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)
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