Transcript for:
Critique of Dhruv Rathee's Cultural Commentary

Dear Dhruv Rathee, you are the reason I love India Today, I want to thank you. Many of you may not believe it. It may sound sarcastic. Because many people call Dhruv with very insulting names And I don't think he deserves this. But today, none of those names will be used Because since childhood, we have been taught 'Atithi Devo Bhava' You are a guest of India. You have come to India on the occasion of Lok Sabha elections So, thank you. But in your latest video, I found a mistake. This mistake was particularly about me. That's why I thought, I should let you know. I tried quiet hard to remember, when did I touch PM Modi's feet? I can't see it anywhere in the entire video It is possible, because you have been abroad for so many years, you may not remember the meaning of 'Charan Vandana' So, let me remind you. Charan Vandana means when you touch someone's feet Whenever I seek blessings from my grandmother, I touch her feet This is my culture. I have been taught since childhood that this keeps our ego in control. And we don't become small by doing this And because of this, I never hesitate to touch the feet of my family members, my guru or any elder person. We also got an award, from Delhi's education minister Did we touch her feet? But on the day of the National Creators Awards when we met Mr. Modi, I didn't touch his feet It is possible that your script writer made a mistake Or the editor might have used our clip by mistake Because I tried a lot to find it, But I didn't find any such clip So, dear Dhruv Rathee, if you have this exclusive clip then please forward it to me In fact, forward it to all your followers as well. Those followers who have started abusing us in the comments section Yes, if you don't have it, then do apologise publicly It is possible that your ego will be in control. Dear Dhruv Rathee, when I tried to find this video, I started getting some more videos. Like this video, where we raised questions on Manipur. Not one, but made two videos. Or this video, where we asked how can the Indian passport become strong? Or this video, where we talked about the wrestlers' protest. Or this video, where we said that the India's taxpayer is the most abused minority We made videos on the issue of Ladakh, when the matter was not trending. But it was equally important. Every creator talks on the topics that he thinks are right. He covers the topics that his audience wants to see Sometimes, those videos are critical. Sometimes, they celebrate our achievements. Yes, our achievements. Because I consider these achievements of the country as my own. We were taught to take an oath in school India is my country. All Indians are my friends. I love my country When the country does something good, appreciate it. And when it does something bad, criticize it. This is our job, right? Of course, we are not news. We miss many videos. Like we didn't make any video on Kerala Files. We didn't make any video on Veer Savarkar movie. We didn't make any video on Sandesh Khali. If we would have made a video, we would have got many views. But we couldn't make a video. There are many such topics on which we missed making videos Just like you. Like the case of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. You missed it. Maybe that video could have got millions of views But I can understand. Which videos you should upload on your channel and which not, is not my expertise. This is your decision. But I want to thank you. Because you, as an internet police, started deciding which creator should make a video on which topic and which he shouldn't And if a creator made a video on a topic on which you don't want him to make a video, then he is a Godi YouTuber. Thank you for teaching me that when your subscribers are above a limit, then you can also control who can make which video and who can't. Who is allowed to talk about what and who is not. And if someone covers that topic by mistake, then your loyal fans are there to handle it Some people will call it a violation of freedom of speech. What is it? The essential meaning of freedom of speech is that every point is allowed to exist. Whether you like it or not. When a person starts deciding who should talk about what and which opinions should be silenced, then this is called censorship. This is called internet dictatorship. But you have taught me that it is okay to bully a creator who is smaller than you After this, some people will also call you an internet bully. On the day of the Creator Awards, my friend Ranveer also got an award. And I am very happy for him. Ranveer is the co-founder of a creator agency You must have also worked with this agency. You must have also got brand deals because of his agency He also got the award. But while giving an example of 'Charan Vandana' in your video you chose me instead Why? Even Technical Guruji got an award who is your senior. But you didn't choose him. You chose me. Why? Even Triggered Insaan was here Even Ankit Baiyanpuria was here. And you didn't target any of them, which is quite right. Nobody deserves to be targeted for an award that they got like this. Moreover, there were many creators in the audience who would have accepted the award happily if they would have received it But you didn't call them Charan Vandana creators. If you have to give an example, there were some creators who actually touched the feet. Its their wish, its their right. They did what they felt was right at that moment But you and your team chose the one who didn't do Charan Vandana. Why did you choose me? Do you consider me a competition? A YouTuber with 18-19 million subscribers who has been making content for 10 years is scared of a new creator like me? Or are you angry at me for something? If you are angry, then I will say sorry right now. Or you think that I make videos in your category and so you can bully me. You can manipulate me and my wife. You can force us so that we never talk on any points By the way, there are many creators who make make videos like you and me. And nowadays, they are doing podcasts with many politicians. That is, what you are doing with me today you will do the same with them Right? Will you bully them like this tomorrow? I mean, will you give free advice? Actually, my Hindi has been a little weak since childhood But you have taught me that just like instead of talking about problems, if you talk about solutions too, is like a Charan Vandana. After watching all these videos, after seeing so much criticism, a dictator like PM Modi should get angry with us, right? Instead of congratulating us on the stage, he should not have allowed us to get nominated. So why did they give us the award? There may be some people in the world who think that we actually deserve this award. Maybe even you could have won this award Moreover, you could have met PM Modi and called him a dictator upfront Think about it, after taking an award from PM Modi on such a big stage, you could have given back the award to him This video would have become quite viral, right? Dear Dhruv Rathee, if you have ever won any award, then maybe you know that the one who gets the award doesn't decide who will give him the award. Just like last year, when we got an award from Atishi Ma'am And just like we are happy to get the National Creator Award, we are also happy to get this award. And we respect those who gave us the award. We treat them with respect. And maybe they give us the award because our work is great. Dear Dhruv Rathee, you have taught us a lot. You taught us how to become an internet police. You taught us how to bully a smaller creator than us. You taught us not to apply for an award and then call the recipient of the award as undeserving. You taught us. You taught us selective outrage. You taught us the new definition of Charan Vandana And you taught us to love India. Because, there were elections in my city yesterday. I voted. And then I took my grandma to vote. Dropping my grandma at home, I was on my way back home when I saw another old grandmother and her daughter on the road. I was driving so I offered them a lift While talking, I came to know that this grandma has dementia. That means she couldn't even remember her daughter's name properly. But, she remembered that voting is the duty of every citizen. I dropped her at the voting station. She voted. And when she came back and sat in my car she told me who she voted She didn't vote for the candidate I voted for That means if you think about it, I helped someone with my own work to cancel out my own vote. But, in this entire incident, I am proud of the fact that I didn't help anyone thinking about who they were going to vote for On the day of the election, look at the environment around you and notice. My voting center was a school. Here, the school students were providing wheel chairs to unknown people and were dropping them at polling stations they were guiding those people Someone was standing in the sun for hours just to vote. Someone lives in another city for work. But, he has come to his hometown to vote There is a 90-year-old grandfather who is doing his duty with great excitement. These are the people who believe that India is a democracy and India will remain one What difference does it make if one person says this The truth is visible to everyone. You just need to open your eyes. In 10 days, you can explore the entire USA There are tours as well. But, in those 10 days, you can only explore America as a tourist. If you want to see the real beauty of a country you have to embrace it. Not by putting a flag on Twitter's bio, but by keeping that country in your heart. Dear Dhruv Rathee, today, I want to recommend you a movie 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' in which there is a line, Beautiful things don't ask for attention On the day of the election, not everyone can understand the story behind this futile activity who comes to India only as a tourist. Who tells his barber, tailor, maid to watch his videos Only then, they will be able to give the right vote. Those who have faith in India, those who have faith in the people of India, they know that this country is very big. The country is very diverse. And the people of the country know better than you about what is right for the country. You don't need to manipulate them by showing them your provoking videos But you can continue to make videos as you like Why do you know? Because on the day of the election, the most beautiful thing I saw was that no one was changing their vote by watching your videos And neither by watching my video. Maybe none of the voters even know your or my name. We make videos on the internet. That's it. We are not Subhash Chandra Bose. We are not revolutionaries. We have not come here to save the country This feeling is a very humbling feeling. That the 20 million views on your videos are not even 2% of the country's population. So because of you, I have understood that the citizen of the country is very intelligent. He is not going to be influenced by your or my words. The country does not have dementia. It knows about all the achievements of last 10 years And also about all the failures. And finally, I want to tell you that this is called Namaste, not Charan Vandana. And the country whose population of 1.4 billion is not influenced by anyone's words, then this is called as democracy in my definition. And that's the reason why I love India.