If you have been following the Internet trends or if you are a politics enthusiast, you must know this powerful woman and an All India Trinamool Congress party MP from Krishnanagar, West Bengal, Mahua Moitra. She is a Member of Parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha who contested and won the seat in the 2019 Indian general elections.Â
Ms. Moitra took the internet by storm with her maiden speech in Parliament and ever since then, each of her speeches has been a masterpiece. In her debut speech, she listed the seven signs of early fascism that were featured in a poster put up at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017.
Given below is a list of a few pointers/facts/quotes from her audacious and inspiring speech. Immerse yourself!
- There is a powerful and continuing nationalism being sneered into our national fabric. It is superficial; it is xenophobic, and it is narrow. It is the lust to divide; it is not a desire to unite.
- Slogans and symbols are being used to test allegiance. There is no one symbol or there is no one slogan that can show any Indian that he is a patriot. There is no one test!
- There is a resounding disdain for human rights that is permeating every level of the government. There has been a 10-fold increase in the number of hate crimes between 2014 and 2019. It is like the valuation of an e-commerce start-up.
- TV channels spread a majority of airtime broadcasting propaganda for the ruling party, coverage of every opposition party is cut out.
- Fake news is the norm. This election was not fought on farmers’ distress, this election was not fought on unemployment but this election was fought on Whatsapp, on fake news, and on manipulating minds.
- Every piece of news that this government repeats, every piece of news that they put out, every lie that they put out, they repeat and repeat until it becomes a truth. This is the Goebbels’ Doctrine.
- Religion and government are now intertwined in this country. Do I even need to speak about it? Neither should I remind you that we have redefined what it means to be a citizen.
- There is a complete disdain for intellectuals and the arts. There is a suppression of all dissent. Funding is being cut for liberal education. Scientific temperament is enshrined in article 51 of the Constitution.
- Everything we are doing is pushing India back to the dark ages. Secondary school textbooks are being manipulated and distorted in order to indoctrinate. You do not even tolerate questioning let alone dissent.
- There is a danger of fascism rising in India. It is incumbent upon all of us to stand up to it. Let us, the members of this 17th Lok Sabha, decide which side of history we want to be on. Do we want to be upholders of this Constitution or do we want to be its pallbearers?
Watch the full video here:
Feature Image Credits: Free Press Journal
Udisha Srivastav is a Freelance Content Writer with Femsay.com