Even in the best of times, Indians are never short of sanctimony and self-righteousness but there has been an oversupply of both since the outbreak of #Coronavirus.
The virtues of ‘Namaste‘ as a form of greeting—folded hands as opposed to a physical hug or handshake—has been extolled ad nauseam, even briefly inspiring a BJP IT Cell hashtag #KaroNamaste.
Although Namaste is just as widely used by Buddhists, Taoists and Shintoists in many countries east of Hindu rashtra.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister ‘Yogi‘ Adityanath‘s bizarre BS claim that yoga staves off #Coronavirus (but not hatred and revenge presumably) turned him into a Chinese internet sensation for a few seconds.
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This our-culture-is-so-superior vibe exuded by alleged yogis and confirmed nirudyogis is nothing compared to the gratuitous advice being offered by Indians on what the Chinese ought to be eating (and drinking).
Go mutra is, of course, is the preferred hydration (with medical benefits) that many Hindu #COVIDIOTS feel duty-bound to suggest despite knowing where cow urine can send them to, for the night.
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Advice on what solid foods the Chinese should be eating is at another level.
Never mind that Chinese Civilisation has been around as long as ours; never mind the extraordinary contributions of the Chinese, Indians have used the #Coronavirus outbreak to smugly conclude that the pandemic was caused by what they were eating.
Never mind, again, that Chinese cuisine is the second most preferred in the world, way above Indian cuisine.
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For adherents of a “great religion” who have been brain-washed by bigots into believing that their gods will bless them if they kill a human being (Mohammed Akhlaq) for storing food not of their liking (beef), this smugness about the eating habits of “others” perhaps comes naturally.
With the #GujaratModel lining up khichdi as the national dish for the Guinness World Record, the subliminal message in Indians talking down to the Chinese on their food is that vegetarian is the way to go.
Never mind, again, that “vegetarian India” is one of the bigger myths.
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After #Coronavirus, of course, Pandit Nehru‘s “Hindi Chini bhai bhai” slogan has been firmly consigned to the kitchen sink. There are countless racists who think it is OK to call it a #ChineseVirus.
And turning our noses away at Chinese food habits has gained greater acceptability even among the stinking classes.
Everybody from a TV channel watcher to a TV channel anchor to a TV channel owner is convinced that it is Chinese food that has given the world its biggest scare.
“Because they eat rats and snakes,” is not an uncommon view to hear on the streets.
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Rahul Kanwal, the India Today anchor who overlooks the execrable and openly communal Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, said as much in a tweet on March 25.
And Vineet Jain, whose spoon-fed TimesNow channel turns “TV journalism” into an oxymoron every second it is on air followed it up more recently with an even more direct message to the Chinese.
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But what is the evidence that #Coronavirus has killed over 25,000 people around the world because some Chinese citizens were not eating khichdi or papdi chaat?
Indian TV journalism is so brain-dead that forget a sane, liberal voice—even a “mad dog of the air waves” like Tucker Carlson of Fox News makes more sense than homegrown presenters and proprietors.
Here is Carlson, whom John Oliver compared the domestic cracked canine Arnab Goswami with, speaking on the origin of the virus a couple of nights ago.
Tucker Carlson cites a February 6 paper put out by scientists at the South China Institute of Technology in Wuhan.
He says the paper claims there are no known colonies of the “Intermediate Horseshoe Bat” in a 900 km radius of Wuhan. Therefore, the Chinese couldn’t have have caught it and eaten it.
Furthermore, 59 of the 60 people interviewed by the Chinese scientists affirm that the “Intermediate Horseshoe Bat” was not sold at the vet market in Wuhan. Therefore, the Chinese could not have bought it in Wuhan.
So, why are Rahul Kanwal and Vineet Jain talking of Chinese food habits?
Why would you?
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Tucker Carlson is by no yardstick an authority on viruses. And maybe the Chinese scientists are trying to put a spin on how it spread to hide something else. But trying to dictate what Chinese should eat points to a strange Indian malaise.
IJR 