The circus has come to town again. Last week, they played Sheena Bora. This week, they’re playing free speech. You could view this is as a case of the lefties rising together. In this scenario, everyone wins. It gives the left wingers some much-needed relief, and it gives the right wingers an excuse to be even angrier. Although why they are angry, I have no idea. Currently, they’re running everything. The problem is, this kabaddi match is obscuring the facts.
Facts and fiction
The facts are quite simple. Three people who used words as their weapons have been murdered in cold blood. None of them have received justice.
It's perfectly natural for writers to object to this. If someone was murdering plumbers, plumbers would object too. Some writers have used this opportunity to protest the overall political and social environment. Because of this, they have been accused of practicing politics.
Accusing writers of practicing politics is like accusing humans of breathing. We can't all write about half-girlfriends. There would be too many of them. This is not a recent development. The Panchatantra was written by Vishnu Sharma, around 2,000 years ago. It was written to teach young princes about politics. It was a violent time, and children often succeeded to the throne. Now we are much more modern, which is why Rahul Gandhi is facing so much difficulty. These children needed guidance, and what better way to teach a child about politics than fairy tales?
If you read Kshemendra, a Kashmiri satirist from the 11th century, his portraits of evil bureaucrats are eerily similar to the district magistrates and under secretaries who surround us. This shows that our bureaucrats are following a thousand-year old tradition, to which some British characteristics have been added. Don Quixote and Gulliver's Travels are far more than they seem to be. Uncle Tom's Cabin helped end slavery in the West. Premchand's Sadgati should have done the same for the caste system. Toba Tek Singh tried to make us end the madness, but he failed.
So the idea that writers should shut up and stay out of politics is stupid. The people who say this are those who believe that the only response to authority should be worship. If this view prevails, get used to folding your hands.
Muddied waters
The problem is, while writers have a right to practice politics, politics can muddy the waters. Some of those returning their awards have mixed up the issues of communalism and free speech, to express a general sense of unhappiness, and to show which side they're on. They are doing free speech no favours.
In the process, free speech becomes part of a package deal, which includes Nehru and Fab India. This is not true. The successful fight against Section 66A of the Information Technology Act was initiated by Shreya Singhal, grand-daughter of Ashok Singhal, an extremely proud Hindu. Legal support was provided by people like Karuna Nundy, a certified liberal. Sudheendra Kulkarni struck the most effective blow for free speech this week by refusing to wash his face. He is someone who is unlikely to be invited to Jawaharlal Nehru University any time soon. Free speech is not Nehruvian. In fact Nehru was the one who added the First Amendment to the Constitution, before the ink on it was dry. According to this, free speech is fine unless the government thinks it’s not fine. He may have been many things but a poster child for free speech he was not. Free speech is not about left or right. Free speech is for all of us. It’s too precious to play kabaddi with.
It doesn't matter who you support. All you have to ask yourself is this. Do you want to live in a country where anyone can just walk up to a writer and blow his head off?
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Facts and fiction
The facts are quite simple. Three people who used words as their weapons have been murdered in cold blood. None of them have received justice.
It's perfectly natural for writers to object to this. If someone was murdering plumbers, plumbers would object too. Some writers have used this opportunity to protest the overall political and social environment. Because of this, they have been accused of practicing politics.
Accusing writers of practicing politics is like accusing humans of breathing. We can't all write about half-girlfriends. There would be too many of them. This is not a recent development. The Panchatantra was written by Vishnu Sharma, around 2,000 years ago. It was written to teach young princes about politics. It was a violent time, and children often succeeded to the throne. Now we are much more modern, which is why Rahul Gandhi is facing so much difficulty. These children needed guidance, and what better way to teach a child about politics than fairy tales?
If you read Kshemendra, a Kashmiri satirist from the 11th century, his portraits of evil bureaucrats are eerily similar to the district magistrates and under secretaries who surround us. This shows that our bureaucrats are following a thousand-year old tradition, to which some British characteristics have been added. Don Quixote and Gulliver's Travels are far more than they seem to be. Uncle Tom's Cabin helped end slavery in the West. Premchand's Sadgati should have done the same for the caste system. Toba Tek Singh tried to make us end the madness, but he failed.
So the idea that writers should shut up and stay out of politics is stupid. The people who say this are those who believe that the only response to authority should be worship. If this view prevails, get used to folding your hands.
Muddied waters
The problem is, while writers have a right to practice politics, politics can muddy the waters. Some of those returning their awards have mixed up the issues of communalism and free speech, to express a general sense of unhappiness, and to show which side they're on. They are doing free speech no favours.
In the process, free speech becomes part of a package deal, which includes Nehru and Fab India. This is not true. The successful fight against Section 66A of the Information Technology Act was initiated by Shreya Singhal, grand-daughter of Ashok Singhal, an extremely proud Hindu. Legal support was provided by people like Karuna Nundy, a certified liberal. Sudheendra Kulkarni struck the most effective blow for free speech this week by refusing to wash his face. He is someone who is unlikely to be invited to Jawaharlal Nehru University any time soon. Free speech is not Nehruvian. In fact Nehru was the one who added the First Amendment to the Constitution, before the ink on it was dry. According to this, free speech is fine unless the government thinks it’s not fine. He may have been many things but a poster child for free speech he was not. Free speech is not about left or right. Free speech is for all of us. It’s too precious to play kabaddi with.
It doesn't matter who you support. All you have to ask yourself is this. Do you want to live in a country where anyone can just walk up to a writer and blow his head off?