Why every Hindu Nationalist should listen to Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy is very important to India, to Hinduism, and to people who care about India, because she points to issues that need to be looked at. There are some conclusions that are sweeping and disagreeable, but if you put that to the side for a moment, she is talking about issues that need public attention. I think many people on the Right tend to write her off quickly, to put her into a category, that makes it easy to dismiss her views. But in a place like India, I don't think you can do that. In a way she's like an orthodox Brahmin Hindu , who is part of the Communist Party.

I did that initially. I said she was just flat wrong. It was at a time when I was a free market ideologue, and I'm not saying that I'm not that anymore, it's just that I realize that it's not an ideology that requires strict allegiance. But there was something magnetic about her words, about the issues she was describing, and the narrative that she was describing that was at least consistent enough in logic that I could follow. The problem I have with most people on the left is that they're almost never intellectually consistent. With Arundhati, there are moments, where she makes a side note in he speeches where she concedes some points that the Right makes. So there is a degree of honesty there that I feel needs to be acknowledged and taken.

Often times there is a urge towards putting everything into binary categories, and maybe that serves a useful utilitarian purpose.  But I find that many people have perspectives that are valid and should be given due respect and credence.