Censorship comes naturally to the Congress — since they have a lot of conceal and hide. It would be too damaging to their fortunes if Indians got to know the truth. The Indian motto reads, “Satyam Eva Jayate” (Truth Alone Prevails). The Congress have persistently tried to see that “Asatyam Eva Jayate” (Lies Alone Prevail). It did work in the past, and to some extent it continues to work. But times are a changin’ and it will not be long before Indians wake up to satya.

For some, it’s been a lonely trek so far. They have persevered for years trying to shine some light on the lies. Dr Subramaniam Swamy, National President of the Janata Party, has been tireless in his efforts to reveal the truth. “Do you know your Sonia?” asks Dr Swamy and then goes on to expose, among other things, Three Lies about Edvige Antonia Albina Maino aka “Sonia Gandhi”.

But them internets (or interwebs, if you like) is an awesomely mighty weapon against lies. Too many Indians are getting access to the internets and it is getting rather hard for the Congress to keep things under wraps. Just as an aside, the Congress will try its best to retard the growth of the web in India.

Anyway, the Congress is once again up and about trying to censor a book by a Madrid-based writer, Javier Moro, titled “El Sari Rojo” (The Red Sari). MSN News reports that “Cong targets Sonia’s ‘Red Sari’“:

First published in October 2008, the book has already been translated into Italian, French and Dutch, and an English translation by Peter Hearn is ready for publication.
. . .
In an email, Moro, 55, said that Sonia’s lawyers, including Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, “have just written to my Italian and Spanish publishers to demand the withdrawal of the book from the stores. Nobody understands very well why, but that’s what they are up to”.

Moro thinks that the Congress leaders “did not like the recreation of her life in Italy as told in my book”.
. . .
The novel mentions Christian von Stieglitz as “the friend who introduced her to Rajiv when they were students”, describes Congressmen persuading a reluctant Sonia to accept the presidency of the party, and then, in flashback, goes to the “village of Lusiana in the Asiago mountains in the foothills of the Alps”.

There, “in accordance with tradition the neighbours tied pink ribbons to the bars on the windows and doors” when Sonia was born in December 1946, a post-war child. Writes Moro, “A few days later, she was christened by the Lusiana parish priest and given the name of Edvige Antonia Albina Maino.” But her father Stefano called her Sonia. “In this way, he kept the promise he made to himself after getting away from the Russian front with his life.”

According to Moro’s book, Stefano was part of Mussolini’s army that was defeated by the Russians. “There were thousands of prisoners, among them Stefano, who managed to escape together with other survivors. They succeeded in taking shelter in a farmhouse on the Russian steppes, where they lived for weeks under the protection of a peasant family…. As a tribute to the family that had saved his life, he decided to given his daughters Russian names.”

You will not find the above very surprising if you have been following what Dr Swamy has been saying for years. It is not news that Antonia Maino’s father was a soldier in a fascist (in the original sense of the word) army. The Congress cannot afford that that becomes common knowledge.

Although just because her father was a fascist need not imply that Antonia Maino is a fascist. What is worrisome is that a foreign-born person wields so much power in India. Naturalized citizens are all good and fine but they should not be allowed to be in positions of high power. The US recognizes this and does not allow non-native born citizens to become the president of the US.

It is undeniable that humans have loyalty to their place and nation of birth. Only psychopaths and severely mentally handicapped people can totally sever the ties to their motherland. To the average human, loyalty to one’s faith, one’s place of birth and one’s family comes naturally. So claims that she does not have loyalty to her nation of birth are either false or she is a psychopath.

Indians take great pride in the achievements of not just of Indians abroad but even those whose ancestors were Indians. This is a two-way street: Indians or people of Indian origin care about India and feel a deep connection with it. This is all natural and good — and expected.

I speak from personal experience. More than half my adult life was spent in the US. I voluntarily got myself an American passport. I love living in the US, most of my friends and acquaintances live in the US, and I miss living there. Both India and the US are home to me. But my feelings for India are most certainly deeper than my feelings for the US. Every time I arrive in India from abroad, I get goosebumps recalling Sir Walter Scott’s poem:

Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burned,
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand!

What does Antoina Maino feel when she steps on her native land? Does her heart within her burn with feelings of coming home? Which side will she be on if there’s a conflict between Italy and India?

I cannot imagine her not putting her own children’s interest ahead of any adopted children. It is natural and commendable. I cannot imagine her not putting her native land’s interests ahead of her adopted land.

Indians need to understand this.