Curious case of Pseudo Liberals and their beliefs
Let's get this out first - women suffer more than men, Dalits have traditionally suffered more than upper-caste Hindus, and Khans/Kapoors/Ambanis have easy access to almost everything. But, it is not a man's fault that he is not a woman, it is not an upper-caste Hindu's problem that he was not born a Dalit. And so on, and so forth. As long as you are not misusing your privilege, you are a liberal. Everyone else is an illiberal.
Before being judged, here is my disclaimer
This author is not a man, not born to a Brahmin family and her surname is Chaudhry. She has been given the privilege of education from an Ivy League, because her refugee grandfather made it big in life. And, her middle-class mom made sure she studied hard.
The true meaning of being a liberal
Etymologically speaking, 'liberal' comes from the Latin word 'liber', which means free - free from prejudices, bigotry, partisanship, to name a few. A liberal is then a person who upholds these principles without taking sides, who is a philosopher but also a mathematician, who has strong views but is still malleable, who knows right but still tolerates wrong. Theoretically speaking, you can't ever be this free.
Leftists have hijacked the 'liberal' space
As it stands, the leftists today have hijacked the 'liberal' space and there is a twisted connotation attached to being a liberal. Leftists and liberals are not synonyms. It is not a straight line, it is a quadrant. Loosely speaking, on economic matters, if you want the state to not interfere, you are Right inclined, otherwise you are Left. You can be Right, liberal and anti-Modi. Or you can be Left, conservative and anti-Congress.
With cigars in hand, the Left hooligans chant
For a society to be progressive, it certainly needs a healthy mix of ideology. But, as is always the case, the problem here lies with the fake, pretentious liberals. We all know them, we see them often. Their outrage is selective, they come in chauffeur driven cars to uplift the downtrodden, they think all Hindus are orthodox, and they hold cigars in their hands while chanting 'azaadi'. They think being liberal is fashionable.
The dumb media only knows how to clap
In all of this, though, the bigger culprit is media. They call Congress and Momota di liberal. What does it tell you that a "Hindu nationalist" BJP is fighting for triple talaq - the fight of minorities in minorities? If BJP can just make that unconstitutional, all their sins would be absolved. But, then again what is wrong with media? Are mediawallas dumb or are they being paid to act dumb - this question lingers on my head. I know one of them is definitely true.
On a lighter note, find out who you are
Do you work hard, want to earn more, live a good life, and you don't care about the caste or eating habits of your friends? You are a Rightist, and very much a Liberal. Do you want the state to give you a minimum wage but think you are working towards the upliftment of someone, anyone? You are a Leftist, and a Liberal. But, you can do better. Pun intended.
