Political Diary
New Delhi, 7 March 2017
Freedom vs Nationalism
IS THIS THE NEW NORMAL?
By Poonam I Kaushish
In this theekha-dhoondhar
no-holds barred ongoing electioneering in five States political Delhi was
yanked back to reality when a rajnitik slugfest
erupted in Delhi University over a college being forced to withdraw an
invitation two Jawaharlal Nehru University students accused of raising
anti-India slogans at an event last year for a seminar on “Culture of Protests’.
The culprits? The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad leaders
and Left-wing AISA, thereby sparking an intense debate on freedom of expression
across various platforms. The message rang clear: In Modi Raj nationalism is the final act of patriotism and criticism
is beyond the pale!
Adding
to the fracas all hell broke lose when a Kargil martyr’s daughter Gurmehar Kaur
started a social media campaign, “I am not scared of ABVP…Pakistan did
not kill my dad, war killed him”. Leading to her being ridiculed and trolled on
social media.
Worse, five
Union Ministers came down like a ton of bricks on the collegian stating that “nobody
has the “absolute right” to define nationalism and anyone who wants to break India and
support terrorists is anti-national… Those who are
supporting Gurmehar are all pro-Pakistan. Such people have no right to live in India and they
should be thrown out of the country.”
More.
Defending nationalism they wondered why this word is considered a “bad word” only
in India.
A BJP MP compared the hapless girl to Dawood Ibrahim. “At least Dawood did not
use the crutches of his father's name to justify his anti-national stand.”
Countered
Congress’s Rahul, “Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our students. For
every voice raised in anger, intolerance and ignorance there will be a Gurmehar
Kaur.” While Left leaders joined AISA protest march promising to raise the
issue in Parliament. Sic.
Blistering
comments which strip India
of all balance, open-mindedness, equilibrium and tolerance. Raising a moot
point: Is taking cudgels against the ABVP anti-national? How does exercising
one’s freedom of speech tantamount to spreading “hatred”? Is the NDA crushing
free expression, suppressing debate and dissent which are essential
pre-requisites of creative and thinking minds?
Questionably,
have we lost the ability for free speech and accept criticism? Bordering on a
narcissist phobia? 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? Should a debate become litmus of one’s patriotism?’
And is nationalism per
se a justification to stifle critique? Are our rulers so paranoid or
intolerant that any act of laughter, joke or perceived bigotry is viewed as a
threat to the nation, the Constitution? How does merely criticizing a belief or
thinking tantamount to spreading “hatred”? Do we want to produce robots on the
campus who only act at the command of what their leaders and chela thinkers, benefactors, innovators,
scientists and wealth creators’ desire?
Arguably, how does raising a question or criticizing the
Government be considered anti-national? And sacrificing democracy at the altar
of a virulent bigoted form of "nationalism" be seen as just and
natural? Think. The State is a creature
of the Constitution and not its creator consequently safeguarding its
democratic character is its most primary obligation. By not doing so it makes a
mockery of the concept of a “nation” built on the values of democracy.
True, none appreciates sloganeering like, Bharat tare tukre hone tak, jang jari rahe
gi, Bharat ki barbadi tak! India
murdabad, India go back, Kashmir magein
azadi, kitne Afzal Guru maroge, har
ghar me paida hoga ek Afzal, Afzal
bole azadi, chhinke lenge azadi, Kasab aur Afzal ke hatiyaare zindabad,
tumhare maut ka badla hum lengeh!
At the same time the ABVP is not alone is polluting student
politics in fact many youth studying in various educational institutes enjoy
the idea of being a ‘rebel’ a la ‘Rang de Basanti’ that they feel they can
be the change. Remember a Hyderabad student
Rohith who committed suicide sparking protests, followed by JNU’s Kanhaiya
Kumar who became an overnight star by raising anti-India slogans, the Jadavpur University
protests, Punjab and even Pune
Universities have jumped
in the controversy.
Failing to realise that their anger is conveniently misused by
Parties, be it the BJP, Congress and Left leaders who revel in joining any
campus melee, using students as a tool to increase their vote bank succinctly
underscored in ‘Gulaal’. Arguably,
why are seats of learning turning into political battlegrounds?
And why is only the youth
being targeted? Is it because they are easy soft targets? Are they being
mislead in the name of freedom of speech?
Alas, the
controversy over free speech vs rashtravad has overshadowed the academic
world. Wherein educational institutions are slowly and dangerously becoming
laboratories for political propaganda. Worse, in this tu-tu-mein-mein our netagan have
chosen to jump in feet first giving sermons on nationalism and even supporting
restrictions on freedom of speech and expression!
Failing
to realize that they are playing with fire exposing their deplorable and
dangerous lack of tolerance and determined to turn most things into a bone of
contention. In an era of political correctness where fundamentalists march as
patriots in uniform, an invitation to persons who are non grata, debate or
reference becomes anti-national. Wherein, life is lived in the slim strip
called the official.
This growing
uneasy trend has resulted in President Mukherjee not so discreet advice to
students and teachers to “engage in reasoned discussion and debate rather than
propagating a culture of unrest.” But it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. All
forgetting that universities are for learning and not a fight for political
control.
Undeniably,
freedom of speech and expression enshrined in our Constitution is sacrosanct
and inviolable that needs to be cherished and protected, certainly not misused
in the name of freedom.
Simultaneously,
they are not unfettered rights. Every right has limitations. There is a line
that divides right to have academic debate and support to terrorism or the idea
of terrorism, In the name of intellectual freedom people cannot be allowed to
hold public meetings to honour men who worked against the State and its
institutions.
Courts
are there to safeguard this right in letter and spirit and citizens enjoy the
fundamental right to have different opinions, criticize Government actions and
policies and express disagreement with judicial pronouncements. The aim should be to raise the bar on
public discourse, not lower it any more than has been done.
After all, democracy is not just a system of Government, it
is a way in which evolved and civilised societies organise themselves; within
which people live and interact with one another; based on the values of
liberty, equality and fraternity not only in governance but to living in a
democratic country.
Pertinently, India
is renowned for its cultural values and long tradition of tolerance. Clearly, sacrificing
democracy at the altar of virulently bigoted form of "nationalism" is
unacceptable. Those who reduce the level of discourse to such depths
only do so at the cost of exposing their prejudices leaving India dangerously intolerant and
violence-prone.
In the ultimate, the way forward is to desist from acerbic
and speeches and narrow-mindedness. Governance is not about play-acting. Time
has come for our polity to redeem itself.
What gives? --- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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