Intolerance: A National Pastime?

By Sanjay Pinto

What an irony. A country that is governed by the Rule Of Law with natural justice as its fundamental edifice, is plagued by the syndrome of intolerance ever so often. Prejudging content, often without even viewing or reading it, has become a national pastime.  Whether it is a movie or a book or an innocuous statement, the devil truly lies out of the context! And this is a dangerous trend because it makes a mockery of the most precious fundamental right of free speech under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. Fundamental Rights are not merely granted but guaranteed to citizens. Yet, not just fringe groups but even State Governments sometimes tend to play to the gallery by banning books or films.

After the Salman Rushdie saga in Jaipur, Peter Heehs is the latest author to come under fire for a biography of Sri Surobindo. Furious devotees at the Aurobindo Ashram in the otherwise quiet, sleepy union territory of Puducherry want the book banned and the American historian, who has been reportedly working in the former French Colony for over four decades to digitize the archives of the Indian nationalist and spiritual leader, deported. 

What they find offensive are portions attributing  a communal slant to Sri Aurobindo’s leadership during the freedom struggle, the suggestion that Sri Aurobindo’s spiritualism stemmed from  inherited psychological problems and the hint of  romantic overtones in Sri Aurobindo’s relationship with his spiritual collaborator Mira Alfassa, revered by followers as ‘The Mother. An unfazed Heehs concedes that Sri Aurobindo was a genius and a spiritualist of great standing. What I find odd is that instead of challenging the author on facts and even interpretation, his opponents are merely harping on some rule that inmates of the ashram have no right to write about the guru. Why are we so averse to a healthy debate? Why are we impervious to criticism or mere academic posturing? Why are we intolerant of ‘the other view’?

Orissa, which also has a sizeable chunk of followers of Sri Aurobindo has banned the book.

It is no one’s contention that freedom of expression is an absolute right. If Heehs has defamed anyone; or violated any law, let the law takes its course. There is enough scope in the Indian Penal Code from Section 500 to Section 292 and a slew of other provisions to haul up a person. Let the courts decide if what is said or written, falls under a ‘reasonable restriction’ or not. The rules of discourse cannot be framed on the street.

And passports and visas are separate issues. It’s the call of the authorities; the Home Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry. There are rules governing their extension or rejection, which are completely extraneous to what one writes in a book! The best way to disagree with content is to either ignore by boycotting the work, which will hurt the publisher or come up with a rebuttal.

It’s not just books. Over the last decade and a half, at least 11 films have faced bans in the country; Arakashan being one of the latest in the long line. As a journalist with a legal background, I am truly surprised. A ban of a film, flies in the face of a Supreme Court judgment that holds the field even today. Way back in 1989, the Apex Court ruled in a  case revolving around a Tamil film - ‘Ore Oru Gramathile’, that State governments have no locus standi to ban films that are certified under the Cinematograph  Act of 1952 and The Rules of 1983. The court’s observation was brilliant: “ in a democracy, it is not necessary for everyone to sing the same song.”  Citing a law and order problem is no valid legal reason but only an excuse. State governments know how to muzzle dissent when it comes to their own interests but strangely adopt a weak kneed stance when it suits them! Why do they want to don the role of a parallel Censor Board? 

Remember what happened in the Khushbu case? For simple comments on pre marital sex, she was hounded and greeted with slippers and broomsticks for “insulting” Tamil culture. She could have been made a brand ambassador in the fight against HIV! And many of the protestors had no clue why they were up in arms!

India is not a banana republic. If we can give a terrorist like Kasab a fair trial, surely, authors and filmmakers deserve their space. If they go overboard, let them face the legal music. But let’s not allow anyone to jump out of the four corners of the law.