Vivek Dehejia tweeted:
Covid ‘is over’ in Norway, health chief declares https://t.co/JpbQwK2yot via @financialtimes
— Vivek Dehejia (@vdehejia) June 7, 2021
To which, Dr Amit Thadhani responded:
Making the same mistake Dr HV did. https://t.co/RF50dQ64Aa
— Amit Thadhani (@amitsurg) June 7, 2021
(Note: Dr HV is Dr Harsha Vardhan, the health minister in the Government of Bharat.)
Amit Thadani is a medical practitioner, and is actively involved in the fight against the pandemic. We both are members of a WhatsApp group. But like so many others, Dehejia had no intention to be rational, and the original tweet was exposed to be with an intention to make a supposed political point. He wrote:
Two important differences with India' re-opening. First, in Norway, 28% of adults are fully vaccinated and 42% have one dose, compared to a tiny fraction in India. Second, Norway's health minister doesn't think cow urine can ward off COVID19. The outcome will likely be different. https://t.co/MsHlRNzPLi
— Vivek Dehejia (@vdehejia) June 7, 2021
Do look at the responses. I think this sums them all up:
Economics professor at @Carleton_U who had unsuccessfully angled for a government position in 2014 cracks a #Hinduphobic cow-urine joke about a claim Dr. Harshvardhan never made.
Indian diaspora in Anglo-settler countries is a “model” for Uncle Tommery. https://t.co/bPFDAjSxBO
— Allama 1ball (@Parikramah) June 8, 2021
Dehejia is not the only one who had unsuccessfully angled for a government position. For some reason, many like him got it into their heads that they had something unique to offer to the nation only if they got some government position. Worst is that prior to May 2014, there was no indication that they had any affinity to the ideology that was given the massive mandate in May 2014 and renewed in May 2019. Some had expressed a distinct distaste to the ideology, which they expressed quite explicitly in the words and voices.
However, none of them thought that they could be of service to the nation by just being where they are and be a critical supporter of what has been happening since May 2014. By this, I mean that to understand what was the change that people were asking for in May 2014. In its very nature, the change of such magnitude, and in a large and diverse nation, could well appear to be haphazard.
A critical supporter would empathise with the change, and not dismiss it as something irrational. This can be best expressed in the words of Sir Vidiadhar Naipaul when he spoke on the ethos of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement in July 1993. He said:
“What is happening in India is a highly creative process. Indian intellectuals, who want to be secure in their liberal beliefs, may not understand what is going on, especially if these intellectuals happen to be in the United States. But every other Indian knows precisely what is happening: deep down he knows that a larger response is emerging even if at times this response appears in his eyes to be threatening….Wise men should understand and ensure that it does not remain in the hands of fanatics. Rather they should use it for the intellectual transformation of India.”
This creative process took a major step forward in May 2014. For the people at large it is not as haphazard as it seems.
Dehejia has positioned himself as an economist. From what I have read of his writings, I personally do not think that there is something great that he has to offer. His gau mutra jibe confirms my thinking.
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