Political Diary

New Delhi, 17 January 2015

Political Intolerance

MAN. OUR NETAS ARE TOUCHY!

By Poonam I Kaushish

Move over jihadis, it’s the season of the political intolerance whereby any film, book or artwork which pokes fun or is not in sync with our leaders thinking, cause and outlook is not only banned, vandalized but worse every view is considered an act of sedition. And the writer, film maker or official   given a mouthful and barred. Man, our netas are touchy!

Over the last month one is witness to at least three counts. One the sudden resignation of the Central Board of Film Certification Chief Leela Samson due to “coercion and interfering with her decisions on several films” by the NDA Government’s I&B Ministry. The last straw being taken to task for passing Amir Khan’s “anti-God” PK and objecting to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's (BJP supporter) portrayal of himself as god in his film MSG: The Messenger of God. Resulting in Saffron Sangh’s Bajrang Dal’s vandalizing film theatres showing PK.  

Two, the RSS’s desires curbing of internet freedom, demands dozens of international websites to remove “offensive” albeit anti-Hindu content and wants “Bharatiya” dress and moral codes adhered in schools, colleges, cinemas and TV depicting Hindu values. Carrying it to ridiculous extremes of wanting e-tailing firms like Flipcart and Amazon banned. From top to bottom their mission is to fashion Bharat which fits in to its vision of Hindutva. 

Three, the Congress is threatening publishers to withdraw Spanish author’s dramatized biography of Sonia Gandhi ‘The Red Sari’ as it recounts how Sonia seriously considered returning to Italy with her children during the Emergency. As the Party wants to play down her being an Italian who ruled over a billion Indians.

Notably, this has once again raised the ante on Article 19(1) (a) which grants a citizen the right to freedom of expression. Raising a moot point: Is India heading towards an era of political intolerance and Hindutva values thrust down our throats? ‘It’s my way or highway’ attitude? Is the polity afraid of the clash of ideas in our public life? Is it mere coincidence or a sign of an increasingly knee-jerk, reactionary country where one is forced to go public about a frown, removal from job or punishment? 

Yes. Underscoring the narrow-minded climate of political discourse we live in wherein media, art, cinematic and cultural freedom can be twisted and misrepresented to suit our ‘holy cows’ netas narrow ends, shore up their image and commitment to their beliefs and ideology.

Alas, the country is in the grip of self-styled chauvinism and cultural dogmas wherein celebrities and films are fast becoming soft targets with knee-jerk reactions taking over debates and calibrated decisions and no writer, thinker, historian or social scientist can honestly do his/her research objectively. Shockingly, cultural bigotry is the latest facet of the dirty politics that our netagan have stooped to. Worse, they seem to be getting away with it without even soiling their hands.

Underscoring, that increasingly the leaders are talking more and more in banalities and platitudes where life is lived in the slim strip called the official and every joke, wit, satire, humour or defiance treated as a monster. Big deal if this makes public discourse impoverished and toothless.

Bringing things to such a pass whereby our rulers afflicted by the ‘I, me myself’ syndrome seem to be only interested in grabbing headlines whenever they can. As far as individual freedom is concerned they couldn’t careless. It’s all about making the right moral noises to humour their respective vote-banks, promote their self-interest by creating dissension among the aam aadmi resulting in making them rich and powerful. Big deal if it results in India more conflict ridden deeply mired in hate and violence

Moreover, this is not the first time. Many films, books even cartoons have been banned, innumerable artists have faced taboo and forced out in a country which prides it self for being the birthplace of so many apostles of peace and non-violence ---- Gandhi, Buddha and Mahavir. If one doesn’t like a film just collect a crowd and burn the theaters where it is shown. If you don’t like a novelist’s book get the Government to ban it or issue a fatwa against the author.

Instances are plenty. Remember an innocuous cartoonist Assem Trivedi was arrested for sedition by Mamata in Kolkata. Before him another of his tribe famed Shankar cartoons of Ambedkar in NCERT school books were posthumously removed. Tamil Nadu banned noted actor-director Kamal Hasan’s 100 crore magna opus Viswaroopam which dealt with the issue of terrorism on the fallacious that it would hurt the sentiments of ‘unknown’ Muslim groups and create a law and order problem. Notwithstanding if India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, called sedition laws “objectionable and obnoxious”.

And the Rajasthan Government registered an FIR under the SC/ST Atrocities Act against famed sociologist Ashis Nandy for his controversial remarks: “It is a fact that most of the corrupt come from OBCs and SCs and now increasingly the STs” at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2013. Livid Dalit icons BSP’s Mayawati and LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan forced Nandy to approach the Supreme Court which stayed his arrest.

In this milieu can we trust our leaders? Certainly, we do not need self-appointed guardians to tell us what we can read, seeing a film, what we can wear, what we can eat or drink. We should be free to worship the way we want, to believe what we want, whom and how we should love. Else, at this rate the day is not far when India could soon resemble Saudi Arabia or N Korea which have dispensed with producing movies altogether and punish those who lampoon leaders.

Where does India go from here? Our netas need to see how public figures across the globe are more tolerant about what’s written or depicted about them. Specially, their reactions to last week’s terrorist attack on Paris’s satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo wherein France rose in one voice, “We are not afraid, Charlie Hebdo carry on”.

A classic example of political freedom is former Italian millionaire-playboy-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who was mercilessly satirized in the print and online fora globally. The US and UK too are take lot of liberties vis-à-vis their rulers.

Clearly, the speed with which our tolerance is falling to fragile levels is scary. Forgetting, that if an individual’s freedom is denied, then the freedom of a community will be trampled upon too. Our leaders must desist from using narrow-mindedness and prejudices as pedestals to stand on to be seen. The right of our thinkers, artists, filmmakers and intellectuals must be protected at all costs.

The message has to go out clearly that no person, group or organization can threaten violence, and if they do, they lose their democratic right to be heard. India could do without netas who distorts politics and in turn destroys democracy and laughter Will they heed? ------ INFA.

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)