In Arundhati Roy’s ‘This is our version of the coronavirus. We are sick’ speech, she said: “The morgues are full of the dead. Both Muslim and Hindu, including a policeman and a young staffer of the Intelligence Bureau. Yes. People on both sides have shown themselves capable of horrifying brutality as well as unbelievable courage and kindness.” For all her eloquence, even Arundhati Roy cannot get away with portraying self-defense against genocide as ‘horrifying brutality’. She cannot get away with portraying genocide as two-sided communal violence.
Kashmiri Mir Laieeq responded to her comment by saying: “So “Casteless” Arundhati Roy endorses the bullshit “both sides” narrative peddled by the sections of media; being a writer she waxes some ‘eloquence’ and doesn’t hyperventilate like TV anchors. The rot certainly lies deeper because the very idea of India is based on an inherently violent, carefully crafted lie. Right-wingers on the other hand are busy exposing this rotten core as glaringly and as brutally as possible.”