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A recent discussion prompted this post . Though it may be a bit stale by now , this has to do with how the Indian media reacted to the Danish cartoons , and how it reacted to another similar thing .
MF Husain is hailed as India's greatest artist . As can be made out from his name , he is a Muslim . He painted , once upon a time , a nude of Goddess Saraswati ( the Hindu Goddess of learning , literature , and the arts ) . He also painted a nude of Bharar Mata ( Mother India ) . Prominent Hindu organisations protested this depiction , because they considered it offensive . Their stance was that he could have depicted the same goddess in the accepted form - draped in a white garment . The mainstream media reported it with a heavy tilt against the Hindu organisations , and said that they were trying to "force their constipated brand of Hinduism on the rest of us" . The media did the same when there were protests over some other artist depicting a completely naked Radha and Krishna copulating ( Krishna is an incarnation of God ) ( that is , they attempted to damn the protesting Hindus by insinuation ) .
Now we come to the Danish cartoons controversy . When the Danish cartoons came onto the scene , not only did the media not reprint them , they also sided with the protestors . They invited opinions from Muslim intellectually who they knew would be against such depiction of the Prophet . They called for restraint on the part of the rest of world in deference and respect to the Muslim community . In short , they acted to undermine their own freedom to print what they wanted .
Now I have a question - why the double standard ? Why is it that when Hindus peacefully protest against what they consider offensive , it is held to be automatically bad , but when Muslims protest against the same thing , and in spite of their protests sometimes turning violent and people getting killed , excuses are found and justification is sought for their behaviour ? Why is the media thus biased ?
MF Husain is hailed as India's greatest artist . As can be made out from his name , he is a Muslim . He painted , once upon a time , a nude of Goddess Saraswati ( the Hindu Goddess of learning , literature , and the arts ) . He also painted a nude of Bharar Mata ( Mother India ) . Prominent Hindu organisations protested this depiction , because they considered it offensive . Their stance was that he could have depicted the same goddess in the accepted form - draped in a white garment . The mainstream media reported it with a heavy tilt against the Hindu organisations , and said that they were trying to "force their constipated brand of Hinduism on the rest of us" . The media did the same when there were protests over some other artist depicting a completely naked Radha and Krishna copulating ( Krishna is an incarnation of God ) ( that is , they attempted to damn the protesting Hindus by insinuation ) .
Now we come to the Danish cartoons controversy . When the Danish cartoons came onto the scene , not only did the media not reprint them , they also sided with the protestors . They invited opinions from Muslim intellectually who they knew would be against such depiction of the Prophet . They called for restraint on the part of the rest of world in deference and respect to the Muslim community . In short , they acted to undermine their own freedom to print what they wanted .
Now I have a question - why the double standard ? Why is it that when Hindus peacefully protest against what they consider offensive , it is held to be automatically bad , but when Muslims protest against the same thing , and in spite of their protests sometimes turning violent and people getting killed , excuses are found and justification is sought for their behaviour ? Why is the media thus biased ?
- a principle the West would do well to emulate .
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