Скачать или смотреть Anish Kapoor : The Art of the Hypocrite

On 4 June Indian-born artist Anish Kapoor wrote in the Guardian how Narendra Modi was the architect of the Hindu Taliban. This latest rant was the result of Modi wanting to replace India’s parliament building with a new one. Apparently, this is part of wider plan to de-Islamicise India of Mugjal-inspired buildings.

Actually, the building dates from 1911 but was is nevertheless said be inspired by Mughal designs and therefore qualified as being Islamic. Kapoor links this to the destruction of Babri Masjid, and the architect Bimal Patel is apparently Modi’s very own version of Albert Speer; Hitler’s architect.

That this latest outburst by Kapoor came from the Guardian should not be a surprise, as this hate-filled newspaper is institutionally Hinduphobic. Hence Kapoor lets his anti-Hindu nightmares run rampant in this online rag much as Julius Streicher did with the Nazi mouthpiece Der Sturmer. However, this does run counter to another very important part of the Guardian’s narrative, namely its support for Palestinian refugees and Palestinian rights.

Anish Kapoor is the son of a Jewish mother and Indian Hindu father. By that alone he qualifies as being Jewish and indeed according to the Jerusalem Post dated 10 February 2017, his home life was imbibed with Judaism. More importantly he qualifies as Jewish for Israel’s right to return.

That means he can settle in Israel, while Palestinians born before 1948 in that region and who left during the exodus of Arabs or nakba, cannot. In this same Jerusalem Post article by Steve Linde, Kapoor said he was an artist, not a politician.

Yet had to speak out on behalf of refugees, namely the millions of Syrians displaced by war in their own country. Now in the Guardian itself of 7 June artists Miranda Pennell and John Smith lambasted Kapoor for this supposed gesture for refugees. Kapoor made his statement when accepting the Genesis prize which rewards “commitment to the state of Israel”. Hence Pennell and Smith exposed the blatant disregard by Kapoor for the Palestinians. Their exposure of Kapoor’s hypocrisy was highlighted by Artists for Palestine, and the BDS movement.

Indeed Anish Kapoor has been notable for his complete silence on the treatment of Palestinians. He stayed silent during the recent escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. While he lambasts this nonexistent Hindu Taliban.

On 27 April 2021, Human Rights watch denounced Israeli policies towards the Palestinians as apartheid. But not a word from Kapoor. Kapoor has ignored this as well as other atrocities suffered by the Palestinians; the mass expulsion and exodus known as the Nakba, the massacre in Deir Yassin, the massacre of refugees in the camps of Sabra and Shatila. He has also not mentioned how Israel collaborated with apartheid South Africa on nuclear military technology and Israel supplying arms to Pretoria.

On the other hand India was the first non-Arab country to contemporaneously recognize the Palestine Liberation Organisation's authority as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." A PLO office was set up in the Indian capital in 1975, with full diplomatic relations established in March 1980. India recognized Palestine's statehood following the declaration on 18 November 1988. Narendra Modi himself visited the West Bank on 10 February 2018, which was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Palestinian territories, where he was conferred Grand Collar of the State of Palestine.

Al-Jazeera news reported that Modi hoped to see an “independent Palestinian state living in an environment of peace”. He visited the Yasser Arafat Museum where he laid a wreath. Modi looked forward to “reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine”. He also announced one-time project assistance worth $42.1 million in education, health, women’s empowerment, and capacity building. In November 2019 Modi again reiterated his support for the Palestinians, as India itself did In May 2021 at the UN.

This is hardly in line with Kapoor’s fear of a Hindu Taliban. If anyone is acting the like Taliban it is Kapoor who unashamedly is biased in favour of Israel. Yet the very same Indian prime minister who he denounces as Taliban, fascist, Nazi and ultra nationalist. He claims that Modi has rendered millions of Muslims stateless by taking away their citizenship, when in fact that citizenship amendment was referring to refugees seeking asylum from religious persecution in neighboring countries.

The irony in all this is that Kapoor ignores the millions of Palestinians that have been rendered stateless by the state which honours him with the Genesis prize. That would explain his silence on the recent escalation of violence, the treatment of Palestinians and the atrocities such as Deir Yassin.

By throwing mud at others Kapoor wants to hide his very own Taliban, fascist and ultranationalist attitude towards the Palestinians. #AnishKapoor