Spotlight
New Delhi, 23
September 2017
Killing Of Rationalists
SACRIFICES WON’T GO IN VAIN
By Proloy Bagchi
It is over a
fortnight and there is no breakthrough in the brutal murder of journalist and
activist Gauri Lankesh, which created a stir in the media. Somebody described
the killing as the “Sword” winning over the “Pen”. From what appears on the
surface it might seem true that an array of free-thinkers, including Gauri,
have been killed by unknown assailants, generally presumed to be belonging to
the Hindu extreme right. There is, though, no convincing evidence against any
right.
The Rightists have
been blamed for the killing only by surmises as the individuals organisation of
the extreme killed were of Leftist orientation. Whether these individuals were
really Leftists is also doubtful as liberal thinkers expound opinions that
could more frequently verge on Leftist thoughts without the propounders being
hard core leftists.
Be that as it may,
one still tends to feel that the “Sword” can never be mightier than the “Pen” –
not in this day and age. The 21st Century is not the time when practitioners of
swordsmanship are likely to win over those who have intellect and can facilely
wield their pen to put across their enlightened thoughts and opinions. The
“Sword” can have a few successes here and there but ultimately it is the human
genius that would take mankind forward. Civilisational progress or cultural
advancement cannot be checkmated by violence. It has not happened in the past
and it is not going to happen in the future.
So, whoever or
whichever organisation is behind the killings seems to have lost its bearings.
One wonders whether they are afraid of the impact that these liberals could
have on their clientele. Kalburgi, Dabholkar and Pansare, the three other
victims of unknown assailants, had a very small area of influence. They were
largely unknown up in the north. They hit the headlines only on being shot down,
otherwise many had never heard of them. They don’t seem to have figured in any
of the intellectual or liberal discourses. They might have had their own
respective circles and might have written books but those had very limited
circulation. And, yet they were gunned down.
Likewise, take for
instance Gauri; she was an editor of only a privately-run tabloid – not a
newspaper of repute, published in the local language and one that used to come
out only weekly. Her opinions expressed in it would have circulated not beyond
the four corners of Karnataka and, there too, among those who had liberal or,
one might even accept, Leftist orientation. The readership would not have been
in millions as it is on record that Gauri
Lankesh Patrike was not as popular as that of her father’s. Yet she had
identified herself with the problems of Dalits and minorities and was
anti-casteist associating herself with movements such as those opposed
superstitions. Above all, she was a journalist who campaigned for justice and
also, perhaps, for rational thought and action.
And, though she was a
transplant from Delhi after her father’s death and was not quite well versed in
Kannada language journalism she seemed to have been very effective in her
opinions that used to be frank, forthright and unbiased, loaded with facts and
truth. Despite the falling ethical standards, more so in Karnataka, people
lapped up her writings. Quite clearly, in these days of paid and fake news
there is still space for independent and unbiased journalism, howsoever
minuscule it might be. Surprisingly, those who arranged to have her killed were
afraid of ‘corruption’ of the minds of these small numbers of people.
Speculations were
rife about the affiliations of the killers. According to a theory, the killer
could be one of the Maoists as Gauri was successful in bringing over some
Maoists into the mainstream. The Maoists were presumably afraid such a process
could denude their cadres and weaken their outfit to fight for their cause,
whatever it is. They, however, accused the Hindu right extremists for this
supposedly false propaganda. Their outfit had recently declared in a press
statement that they had nothing to do with Gauri and had no reason to kill her.
Innocence of the Maoists, nonetheless, is yet to be proved.
On the other hand the
investigating agencies have come to the conclusion that the gun used to kill
Gauri was similar to the ones that were used to shoot down other rationalists
Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi. Evidently it is one and the same individual or
organisation which eliminated all the four rationalists. The finger of
suspicion, therefore, points towards the Hindu extreme right as the
rationalists were all opposed to the undesirable and obscurantist practices
observed by the Conservative Hindus.
What was Govind
Pansare like? He was a member of the CPI – a more tempered Left party than CPM
or CPI (ML). He used to encourage inter-caste marriages and fought against
obscurantist practices of Hindus. Likewise, Narendra Dabholkar, too, was
against such practices. He was a qualified medical doctor but he also used to
run an organisation against blind faith, belief in miracles and obscurantist
practices of Hindus. He, too, was against the caste system and promoted
equality in society that included the Dalits. He also worked as an
office-bearer of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations.
MM Kalburgi, third of
the victims of unknown assailants, was a highly educated man with a PhD in
Kannada. He was a prolific writer and wrote tens of scholarly books. Obviously,
for his scholarship he was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Kannada University
in Hampi. He was a Lingayat, a caste that dominates Karnataka politics, but he
was progressive. He fell afoul of the Lingayat community as he made some
unpleasant comments against Basava, a 12th Century philosopher revered by it. Besides,
he had scant respect for Hindu idols which also did not please the staunch
Hindus.
All the three as well
as Gauri, though Hindus, had a perspective of Hinduism that wasn’t quite in
sync with the perceptions of common men, unthinking, unlettered, and a somewhat
begotted lot as they are. Rationalists have always had a tough time down the
ages and in numerous cases, starting from Socrates, had to pay with their lives
for their rational and scientific beliefs.
It must, however, be
asserted that rationalists and free-thinkers are always ahead of the
contemporary world and, hence, are derided. But, mostly what they said yesterday
could come about today in the midst of society with all the societal sanctions.
If it is the Hindu
Right that has eliminated these four forward-looking people, one can only say
their action would not achieve whatever they were after. In fact, their act
will strengthen the rationalist movement and many of the Hindu beliefs may
undergo a change in not too distant future. Already, people are restive and
there is a growing feeling amongst many of the features of their religion need
to change pushing the Hindu clergy into a minority. One more thing has to be
appreciated. For over a thousand years Hinduism faced the Islamic sword of the
Mughals and bullets of the British but came out unscathed and, perhaps, is
flourishing like never before with all its benign and malign features.
If such massive
powers could not subdue Hinduism it is very unlikely that a few rationalists
would be able to make a dent on it. But, surely their sacrifices would not go
in vain. Hinduism will certainly change in this era of Science and Technology
and will assume a more rational visage whether the suspected sinister Hindu
groups like it or not. --- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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