I was always good at civics back in my school days and as
much as I remember, there was a certain right called ‘the right to freedom and
expression’. Either it’s absolutely
obsolete now or I really went to a bad school.
I am appalled at the current state of affairs. The freedom
of expression is being compromised and at what cost. The minority vote bank
game is nothing new but to play that at the risk of confining artistic expression
is completely unacceptable. Do we still live in a world where even the work of
artists, painters, writers, and sociologists would be dictated by the so-called ‘religion
saviors’? Is it a ‘social fatwa’, because
if it is then these are ominous signs for the things to follow.
A cartoonist getting arrested, a girl harassed for posting a
Facebook status on a politician - these are things that are unheard of, and the
fact that these cases are happening in the culturally progressive states of
Bengal and Maharashtra make it all the more frightful. We saw what happened
with Vishwaroopam. It was banned citing the reason that it could lead to a law
and order problem. I feel that the youth today is politically aware and mature
enough to decide what to watch and what to miss. I haven’t watched the movie but
even if it has scenes that could hurt religious sentiments, I would rather
protest by not talking about the film and not recommending it to my friends
than coming out on the streets which could create a law and order situation.
Mr. Rushdie was denied entry in Kolkata as his visit could
have religiously incited the common man. That’s outrageous logic. It’s
almost like defaming the average Kolkatan who is liberal, secular, and
culturally sound.
We don’t need to learn rocket science to understand who is responsible for all the disorders. It’s conspicuous. The fringe
groups and organizations do not speak for the common man. We are religiously
tolerant people and cannot be maneuvered by these ‘self-appointed messiahs’ for
their petty political gains.
Artists, painters, actors, dancers, etc. are social
commentators. They are bound to make these groups unhappy, but to succumb to
their ‘social policing’ would be jeopardizing our basic right to express and
comment.
Surely the ‘fundamental rights' cannot just be a prerogative
of the ‘fundamentalists’.
