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#Napunsak Modi: Khurshid ‘s Potent Attempt To Remain In News

Khurshid is not the first, and surely not the last to use the N-word. Indian political history is full of incidences where politicians have used the Hindi word ‘œnapunsak’ to describe the inefficiency and incompetency of their class.

Union minister Salman Khurshid has called Gujarat chief minister and Narendra Modi an ‘impotent’. Referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots, Khurshid said, “We don’t accuse you of killing people. Hamara aarop hai ki tum napunsak ho. (Our accusation is that you are impotent). You couldn’t stop the killers.”

And all the hell broke loose.

While there is no denying the fact that the statement is below the belt, to give it much wind is also not right. We all know Khurshid’s problem with his timing and statement. It was the same minister who had said that he will “analyse, discuss and absorb” the problem of Pakistan repeatedly violating the LoC peace agreement.

The Bhartiya Janata Party has slammed the minister for his crass remarks by saying that Khurshid is “debasing politics”. Party leader Shenawaz Hussain tweeted:

 

 

BJP sympathizer and Team Anna member Kiran Bedi too attacked Khurshid for his remarks. She tweeted:

 

It is to be noted that Khurshid is not the first, and surely not the last to use the N-word. Indian political history is full of incidences where politicians have used the Hindi word “napunsak” to describe the inefficiency and incompetency of their colleagues and class.

As political writer Sandip Roy writes in his article on an English website, “…VHP leader Ashok Singhal called the Vajpayee government “napunsak” for its failure to build a Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The very colourful Sadhvi Rithambara has often called politicians napunsaks… Congress politician Suresh Kumar Routray told an Odisha rally that they should not trust Naveen Patnaik. “Naveen is neither a man nor woman. How can you trust somebody who is not even sure of his gender?”

Baba Ramdev called Manmohan Singh a “namard”. After Time Magazine called Singh an underachiever, Bal Thackeray helpfully re-translated it into “Thackeri bhasha” as “politically impotent.” During the heyday of the Anna Hazare anti-corruption march, Sanjay Kumar, a professor at St Stephens, spotted a placard that read “Sonia Gandhi Hinsak Hai, Rahul Gandhi Napunsak Hai.”

Subramanian Swamy had an entire exchange in the Lok Sabha in 1998 about whether the word “impotent” was parliamentary. He had used it in connection with the Vajpayee government and the Cauvery water dispute. When the Parliamentary Affairs minister protested, Swamy said he had meant in the “powerless” sense not the “Viagra sense”.”

Khurshid may have issued an explanation saying that he meant “politically impotent” by calling “napunsak” as Modi failed to stop Gujarat riots. But the fact remains that the words strips the masculinity of the subject in this testosterone-laden society of India.

It is an insult which was power-packed by Khurshid to remain in news with full potency. But will he use the same word for his party leaders who failed to stop many riots in its regime?

Twitter reactions to Khurshid’s jibe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One from Sir Ravinder Jadeja too:

 

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