush another. Tomorrow, they could reverse the roles. The idea is to keep us doubting each other instead of questioning those in power.
Don’t let conspiracy theories divide us. Don’t fall into the trap of fighting among ourselves when we should be standing together.
The fight is against Gyanesh Kumar and those protecting him. Don’t lose sight of that.
@ms_medusssa Not misinterpreted, they have shown their true colours. It’s equivalent to Modi Bhakti. Sorry, not just these people, many more are victim of this Andh-Bhakti of different kind. And both categories cannot accept the contribution of other parties. Let’s not pretend