The perpetual itch to remain in the limelight at any cost seems to be the greatest affliction of people like the Verbal Terrorist^TM. In yet another ferocious display of guts, Arundhati Roy takes on the might of the Indian state.

In an explosive expression of her views, celebrated Indian writer Arundhati Roy told an audience here that ”India is not a democratic country”. ”The biggest PR myth of all times is that India is a democracy. In reality, it is not,” Roy, the author of The God of Small Things told the 1,000-strong audience at a book reading function she attended along with Eduardo Galeano, one of Latin America’s most distinguished writers.

Her stand is only natural, and it is neither the first nor will it be the last time she will say it. It is really interesting that she speaks so much about democracy while I’m yet to find just one line where she defines what democracy is. If that task is too arduous for her fictional brain, she can at least spell out what her understanding of it is.

Ever since she was put in jail for making bananaish comments on the Indian republic, she’s been careful to choose audience. So here’s the speech to an audience whose knowledge about India, I wager anything, is about as deep as the Dead Sea, so what she says must surely deserve the applause it got. Admirable courage, I should say. It serves two purposes: to vested interests who hate India for whatever reasons, she’s a Celebrity Mudslinger and to herself, well, she makes lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in return. The Master-Slave relationship balance is finely maintained. From the Guardian link, here’s a glowing tribute:

Although no further action was taken, Roy’s continued criticism of the [Narmada] project and her outspoken views on India’s nuclear tests four years ago have made her a much-hated figure among the Indian right-wing establishment.

I wonder at times, if she has a secret fetish for dictators, tyrants, and generally bloodthirsty people. She is never critical of these regimes, never utters a reprimand against terrorists but most vociferously condemns countries who permit her to parade her barrage of verbal nonsense.

And so, if she feels India is not a democracy, India is saved. She can forthwith relinquish her Indian citizenship and migrate to more democratic pastures like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, or Cuba.

Verbal Terrorist: Trademark for this term rests with Ravikiran, (dis)honourable member of the Evil Cartel for coining this term a few years ago. Unless you haven’t figured it by now, it applies to Arundhati Roy.