Dear Hasan Minhaj,
I send you my warm greetings and hope that you’re doing really well. I just happened to watch your latest episode of the ‘Patriot Act’ on Netflix, where you recently covered the Indian elections. It is nice to see that an Indian American comedian talking about India.
However, as an inquisitive Indian, a Hindu and a Brahmin (I chose to use my identity like you used yours so many times), I have a few questions for you about your alleged Patriot Act, and going by your brilliant approach to sensitive issues and the right wit, I’m sure you have the apt intellect to answer my humble questions.
You began the Patriot Act episode by discussing about the horrendous Pulwama attacks. You were quite amused by the fact that India is contending for the state of Jammu & Kashmir and even mocked the way the Indian Air Force executed the daring air strikes in retaliation to the Pulwama attacks.
To quote an excerpt from your episode, ‘We would’ve hit something, if our maps weren’t so blurred…..Just to tell you, those trees were terrorists.’ How did you find that amusing? Do you even realize how much pains our men in uniform had taken to make sure that the air strikes hit nothing apart from the terrorists? Would you react the same way had we taken digs at the operations undertaken to execute Osama Bin Laden?
If it was an innocuous joke on the geopolitical situation, I could’ve ignored that and have a good laugh. However, you weren’t done yet. You then commented on the concerns that have risen since the advent of PM Modi to power in 2014, including violence against minorities and rising Hindu nationalism. Did you have a Skype chat with the likes of Kunal Kamra or what? There’s no other reason for such dumb ‘wisecracks.’
Your ignorance was quite prominent since PM Modi is the same guy who has managed to reduce poverty and malnutrition by drastic levels in the past 2-3 years. I hope you aren’t allergic to facts. Oh wait, you have your ‘minority victim card’ to hide behind.
Coming back to your Patriot Act episode, you, of all people, had the gall to equate PM Modi’s electoral campaign with that of your own President Donald Trump. Also, you had issues withPM Modi’s hugs, and displayed it as some sort of tyranny. Since when has warmly hugging someone become criminal? Is it because PM Modi hugged someone you abhor?
However, the moment your hypocrisy was exposed was when you talked with Shashi Tharoor about the elections episode. The way you interacted with him was enough to signify that something was fishy. You even cracked a joke on him in a positive light. What was so bad about BJP politicians? Do they have horns on their head? Or do they have five legs and ten hands? Your excuse of BJP politicians ignoring you wasn’t too legitimate either. It seems you’re as Hinduphobic as the kind of left-liberal comedians we have to suffer back home.
Also, the way you talked about Yogi Adityanath left no doubt about the subtle propaganda that you peddled through. Who are you to lie so brazenly about us? Are you a messenger of peace? Are you the custodian of Indian democracy? You cannot even respect your own elected leader, who though eccentric by personality, at least acts tough on internal security issues. So why do you think your web of lies will work like before?
I don’t expect you to clarify your stance, forget an apology. But in my own humble words, I wish to send a simple message : India welcomes every guest warmly, but not those who either want to destroy our nation, or propagate absurd, baseless lies like you.
Yours Sincerely,
An Indian
A Hindu
And a Brahmin