Take care to go through this checklist of acts and conduct that might lead you to being branded anti-national or worse

Be careful, very careful.

The new India is upon us. The thought police is out. And the environment is decidedly Orwellian. Being Indian and feeling Indian is not enough anymore. You cannot take it for granted. You have to prove it again, again and again. Even after that chances are you would be found wanting. You would be surprised that you were an anti-national and didn’t even know it. But that won’t spare you punishment. For, those who shall not be named are not given to forgiving. Governments can do little about them.

It is always better to be safe than sorry. Before those who shall not be named catch you, take care to go through this quiz that'll help you work out whether or not you may be branded anti-national or worse.

So here we go:

Of course, this is a short quiz.

Those who shall not be named have a far bigger checklist. And unlike us, they won’t make it public, but will expect you to follow their list. They won’t allow you to think, they decide and define what is national and what is acceptable and what is not. Their understanding of anti-national may not necessarily mean it has to do something with the idea of the country. It’s the kind of expression that conveys that they hate you. If they don’t like what you eat or whom you pray, they can call you anti-national too.

Don’t underestimate their power.

They can hurt or kill you through words and through direct physical assault and they will have the gumption to defend their act in public through like-minded voices. They operate in massive gangs, splintered yet together, spread out everywhere. Yet they are almost invisible, for no police can catch them, no court can punish them and they can make the government look helpless. They are so full of hate and anger that an ordinary man has little hope of reasoning with them.

So India, it’s time to be careful. The thought police is around. If you don’t protect yourself, no one will.