Traitors are of two kinds. First, those who get into a deal with foreign enemies and help enslave their own people. Syed Jafar Ali Khan aka Mir Jafar, the chief of Sirajuddaullah's army is one such example whose name has managed to stay on top of our local ‘traitors’ list despite a few centuries having gone by. Today, Mir Jaffar’s name is synonymous with treachery. Because of his treachery, Sirajuddaullah’s army was defeated by the British forces in the battle of Plassey in 1757, paving the way for the occupation of United India by the British.
The second, or other kind of ‘traitor’ does not collaborate against foreign powers. Instead, he raises his voice against those high and mighty who are bent on collaborating with the foreign powers in the name of ‘patriotism’. Most of this type of traitors do not carry arms, deploy tanks or possess fighter aircraft. All they have as weapons are their words which they choose from a vast vocabulary to speak the truth, and their pens (and nowadays keyboards) that aid them to deliver the truth to reach out to the masses. When they speak or write the truth, those with guns get rattled and label them traitors.
Our history is brimming with this second category of traitors. At present, a campaign has been launched to label people like myself and some other journalists in this second category. Those who live under the shadow of the gun not only want to label me and my organization Geo TV as 'traitor' but they also want to revoke my citizenship.