Rajiv Gandhi bans 'Satanic Verses', Modi bans 'Parzania', Rane bans 'Da Vinci Code', the Left Front bans 'Taslima', Shiv Sena bans 'Shivaji's Biography' and the saga continues with Mayawati now banning Prakash Jha’s Hindi movie 'Aarakshan'. This is the sad story of Post Independence India and the treatment it has meted out to its Artists. The case of M F Hussain and so many others comes to mind. Those same Artists who wish to fly high to get the colorful expressions on our faces. Those same Artists who are pushing the boundaries of human endeavor and spirit in their efforts to entertain us. Those same Artists who are God's precious gifts to us all.
This, sadly, is the cruel irony of India today. The same land which once upon a time gave great pride of place to its Art, traditions and Culture. Which once gave us 'Khajuraho' and 'Kamasutra'. Even our despotic ancient kings valued ‘Art’ better than our modern day politicians. Where is that freedom in art today may I ask? Today, the perpetrators of violence are respected; the Artists harassed, intimidated and blamed. On Independence Days and Republic days, we hold these sham parades pretending to love our various freedoms and our respect for the Constitution and its values. But the reality is a whole different world altogether. Now, nobody cares for others and their freedoms. Now, sentiments are hurt at the drop of a hat. Small groups, often politically or religiously motivated ones, decide what is right and wrong for the rest of us. A minority decides what is good and bad for the majority. Nobody will try to understand the perspective of the Artist and the painstaking efforts that go in the production of a Film, a book, a song or a movie. Nobody will care and value the core principles of free speech and expression. Eminent writer Arundhati Roy who referred to the Indian democracy as a 'PR Myth' ruffled several feathers some time back with her forthright views. But incidents like these prove that she is perfectly on the button. We live in a sham democracy where Judicial Judgments are not worth even the cost of paper they are printed on. There is simply no law of the land. It is a Jungle Raj which prevails, where the Kings and Queens decide what is right and wrong for the rest of us, where vote banks govern us, not Constitution and common sense! In all this, the Judiciary has been a big let down. Even though some extremely liberal Judgments have been passed by this most significant Pillar of our democracy, one fails to understand why this Pillar is silent when its own Judgments are not valued. How can Mayawati ban a movie when the High Court has given a green signal for its release? Why does the Judiciary go into a slumber when the laws are being brutally murdered by the very those who are supposed to protect them? Why can't ‘suo moto’ contempt action not be taken against politicians who are blatantly making a mockery of Court Judgments and the Constitution? Can we hope for more stringent Judicial action as a deterrent against this abuse of Power? Cheers, Sandeep Heble
