Who we are? Don’t we act
idiotic so often when we hammer more of social trepidation after every act that
demoralizes the formation of a free society?
Many
silly fellows would be celebrating and embalming their skin on the victory they
achieved today.
Finally
Mr. Salman Rushdie called-off his India visit today after much controversy
around his Jaipur Literature Festival participation. Instead, he would join via
video conferencing and that is not a prospect even remotely potent to fill the
gap. I have been part of many such video conferencing events and know how it
sucks at times.
It
is high time of assembly elections in India and Uttar Pradesh being in the poll
mode, almost of the mainstream media had some tough time in giving attention to
this episode but, indeed, it got attention, and that shows the scale of this
controversy and so the associated stupidity of us as the society, be it our political
representatives, be it those issuing Fatwas, be it the so-called assassins by
the Mumbai Underworld, be it the art enthusiasts, be it the larger society or
be it the PR led high-on-antics organizers of the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Jaipur
Literature Festival began today. Protesting the controversy on Salman Rushdie’s
JLF appearance and Rushdie finally calling it off, some of the authors went on
to read passages from the Satanic Verses. That was natural expression of anger
on humiliation of freedom of expression in this case. But the way organizers
reacted on it was the height of stupidity and certainly not a feature of a
literature festival (?). Outrageously, they stopped authors from doing so. It
is true the book is banned in India but quoting or reading passages for symbolic
protests was the just corollary to what has happened in this case. And
literature needs to be free of elements of such impulsive fear.
After
1988, when the Satanic Verses hit the stands, Salman Rushdie was in hiding for
almost a decade surviving many Fatwas issued against him on the (blasphemous?) content
of the book. He started slowly coming out of hiding and with time had started
looking like the same Salman Rushdie, participating in public discourses as and
when he thought, tweeting regularly, and more in the Rushdie-style freewheeling,
romancing beautiful ladies regularly. And he has been visiting India regularly
in the recent past.
He
was there in the first edition of JLF in 2007. The 2007 edition of JLF was
almost a failed affair and so was not noticed much in media. Objections were
raised even then on his India visit but it had not gained the proportion that
it got this time. It has much to do with the increased stature of JLF as a
high-profile event on the international circuit. Media, as usual is thronging it
with daily special slots given. 2007 to 2011, he had another four visits to India.
Ok, objections on Salman Rushdie visiting a country with significant Muslim
population have become so customary that Rushdie is now acclimatized to it carrying
out his business normally and so we didn’t hear much being reported on objections
and controversies on Rushdie’s other India visits in the recent past.
So
what happened this time?
It
is being said the Rushdie-bashing this time is all about gaining Muslim
politics mileage in the upcoming assembly elections in the five states including
Uttar Pradesh where Muslim vote is decisive factor in many assembly
constituencies. But the Uttar Pradesh election and the JLF combination was
there in 2007 as well. It didn’t gain that huge a proportion then. What could
be the possible factors for it?
First
and the foremost, JLF 2007 was a dull affair with almost negligible media
attention. So controversy on Rushdie’s 2007 visit didn’t get attention and the
event passed as routine affair.
Polarization
of Muslim votes has become a larger factor in this Uttar Pradesh election after
clear majority to Mayawati in 2007. Muslim polarization was not clear in 2007
when no party was in clear majority. Now every outfit is rushing to gain
attention of the Muslim votes, the vote bank that has been prone to the polarization
skullduggery of the political class.
And
so after a Muslim cleric issued Fatwa, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
found big security issue in Rushdie’s visit to Jaipur. When the intelligence
inputs followed it, we had already expected this move by the government, indeed
a face saving exercise, to hide in the garb of heightened threat elements while
not acting to give Rushdie a safe stay and passage. Electoral compulsions
prevented the regional and the central administrations from doing anything that
might have sent ‘not-so-pleasing’ message to the Muslim clerics. It was only
cacophonous when Abhishek Manu Singhavi said the government could not be criticized
as Rushdie himself decided not to come.
So
after the main draw of JLF 2012, Salman Rushdie, not coming, it will be
interesting to see the crowd profile and the festival management in the context
of the low quotient of literature midst the high quotient of chaos and PR.
And
it will remain humiliating to us that, we as a ‘growing and developing society’,
once again, surrendered to the fundamentalism of the radical elements.
A
blot! A bane!