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OUR
history will be what we make it. If we go on as
we are, history will take revenge. This is as
much truer of India as of other countries. Fear
has got hold of us and we have compromised with
the harshest laws and the blatant human rights
violations. Our focus on security concerns actually
generates repression. Terrorism has made us cast
our society in such a way that we justify the
excesses of state police or central forces. We
are giving up too much.
In many states in India, the repressive POTA has
come back in one form or the other. The centre
which included POTA’s dictatorial part in
the Unlawful Activities Act is using it with a
vengeance. As the shadows of intolerance lengthen,
the state discards even simple values. Terrified
citizens have nothing except to say that the government
knows the best.
Thank god, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi withdrew
the order which made it compulsory for every resident
of the Capital to carry a photo identity card.
This, as the order said, was meant “to ensure
that terrorists or anti-social elements don’t
sneak into the city.” They do not want an
identity card because they know how to fudge papers.
The order would have meant harassment to lakhs
of people, particularly those from Bihar, who
do not possess any paper to prove that they are
the resident. They have been here for years, doing
odd jobs. When even the Delhi chief minister reads
about the order in the press, it means that the
establishment wants to convey that the big brother
is watching you.
After all, it was the Congress government which
had imposed the emergency (1975-77) to suspend
even fundamental rights. The order’s withdrawal
does not come as a relief to me. I feel that the
central government which directly rules Delhi
has something up its sleeve to restrict the individual’s
liberty and free movement that the constitution
has guaranteed.
No society can prevent all threats. Some element
of risk will always be there. We should take normal
precautions but should never make such intrusive
rules which actually undermine the very democratic
principles. Democratic nations slip into dictatorships
when the citizens are not vigilant. Without the
awareness of what is right and a desire to act
according to what is right, there may be no realization
of what is wrong.
In fact, the manner in which liberty is being
flouted is worrisome. The University Grants Commission
wants to prescribe a “homogeneous curriculum”
in all Indian universities. This will drench out
even the last drop of creativity and independent
thinking. Finally, the report to find out the
reasons for the furore over the “obscene
painting” at the Baroda University is out.
The three-member committee has recommended the
reinstatement of acting Dean Shivraj Pannikar
who had defended the painter, his student, against
the attack by the pro-Hindutva students.
Yet, the committee appears to be afraid to come
out openly on the side of the painter. It says
that the painting would have been “obscene”
if it had been displayed in public but since it
was shown within the university premises, it was
not so. What an apologetic approach? But then
the university is under Gujarat of Narendra Modi
fame.
The case of paintings by M.F. Hussain is still
pending before law courts. He is staying out of
his country because the hooligans who call themselves
“the people” are after him. The government
is too timid to intervene since the BJP is involved.
Agreed, nobody has any right to hurt the sentiments
of the other, but they should not be stretched
to a point where the fundamental right to freedom
of speech and expression is restricted.
More or less, same is the case with Taslima Nasreen,
the Bangladeshi author living in India. I would
like to see what she had written against Islam
because all that is known is that she criticized
Muslims in Bangladesh for victimizing Hindu women.
Her book, Lajja (Shame) says all that. Information
Minister P.R. Dasmunsi has demanded that she should
apologise to the Muslims. What is that has hurt
them?
At present it looks as if Taslima has been penalized
for her liberal views. The extremists have made
so much noise that the government has confined
her to a house. India’s traditions do not
tally with the treatment meted out to her. Even
the few visitors and friends allowed to meet her
are harassed by the authorities. I only hope that
her visa ending next month is renewed for a permanent
stay. But then the way in which she had been sequestered
suggests as if the government is looking only
for a short-term solution.
When it comes to basic rights, the naxalites are
the worst sufferers. Unequal society does drive
people to desperation. Still I abhor violence
and favour a democratic solution to the problem.
But it looks as if the government is not allowing
even such naxalites who want to return to democratic
ways.
One case is that of Dr Binayak Sen, PUCL vice-president
from Chattisgarh. Presuming he is a naxalite,
there should be no bar if he wishes to pursue
democratic methods to deal with his case. He wants
to get a bail for the crime of “carrying
a letter” from one set of naxalites to another.
Even that is not yet established. Yet his application
for bail has been rejected 22 times. Bail is the
right of an accused. The Supreme Court has said
so in several judgments. Maybe, the law under
which Dr Binayak is detained needs to be amended.
He is only an “accused,” not proved
guilty. In a climate where even a bail is not
granted, desperation is the natural fallout.
And what about someone’s right to live?
Hindu extremists led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad,
a member of the Sangh parivar, have killed scores
of Christians and burnt their houses at Khandamal
district of Orissa. Even the communist leaders
were stopped from visiting the area. A committee
of Christian intellectuals which has visited the
area has said in its report that the whole thing
– killing of people and burning of houses
– was pre-planned and executed with the
blessings of the administration.
My purpose of putting together the different incidents
is to point out how the spirit of accommodation,
a basic need for democratic culture, is lessening
day by day. There is a lack of engagement in the
country. New rules and regulations are made regularly.
But they are meant to punish, not to encourage
a dialogue. Democracy is nothing but a dialogue.
We should never adopt such measures which may
kill the basic principles that we want to uphold.
The Lt Governor of Delhi nearly did that.
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