Political Diary

New Delhi, 24 October 2015

Growing Intolerance

GOVT SUFFERS WRITER’S BLOCK

By Poonam I Kaushish

One man’s food, another man’s poison. A succinct testimony to the ongoing maelstrom over growing intolerance. From love jihad, to beef ban, to anti-Pakistan cultural-sports protests, to killing of rationalists et al. Resulting in a nationwide churning including scores of acclaimed novelists, poets and writers returning their coveted Sahitya Akademi awards. Even as a worried government mouths platitudes of calm yet refusing to rein in fringe elements. Add to this fanaticism, the religious desecration in Punjab and caste divide witnessing the gory burning of two dalit toddlers to death in neighbouring Haryana.

Sadly, intolerance and violence is the rhetoric of our times. Pick any newspaper or surf any TV channel. Any day. Splashes of social schism gore into news headlines. Massacres, murders, rapes, protests, chakka jaam, blackening of faces et al. Even the most gruesome violence shocks no more. Wherein, brutality and beastiality have become synonymous in modern India. Heads must hang in shame.

Voices of anguish are slowly being heard and threaten to become a shrill. Acclaimed thinkers and intellectuals for starters want to have their say against growing intolerance. The count of Sahitya Akademi winners returning their awards or giving up their membership is increasing, so far 40. However, it may too turn out to be a bad story. A political tamasha, wherein question of the protests being “real or manufactured” have been raised from the Government’s end. It sees the case as one of “ideological intolerance” as the writers with “Left or Nehruvian leanings, who enjoyed the patronage” of the previous establishment are not comfortable with the Modi dispensation!

Be that as it may, the mood is nowhere waning. Some Akademi members now demand a strongly-worded resolution by the institution itself seeking the Government must “convincingly prove” that it will not tolerate violence in the name of religion and if there are groups of people interfering with the sacred right of freedom of speech and faith, they should be severely punished.

But does one realize it’s like asking for the moon? The dissent started soon after the Dadri killing, when the writers started decrying rising intolerance and communal hatred. But it has been simmering. The shooting down of Kannada writer M M Kalburgi, known for his strong stand against superstitious practices and right-wing groups, is a case in point. Despite demands for the culprits being caught and brought to book, the system continues to fail. The urgency to react is clearly missing.

Remember, we have been through seasons of 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.

Recall 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.

Notably, this 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? Is the polity afraid of the clash of ideas in our public life?

Indeed, it is. The Sahitya Akademi row is yet another extension, which craves for attention and not rebuke from the Government of the day. In totality and not when the rumblings start hurting the establishment itself. Damage control so it seems is underway.

Not to set the system right, but to lessen a negative impact on its vote bank. Following the Dadri lynching, members of the ruling party and even Ministers sought to tom-tom Hindu religion, faith and worship, justifying the unjustifiable. The language used and the members conduct was not reprimanded. However, it is only when the BJP headquarters realized that such utterances were damaging the party’s prospects in the ongoing do-or-die Bihar elections it sought to rein in its members. Too little, too late.

Clearly, in a milieu of competitive democracy, if caste politics ensures convergence of electoral booty, politics based on religion has better chance of polarising voters via vicious speeches inducing raw emotions of hostility and hate. Who cares if it is destructive and stokes communal violence and sows the seeds of rabid communalism.

The Centre and State governments cannot pass the buck to each other for ongoing madness. Either which way it is the polity which gives it a communal or religious twist. Note the National Commission of Minorities report on the Dadri lynching wherein it states “it was disturbing that responsible persons converge at such spots after the incident and make irresponsible statements further vitiating the atmosphere”!

The question thus needs to be addressed is can dodgy language and conduct by those in power be condoned? Do backgrounds warrant a lenient view? What action have Central and State Government taken against the perpetrators behind hate speeches or those inciting communal violence? Why are politicians’ discourses becoming more and more venomous and toxic?

The tragedy of it all is that the political class exploits the common man’s emotions and only looks at what will help popularize it more with its vote bank. Even if its amounts to heading towards an era of intolerance and cultural terrorism. How else does one explain the Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena forcing cancellation of Pakistani Ghazal singer Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai or blackening the face of Sudheendra Kulkarni for hosting launch of Pakistan’s Kasuri memoirs or cadres storming into the BCCI Board office at Wankhede stadium and disrupting a meeting for revival of Indi-Pak cricket ties. The increasing frequency of hooliganism also exposes the continuing failure of law and order, as we see with a hapless BJP unable to rein in its partner in governance.’ When will enough be enough?  

Undeniably, 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 distort politics and in turn destroy democracy and laughter. It’s time to control the hate mongers and blunt them. They not only further divide the people on creed lines but their actions are also antithetical to hope of narrowing India’s burgeoning religious divide, thereby unleashing a Frankenstein. The polity must realize the ramifications of their actions and think where does India go from here?

In a mammoth one billion plus country there would be a billion views and one cannot curtail people’s fundamental rights. It is imperative for the public to decide. Clearly, the speed with which our tolerance is falling to fragile levels is scary. The writers have warned against bigotry. And, it would be wise for the powers-that-be to remember that criticism is a sign of a thriving and robust democracy. Pay heed before it’s too late.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)