Illiberal ethos

The happenings at M S University of Vadodara over the last week have revealed how fragile some of the basic rights of citizens in the country are, and how compromised the institutional and official set-up has become in some places. A Bajrang Dal activist close to the BJP walked into the fine arts faculty of the well-known university in Gujarat and objected to an exhibition of works by a senior student, done as part of his course work, as it supposedly hurt the religious feelings of groups of people. Successively, the student was arrested, the exhibition closed down, the dean of the faculty suspended by the university for refusing to close down the exhibition (or, as another version has it, for trying to get the student released) and the student eventually released on bail after five long days. The vice-chancellor of the university, whose scholarly work closely follows the BJP's credo, defended the actions by his office on the grounds that the student's work had hurt the sentiments of a large section of society. What makes things worse is that M S University and its fine arts faculty are held in high esteem in the country.

This episode highlights the intolerance that is rife in the country and the damage done to civic life in general and academic institutions in particular, especially those whose raison d'être must be to foster the ability to think and express oneself freely. This does not happen in a vacuum, and reflects the degree to which academic and faculty autonomy has been compromised by putting in key places functionaries who are essentially political hangers-on. Further, the forces of law, far from coming to the rescue of the individual facing the wrath of such activism, side with the goons and throw the victim into jail!

It is easy to pick on Narendra Modi, the Gujarat chief minister, for fostering such a climate of intolerance in his state, but the problem is a much larger one as becomes obvious when looking at other such instances in the recent past. Deepa Mehta was prevented from making a film which in the minds of similar activists wrongly depicted the cultural history of the country; it was eventually shot in Sri Lanka and has been widely appreciated wherever it has been shown. M F Husain has been targeted for supposed disrespect shown to deities in his works of art, and faces court action. The list can go on. In Chhattisgarh, the head of the state's civil liberties unit has just been thrown into jail, allegedly for complicity with Naxalites, but the real reason may well be that the administration did not like his focus on how the civil rights of ordinary villagers were being trampled on in the state's fight against Maoists. In Madhya Pradesh, a professor died some months ago after he was roughed up by students said to be activists of the Sangh Parivar, and the culprits may get away scot free. Films and books are banned virtually at the drop of a hat, and cultural vigilantes routinely move against youngsters who display affection on Valentine's Day. In the same category is the attack on a newspaper office in Madurai because a local politician did not like an opinion poll's findings; three people died in the attack but the local police have taken no action.

In short, the Vadodara episode is a part of a much broader trend. Today the people on the attack are often from the Sangh Parivar because they have been emboldened by state support and the supineness of those who stand and watch. But others are involved too, like DMK activists in Madurai. And there have been periods when those on the warpath have been Marxists and Muslim conservatives because they felt they had political power on their side. What is generally missing in all this is the liberal ethos, which an open democracy should be expected to foster and which is the ultimate guarantor of civil liberties. In the long run the only bulwark against such assaults is the spread of good sense all round so that those who may err find themselves without support. In the short run everybody who cares must stand up and protest. A galaxy of well-known creative people has joined protests in Mumbai and Vadodara against the recent developments. Some leading academics have requested the President to intervene. The dean must be immediately reinstated, the case against the student dropped, and the battle to protect the freedom of expression joined whenever the need arises. Too much has already been allowed to happen without the culprits paying any price.