War on Freedom

After a refreshingly heartening series of protests across the country following the arrest of MS University student Chandramohan, I seemed to have found once again, a ray of hope in the country's youth. The latest incident of state supported suppression of one's freedom of expression took place in Gujarat (where else!) when BJP zealot Neeraj Jain along with thugs of the VHP barged into a private exhibit, meant solely for evaluation of the students' work and started tearing down artwork at the Lalit Kala Kendra in Baroda. The police, instead of stopping the vandalism, arrested the graduate student on charges of 'hurting religious sentiments'.

The destruction of Hussain's work at the Amdavad ni Gufa and the many death threats and attempts at seizing his property, along with the monetary rewards announced by the Hindu Law Board & the Shiv Sena independently for anyone who chops off the artist's hands are all known to the public. The attacks on filmmakers like Deepa Mehta and Anand Patwardhan, and the banning of many films that go even close to suggesting the harsh truths of our society are just more examples of the moral policing that these self-appointed 'cultural guardians' practice. In a democratic India, the official government authorities in charge of censorship remain mere bystanders while groups such as the BJP youth league and the VHP take the law into their own hands.

Every individual and group is entitled to its own views on bharatiya sanskriti and its 'purity'. If you find a painting offensive, walk out of the gallery! Who are these individuals and groups to decide what is appropriate for me to see, when they have no rightful authority in the matter? It is a breach of duty when the government does not take appropriate action against those openly associated with these incidents. But it is horrifying that the state machinery joins hands with the hooligans by punishing individuals who are in fact, victims of a public violation of basic human rights.

People who continue to complain about the inaction of the government while they sit in comfortable inertia are of no use today. It is therefore especially reassuring when citizens visibly demonstrate their furor through means of peaceful demonstrations and protests. Following the incident at MSU, students and artists have come out in unison all over the country. Protests in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Thiruvananthapuram are all the face of growing opposition against communal and cultural intolerance.

Chandramohan's classmates, in protest of MSU Vice Chancellor's action suspending Dean Panikkar who had the courage to stand up and condemn the incident, put up an exhibition of ancient Indian art showcasing ancient sculptures representing the tremendous cultural and expressive freedom that was a part of our rich heritage. An attempt to curb the student protest resulted in the Vice Chancellor ordering to seal the exhibition, in effect, censoring century-old Hindu art and heritage – does VC Manoj Soni see the irony, or the hypocrisy?!

Movies like Rang De Basanti and Munnabhai Lage Raho show a strong movement towards the sensitization of Bollywood and its acknowledgement of the needs of present day culture. The movies (though sometimes suggesting questionable means), to whatever extent, manage to inspire the youth through a realization of empowerment. The tremendous involvement of youth across the country, whether through rallies or SMS campaigns was stirring during the Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo cases. Although Chandramohan's case particularly might not be as horrifying (arrest and not cold blooded murder), the incident is symbolically, an attack on every Indian citizen's right to expression. It is evidence of an orchestrated 'war on freedom'. And we cannot affort to be silent bystanders.