I read today that Iran, the same country where women are beaten, jailed and even killed for not wearing the hijab, witnessed quite a spectacle. The daughter of one of its senior defence and national security officials, a close aide to the Supreme Leader himself, walked down the aisle at her wedding in a strapless, low-cut gown that left little to imagination.
Her mother too, it seems, wore a gown that bared her back proudly.
The world gasped. The same man who signs off on punishments for women who forget to cover a strand of hair, had no issue when his wife and daughter walked uncovered before cameras.
Now that is hypocrisy at its most royal level. And yet, before we wag our fingers at Iran, perhaps we should turn a mirror toward ourselves.
We shout from rooftops that India is the best place to live, and then quietly send our children abroad to study, work, and finally settle there. We boast about the greatness of our education system, but when our own sons and daughters need a degree, we suddenly trust foreign universities more. We talk of Swadeshi, but the watches on our wrists and the pens in our pockets are foreign and cost lakhs. We shout “Make in India” while proudly flashing our imported gadgets. We speak of Indian culture, but fly to Switzerland for our weddings, and Dubai for our honeymoons.
Our leaders do the same. They travel in convoys of foreign cars, wear imported suits, and sip imported drinks, while preaching to the rest of us about nationalism and simplicity. They tell us to buy Indian, eat Indian, and live Indian, while their children eat in Italian restaurants and study in American schools.
I often wonder if hypocrisy has become the national dress code for leaders across the world.
Poor Setayesh, the Iranian daughter, wanted a dream wedding. Her father, blinded by affection, gave it to her. But in doing so, he exposed what Iran tries so hard to hide. The truth that behind the rigid laws and the loud moral sermons, men and women do exactly what they punish others for.
And maybe that is the story everywhere. We want others to follow rules we ourselves do not have the courage or desire to obey.
We want to look moral, not be moral.
Perhaps it is time we stopped hiding behind slogans and started living by the values we so easily preach. Whether in Tehran or in Delhi, whether it is the hijab or the flag, whether it is faith or patriotism, the world is watching. And it can see through our silk ties, designer gowns and grand speeches.
Because the truth is simple: Hypocrisy, whether worn as a dhoti or stitched into a tuxedo, looks ugly everywhere…!
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