SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.....

With everyone singing hosannas to Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, let me offer an alternative perspective.

This film targets the easiest of targets: the average placid Hindu. The hero is, of course, a Muslim in India, whose mother is burned to death by an attack on Muslims by barbaric, fanatical Hindu mobs. No need for subtlety in either dialogue or depiction here; the Hindu mob says: "They are Muslims. Let us hit them," and the hapless Muslims cry as they flee in terror: "The Hindus are coming! The Hindus are coming." To make sure his point about Hindu devilry is not missed, director Boyle has a shot of a child dressed as Rama, one of Hinduism's most cherished gods.

Imagine the outcry that would have resulted if Boyle had reversed the above: i.e., had a shot of a child dressed as prophet Mohammed or Jesus as Muslims/Christians hurried off to persecute members of another faith! But since Hindus seem oblivious to any and every insult, Boyle has not only gotten away with his blasphemies, but seems well on his way to awards and accolades.The sledgehammer hits against Hindus and Hinduism does not end there.

On the TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the Muslim hero is asked a question by the TV host: "What weapons does Lord Rama bear in his hands?" Our Muslim hero answers: "If there was no Rama, my mother would have been alive." Again, imagine the outcry that would have resulted if the hero was a Hindu from Kashmir (Islamic terrorism has almost wiped out the Hindu population in Kashmir) and he had said: "If there was no Allah, my mother would be alive."