Ten days from now (April 20) is the 136th birth anniversary of the man who was chosen as Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 1938. The weekly magazine explained this controversial pick by famously stating : “He was chosen not as an endorsement, but as an identification of the person who most influenced news and world events.” The son of Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl is one of history’s darkest figures.
Disclaimer: Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events from the past or present, are purely coincidental. The events, institutions, and settings described herein do not necessarily represent real occurrences unless explicitly stated as such. The columnist disclaims any intent to defame, misrepresent, or otherwise portray negatively any person, group, organization, religion, nationality, or community. Reader discretion (and wisdom) is advised.
Scene I
1935: Through the ‘Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor’ relationships and marriages between Jews and Germans or those of “kindred blood” were forbidden and outlawed.
2026: Twelve states have enacted laws against any manner of religious conversion. The laws passed in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana specifically criminalise conversion for the purpose of marriage, and declare any marriage performed for conversion as void. They also require state approval before an individual is allowed to change their faith.
Scene II
1935: Through the Reich Citizenship Law, citizenship was restricted to “German and related blood” and had to be proven through documentary proof of religion and identity of one’s grandparents. Documentary proof included birth certificates, marriage certificates, church baptism records and family registers, and was used to detect (and eventually exclude) any Jewish ancestry.
2019: The Citizenship Amendment Act provided for Indian citizenship basis religious identity. Migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were provided fastracked Indian citizenship only if they were Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians.
Scene III
1933: The Reich Ministry of Public Engagement and Propaganda was established. Editors and journalists were expected to follow mandates given by the Ministry and detailed guidelines were given on what could or could not be reported, as well as how it could be reported.
2014: At least 15 journalists have been charged under Unlawful Activities Prevent Act, while 36 have been detained. Siddique Kappan was jailed for two years for reporting on the rape of 19 year old Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras.
Scene IV
1933: A first ever official boycott of Jewish businesses was declared by the Nazi Party. The Nazi regime created lists of businesses they considered were Jewish. Graffiti was painted outside Jewish businesses to mark them as such, while non-Jewish business owners posted signs identifying their business as “German-Christian”.
2024: Uttar Pradesh Minister of State, Kapil Dev Aggarwal, says eateries and restaurants along the route of the Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage should not use Hindu names if being run by Muslims. He also supported a police directive that required a public displaying of names of those who run and manage eateries on the pilgrimage route.
Scene V
1933: The Nazi Party burned thousands of books at a public square in the Mitte district of Berlin. These books included those written by Jews, on psychology, Marxism, democracy and liberalism.
2023: Three rounds of revisions or “rationalisation” undertaken for NCERT textbooks, leading to nearly 1334 changes across 182 books. In the most recent round of revision, references to the Gujarat riots of 2002, the Mughal era, caste system as well as social and political movements have been eliminated.
Strange are the times we live in.
(I write regularly for newspapers and digital platforms. It is their democratic right to decide to publish a column or not. When they refuse, it is my democratic right to post the column on my blog. UNCENSORED)