ABHIJIT IYER-MITRA? WHO?
When Ro Khanna, a U.S. Congressman from California, visited India recently, he visited the Prime Minister of India and a few other Indian political leaders. Khanna also met with Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, an Indian social-media commentator.
Khanna’s meeting with Iyer-Mitra was criticized by some who characterize the Indian as a “far-right Hindutva idealogue.”
Al Jazeera reported that “… United States Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna has come under sharp criticism for meeting far-right Hindutva ideologue Abhijeet Iyer-Mitra on his recent trip to India, with many pointing out that his embrace of Hindu nationalists is against the progressive values that he has claimed to espouse…”
Read the report at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/16/congressman-ro-khanna-slammed-for-meeting-hindutva-ideologue-on-india-visit
Who is Iyer-Mitra?
The characterization of Iyer-Mitra in the Al Jazeera report is simplistic (his name is “Abhijit” misspelled as “Abhijeet”.)
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (“AIM” as some call him) is a complex man. His ideology is difficult to pin down. He loves to jabber, joke around and be provocative.
AIM is an “equal-opportunity” offender. He offends Hindus as well as Muslims and Christians. He can speak admiringly of America and also denounce America with utmost contempt.
About five years ago, AIM was arrested and jailed for offending Hindu sentiments (for his comments about erotic sculptures at Hindu temples). He apologized and admitted that his comments were “stupid.” He also claims to be a champion of free speech.
AIM’s special area of expertise is national security and defense policy issues. He can talk about the merits of one type of military aircraft over another with nuanced technical details.
AIM is openly gay and is often self-deprecating. He describes his mother, an officer of India’s civil service, as a capitalist while describing his father as a communist. His mother is from Tamil Nadu and his father is a Bengali. AIM is semi-fluent in both Tamil and Bengali. His mother was a victim of an “acid attack” allegedly for her opposition to policies of her state’s chief minister.
AIM criticizes Modi and BJP as vehemently as he castigates India’s opposition parties and their leaders. He is particularly critical of Modi’s foreign policy establishment.
AIM curses on air with more vulgarity than Howard Stern.
All this makes it difficult, if not impossible, to pin AIM down to any specific ideology or party.
Why did Ro Khanna meet AIM?
It could simply be because AIM has a large following in social media. He is constantly on podcasts on a wide range of topics (he knows something about almost everything even if it is based only on anecdotes and vague speculations).
John L.