Helpless Gulliver are Indian Hindus Today

You must have recognized this picture, Gulliver tied down by the Lilliputians. When the ship he is traveling in sinks, he somehow manages to hold on to a wooden plank and keep himself afloat. Waves land him upon a shore, he is too tired to see or care which shore it is. As soon as he walks on land for a safe distance, he lets his exhaustion overtake him and falls into an unconscious stupor.

When he comes to, he finds himself tied down all too securely. The ropes seem small but are so numerous that he is unable to break them or even move any part of his body even an inch. Even his long hair have been tressed into ropes and tied to pegs; preventing any movement of the head or neck.

He is conscious of movement around him and feels movement over his body. Somehow he manages to take a look and is horrified to see hundreds of miniature men, not just any men but hundreds of uniformed soldiers armed with various weapons of war moving around him and also on his body. As he attempts to resists, an assault is launched upon him, a fusillade of arrows hits him. They are mere needles, but sharp and in their hundreds. The pain is unbearable and he becomes quiescent. Only after fully subjugating him, conditions of partial freedom of movement are dictated to him and only after he agrees to comply in totality, limited movement is allowed. After days pass and they are fully convinced that they have totally domesticated him, he is put to work. He agrees as he has no means of escape, not even a canoe to put into water. He then in'wades' the neighboring enemy nation of Blefuscu and snatches many of their battleships which he tugs back to Lilliput. For this, he receives royal appreciation at the Lilliputian court too.

However, success attracts envy and enemies who plot to kill him. When he hears of a conspiracy to blind him, he somehow manages to escape. I shall not go into the nitty gritties, you must be aware of them. Neither are they relevant, this is not a re-telling of Swift's novel.

I have raised this reference as I see the Indian Hindu epitomized in this particular episode of Gulliver. Although his strength exceeded the might of the Lilliputian forces, he was so tied down that he could not bestir himself. Even if he tried to move his hand, he found his fingers tied down that any movement was impossible. Such were his bonds that any movement was impossible; and when various demands of the body call too stridently to ignore and a man is incapable of movement to meet them, he surrenders out of the pressure these demands build.

Gulliver was tied down when he was in a stupor. When he came out of it he found himself tied down. Here we have been drugged into a stupor and tied down with such rules that aid in an effective emasculation of our culture. If you question the importance of a cultural narrative, I refer you to Breitbart's famous quip – politics is the downstream of culture. Culture is the river whose water sustains and nourishes a people. Poison it and your job is done. The effects will happen by themselves and generate many a side effect too as the slow poison starts taking effect, getting stronger over successive generations. You will be made a dhimmi – cultural, mental and economic. On top of that, it will be drummed into you till it becomes your own conviction that this is the right thing for you, it is now that you are becoming a cultured people.

Well, well, well. Ever heard of cultured pearls matching naturals in their extrinsic worth ? And yes, fungus is also called a culture.

Have we not been driven, herded down this road ?

The picture is in black and white but the story narrates the colours of their liveries – red, blue, green, white: of course you know what these colours mean to India's Hindus in our current political context.

It was a shipwreck that brought Gulliver to Lilliput. A catastrophe. However, he sought the right moment and made use of it to flee to freedom. We cannot run, and why should we? This is our nation; all we need is an unflinching resolve when it comes to tough but nonetheless inevitable decisions. There is no other go.

Comments welcome, else do share and wake up other Gullivers from their stupor. Gulliver was alone, we are not. That's a comfort, at least for now.

And yes, feel free to translate in other Indian languages. Other than Hindi and Marathi, that is: that's already done. Jai Hind!