Spotlight
New Delhi, 4 November 2015
Returning State
Awards
WHOSE INTOLERANCE
IS IT?
By Dr S Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
The ‘movement’ of returning State awards is turning into a
political conflict and has introduced “intolerance” as a hot issue in
elections. In recent weeks, several scholars, intellectuals, writers and film
personalities have given back the awards they have received in protest against
what they perceive as an atmosphere of intolerance pervading the entire
country. The action is growing day by day.
A group of scholars and artists called upon the President to
advise the Government to ensure freedom of life, faith and expression. The
occasion was the birth anniversary of Narendra Dabholkar, a rationalist writer
who was murdered in August 2013 in Pune. They sought to raise their voice “in
protest and in resistance” against growing intolerance. In a joint statement, a
group of about 230 academics, writers, and intellectuals from universities in India and
abroad also expressed protest against the murders and failure of the Government
to condemn the action.
The murder of M M Kalburgi, who was a member of the Sahitya
Akademi, it is said, did not receive immediate condemnation by the institution.
It hurt the feelings of a number of writers prompting surrender of awards by
many in protest.
Returning the award is not just a reaction to the murder of
free thinkers like Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dhabolkar. It was said
to be against the ‘growing intolerance’ in the country manifested in different
ways like ban on films, restrictions on food habits (read beef), opposition to
inviting Pakistani artistes, and reorganization of academic and cultural bodies.
Over 30 writers have so far returned their awards and 20 of them returned the
cash award also.
For several days, the Akademi mutely witnessed the return of
awards. Protesting awardees include literary figures from different parts of
the country who have contributed works in different Indian languages.
Some BJP leaders accuse the Congress, Left thinkers, and
activists of practising “ideological intolerance” towards Prime Minister Modi and
the BJP and trying to project India
as an intolerant society through structured and organized propaganda. Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley views this revolt as intolerance to alternative
ideological pole. The perpetrators of this propaganda were seen as enemies to
alternative viewpoints in universities, academic institutions, and cultural
bodies.
While addressing the media in Varanasi, Jaitley stated: “Those returning
awards are playing politics by other means…they are rabid anti-BJP elements”.
He called this a “manufactured rebellion going on at a fast speed” and a “disproportionate
political reaction, mostly by those opposed to what the BJP believes in”.
The Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi broke its silence
and held a meeting and passed a resolution to strongly condemn the killing of
Professor Kalburgi, other thinkers and intellectuals and violence against
fellow citizens in the country. The Resolution asked the Union
and State governments to maintain the “ambience of peaceful coexistence” in
society.
The Resolution sent a political message by registering its
protest against violence and not just violation of freedom of expression of
writers. The Akademi, however, wants the award winners who have surrendered
their awards to take these back. Its meeting brought into the open the clash of
interests between two groups – one condemning attacks on writers, and the other
hitting out at politicization of the issue. Impartial observers and the general
public must know whose intolerance is playing politics as the two contending
groups accuse each other of “intolerance”.
In a way, it is diversionary tactics to replace
“development” with appeal to sentiments and emotions as prime national issues. Emotional
issues have contagious effect and spread much faster than localized practical
life issues. These draw people from all sections, rich and poor, educated and
uneducated, men and women.
The Congress President Sonia Gandhi led a protest march with
125 party members and met President Mukherjee to discuss the “rising
intolerance” across the country. It was her second meeting with him. She
conveyed her party’s “grave concern” at the “growing atmosphere of fear,
intolerance, and intimidation being deliberately created by sections of the
ruling establishment”. A memorandum charging Ministers for supporting people
spreading hatred and divisions was submitted.
Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu ridiculed the Congress move
saying: “Congress talking about intolerance is like the devil quoting the
scriptures. Their plan to meet the President of India protesting against
intolerance is the joke of the decade. Congress and its political friends are
intolerant of people’s mandate.”
The protests have also been ridiculed by Modi during his
election tour in Bihar reminding the nation of the massacre of Sikhs in Delhi in 1984 following
the assassination of Indira Gandhi. He made a pointed attack that the Congress
had no moral ground to give a lecture on “tolerance” with its record of
violence against a religious community.
Whatever may be the reason for returning the awards, such an
act betrays that the award is seen as a political reward. Sahitya Akademi
award, for instance, is meant as national recognition of excellence in
intellectual, literary, academic, and creative work and should not have political
implications. So also, the cultural and educational awards.
To offer political support to the return of awards and to
organize party protests and rebuttals have all turned the episode as a
political conflict. Intolerance, wherever exhibited and whom so ever is the
culprit, needs to be addressed legally. No purpose could be served by an
individual by surrendering his award --- not even symbolic.
Honours system, as it is known, recognizes people who have
made achievements in public life. The awardees are such people who would have
dedicated themselves to make life better for other people or committed
themselves to attain excellence in their chosen fields and succeeded.
Honours system is in vogue in many countries. Political
patronage was shown in titles like “Sir” and “Rao Sahib” in colonial days. Today,
honours are given to people involved in different fields such as education,
health, sports, science and technology, arts and music, civil and political
service, besides police and military service.
The method of selection of recipients has also raised
controversies many times. Lack of transparency and political interference are
common grievances. There are cases of rejection of Padma awards for late
recognition. It is common knowledge, that for one awardee, several thousands of
competent people may have vanished and still vanishing without recognition and
without opportunities to get recognition.
Awards including the highest honour of Bharat Ratna do not
always mean that the holders are the best in their fields. While the honours
system itself needs reforms, the recipients are not concerned with that and
have fallen prey to party politics. It is most deplorable.
Returning awards is a method of symbolic gesture without
much substance. For fighting intolerance of the ruling groups or opposition forces,
it is not likely to be effective. On the contrary, it can only raise questions
of manifestations of intolerance in the past and the blissful silence of award
holders at that time.
The onlookers fail to understand whose intolerance is now on
display – ideology of power holders or the anger of power losers? ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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