BackGrowing intolerance: the importance of soft protests
The protests are welcome and also indicate the urgency with which the divisive forces need to be curtailed, say analysts
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First it was the writers, followed by the artistes and the sociologists. Then came the scientists, the historians and, finally, the film-makers.
Seems as if one can’t turn a corner in India these days without at least one section of society raising its voice in protest against the “alarming rise of intolerance" in the country.
In an open letter published on the news website scroll.in, acclaimed documentary film-maker Anand Patwardhan lists his reasons for returning the National Award. They range from the foisting of “unqualified saffron administrators" on the Film and Television Institute of India to killing of rationalists, from hounding of whistle-blowers to caste-based massacres.
A statement issued by 53 historians, including Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and Indu Banga, talks about differences of opinion being sought to be settled by physical violence.
By the very nature of their calling, academicians, film-makers and artistes are the conscience-keepers of a nation and, as such, concerns expressed by them, when religious freedom and constitutional rights are violated, is not just justified but expected.
But when the scientist community shot off a letter to the President stating: “We the scientists are concerned about the recent developments with reference to intolerance, polarization and spread of communal hatred…" it raised more than a few eyebrows.
Respected scientist P. Bhargava returned his Padma Bhushan citing fears of a “Hindu dictatorship" and concerns about the scientific temper of the current government.
But does this kind of a protest actually create awareness or does it end up preaching to the converted?
For scientist and leading Urdu poet Gauhar Raza, the protests are welcome but also indicate the urgency with which the divisive forces need to be curtailed.
“Writers, film-makers and artistes are a section of society that communicates with the larger public through the medium of their expression. When they have to use other means of connecting with the masses, it points to a deeper malaise in society and an urgency to get the message across," he says.
According to him, the ideological struggles of most nations, be it fascism during World War II or fundamentalism in the 21st century, are issues that once entrenched cannot be rectified. “So the people who are returning awards today or protesting are not doing so for personal reasons but because they see a malaise which can become too extensive to rectify if not dealt with immediately."
The government at the centre has reacted adversely with finance minister Arun Jaitley terming those who return awards “anti-BJP."
He has in the past referred to the returning of awards by writers as a “manufactured rebellion".
But while the government can choose to dismiss the concern of those returning awards, intellectuals think that a strong message is being sent out. “The point is that the returning of the honours and awards hasn’t happened in the case of one or two people, but eminent names across different fields are involved. Mass returning of honours catches the attention of people," says Nakul Singh Sawhney, a documentary film-maker.
The screening of his film, Muzaffarnagar Baaki Hai, about the riots that took place in Shamli and Muzaffarnagar in 2013, was stopped by Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Delhi University earlier this year on the grounds that it would hurt Jat and Hindu sentiments.
According to Sawhney, protests in India have been building up over the past five years, starting from the Nirbhaya gang-rape agitation to the anti-corruption crusade. “Governments, be it the UPA or the NDA, have become unresponsive to the grievances of people but the callous attitude has culminated with the attitude of this regime and, hence, the protest we see now."
The BJP has linked the timing of the protests to the upcoming Bihar elections and charges those returning awards of being pro-Congress are being trotted out. Bhargava has been described as a “cheerleader of Sonia Gandhi" by BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, while Jaitley has termed the protests a “disproportionate political reaction".
There are also fissures within as some more mainstream names such as Vidya Balan have refused to return her national award. “The people who are returning honours are identified as liberals and as such it is easy to ascribe their protests to earlier held political positions. If there were public figures, who do not have clear affiliations and they took a stand, then perhaps it would raise more hackles," says social commentator Santosh Desai.
It is in this context that the protests by scientists becomes more important. “By nature, scientists are not political beings, so when they express concern, it has an impact," Desai said.
In an interview to The Indian Express, T. Jayaraman of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences explained why scientists felt the need to take a stand. “In a democracy like ours, there is no option but to tolerate dissent. Dissent is integral to science. Reason must prevail."
On Friday, leading risk management firm Moody’s Analytics said the BJP government was finding it difficult to push reforms in Parliament because it did not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha. However, it added that the government was not helping matters with its stand on beef and killing of Dalit children, issues even the protesters have raised.
The only silver lining to the entire scenario, according to Raza, is that unlike other nations at different points in history where intellectuals aligned themselves with the ruling class, “here, the protests have started early on."
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