MUMBAI: There are television channels with both pro and anti-establishment points of view and the same is true for social media platforms and print as well. Vinit Goenka’s book titled Enemies Within chooses to expose the double-standards of people who generate the perception of being Hindu-phobic, rendering themselves an anti-establishment instrument. Though all criticism targeting the ruling BJP government at the Centre cannot be necessarily categorized as Hindu-phobic, the author has hand-picked instances in which such an approach has been adopted.

He labels this category of people as the “Enemies Within” meaning they are indulging in destructive acts of poisoning and manipulating the minds of gullible people and in some instances like Naxalism, fooling the common people by performing role plays of harbingers of justice from social inequity. While glossing through the instances cited by the author on how Naxalism worked in India, I was reminded of what Mark Tully had articulated in his book about this problem. He had bluntly said that the Naxals were not ideologists, they were merely extortionists collecting money from the foreign mining companies in exchange for permitting them to operate smoothly.

Another instance cited by the author struck a chord in my mind. He had asked one of the co-panelists about his professional standing. The youth in his late twenties had responded stating, “I am a protestor.” I am quoting this instance to bring out how well the author has demonstrated manipulators of media be it electronic or social tap into the vast ocean of educated unemployed youth who allow themselves to pride in catering to what he aptly and repeatedly refers to as the “Enemies Within”.

With due respect to the author’s authority and research on the behavior patterns exhibited by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus students, I would also like to slightly differ from the view that this will have serious consequences. For one thing, the leftist sentiment or say the romantic leftist dogma that appeals to these youth is not a permanent feature. With age and experience their thinking pattern changes and they also learn that their conviction of being able to generate utopia with such ideals is a lost cause that merits no more thought process. In this context, I would differ and say, leftist sentiments are age related and happen to be a passing phase for many youths, be it from JNU or other universities and institutions.

However, I give full credit to Vinit on how well he is able to articulate leftist-Islamists trying to create a phobia against the majority Hindu community in India. At first glance, the expression leftist-Islamist would sound like an oxymoron as leftists do not prescribe to any religion, same like the expression military intelligence. However, the author has used this expression to drive home how left-leaning “intellectuals” who adopt a pro-Muslim stand or are from the Muslim community, are creating trouble for India not only on the home turf but also in international media be it BBC or the wire service Reuters.

Vinit should be credited for elucidating the damage done by a group of manipulators who assume the role of fighting oppressors and use this as a guise to ensure that the common lot be it in tribal areas or remote villages or even our national capital New Delhi, continue to stay backward and deprived. This mind game that comes into play also receives political backing and patronage besides the more ominous foreign funding through NGOs that might even compromise our sovereignty if allowed to persist unabated.

Overall, Vinit’s perspective is refreshing and also illuminates the reader on what goes on behind the scenes and how well orchestrated events are before they hit the public eye.