If I need a mob to protect my God; I had rather not have a God.
The past few days the country was embroiled in a debate - a debate on free speech. Salman Rushdie had to cancel his visit to Jaipur Lit Fest because some bigots felt that his coming to the country hurt the sentiments of the Muslims. Worse, his presence via video link could not happen for fear of riots. This, in spite of the fact that he has visited the country numerous times after the publication and banning of his book Satanic Verses and even attended the fest in the past.
It is obvious to every lay man that it is a politicized move ahead of the polls. But, for me, the larger question here is why do we always bend to this minority who hold the country to ransom. The book may have hurt the sentiments of a few and it is banned. I wouldn't even debate that here. But barring the person from coming to the country is unjust and unconstitutional. What we fail to comprehend here is that the book and not the author is banned. Some may say that you cannot separate the two. And those who are screaming the loudest against it are most certainly the one's who haven't read even a page of the book. That in itself is a scary. The book is a fiction and fiction is a work that deals with events that are not factual.
We seem to have become a country where all the ideas on which the nation was built is getting lost in this fight to get more votes. Freedom of speech is the foundation for a democracy and a democracy which fails to uphold it is surely a failure. Today, our democracy seems like a farce. If the Rushdie incident was an isolated one, I wouldn't be that worried. But this has been happening again and again and again. James Laine's book on Shivaji was banned. Although the Supreme Court lifted the ban, the book still remains unpublished. M F Hussain had to spend his last years in a foreign country and even take the citizenship of another country. A K Ramanujan's essay was dropped from DU BA Syllabus largely due to pressure from right wing organizations. It has happened before and it will happen again.
Are our religious faith so shallow that one printed word or a painting affects it. We all have the right to have our opinions and we also have the right to choose to believe someone else's opinion or not. Curbing these voices will not take us anywhere. If I believe in something, my belief should be strong enough to not let someone else's view hamper it. I have a right to debate. I have a right to hate. But I do not have the right to take someone else's freedom.
We rather have a non super power India where we have a voice than go the China way and become a superpower and yet not have the right to chose how many kids I want to have.
I still have faith in this country and I still think it is not too late. But, it will be, very soon unless we wake up.
The past few days the country was embroiled in a debate - a debate on free speech. Salman Rushdie had to cancel his visit to Jaipur Lit Fest because some bigots felt that his coming to the country hurt the sentiments of the Muslims. Worse, his presence via video link could not happen for fear of riots. This, in spite of the fact that he has visited the country numerous times after the publication and banning of his book Satanic Verses and even attended the fest in the past.
It is obvious to every lay man that it is a politicized move ahead of the polls. But, for me, the larger question here is why do we always bend to this minority who hold the country to ransom. The book may have hurt the sentiments of a few and it is banned. I wouldn't even debate that here. But barring the person from coming to the country is unjust and unconstitutional. What we fail to comprehend here is that the book and not the author is banned. Some may say that you cannot separate the two. And those who are screaming the loudest against it are most certainly the one's who haven't read even a page of the book. That in itself is a scary. The book is a fiction and fiction is a work that deals with events that are not factual.
We seem to have become a country where all the ideas on which the nation was built is getting lost in this fight to get more votes. Freedom of speech is the foundation for a democracy and a democracy which fails to uphold it is surely a failure. Today, our democracy seems like a farce. If the Rushdie incident was an isolated one, I wouldn't be that worried. But this has been happening again and again and again. James Laine's book on Shivaji was banned. Although the Supreme Court lifted the ban, the book still remains unpublished. M F Hussain had to spend his last years in a foreign country and even take the citizenship of another country. A K Ramanujan's essay was dropped from DU BA Syllabus largely due to pressure from right wing organizations. It has happened before and it will happen again.
Are our religious faith so shallow that one printed word or a painting affects it. We all have the right to have our opinions and we also have the right to choose to believe someone else's opinion or not. Curbing these voices will not take us anywhere. If I believe in something, my belief should be strong enough to not let someone else's view hamper it. I have a right to debate. I have a right to hate. But I do not have the right to take someone else's freedom.
We rather have a non super power India where we have a voice than go the China way and become a superpower and yet not have the right to chose how many kids I want to have.
I still have faith in this country and I still think it is not too late. But, it will be, very soon unless we wake up.
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