History and hypocrisy are the helixed hobgoblins of democracy. The first one claims to be the motherboard that rewired the circuitry of a previous dark time by turning it to an enlightened one. The other excuses acts of aggrandisement and appeasement by bestowing a cheap certificate of faux freedom—of freedoms of civilised society, like freedom of speech and expression. Freedom of imagination and the liberation of nationwide fraternity. Cornerstones of civilisation.
The hypocrisy of civilisation, however, lies in the mockery of these freedoms in their very name.
Hence Owaisi exercises his freedom of speech and expression by refusing the debt he owes to Mother India who offers him the privilege of being Indian. The pretentiousness of patriotism, the last refuge of the scoundrel, is evident in the shaming of Bharat Mata by a young political thug who has reportedly offered `1 crore for Owaisi’s tongue; after all, wasn’t a similar reward offered by a mullah from the same state for Salman Rushdie’s Satanic head?