Cultural terrorism

Tavleen Singh

This could be the time for the Government of India to think seriously about setting up a Ministry for Hurt Feelings. The suggestion was made by someone in jest on Twitter but since these days not a week goes by without some group or other feeling hurt for some reason or other, it could be an idea whose time has come. Once all those with 'hurt feelings' have been directed to seek assuagement from the new ministry, the rest of us may have a chance to get on with dealing with India's real problems.

A small example is necessary here. The groups that suffer most on account of the inexplicable inability of our political leaders to win the war against poverty are Muslims and Dalits because they, along with Adivasis, constitute the largest group of Indians below the poverty line. This makes it even more puzzling that they should care so much about the passing remarks of a sociologist and a film about terrorism. The Vishwaroopam controversy is beyond belief. In today's context the biggest terrorist problem in the world has been created by people who call themselves 'jihadis' so if Kamal Hassan has them play a villainous role in his film, so what?

Unfortunately, 'so what' is something the hurt feelers always seem unable to articulate. If only they would start feeling more hurt about the horrendous poverty and unspeakable squalor in which most of their brethren live. But, that is not something our political leaders guide them toward because then they would have to start delivering on their election promises. Much easier to distract the 'peepul' by encouraging them to vent their feelings against Salman Rushdie or Kamal Hassan so that the ineptitude of chief ministers can be momentarily forgotten in the excitement of burning cinemas and books.

Of course the long-term consequences of this kind of intellectual intimidation is incalculable but this is not something political leaders are worried about. So as the size of the Indian middle class grows and as the social media becomes accessible to many more we are likely to encounter more and more hurt feelings. Cynical politicians know well how to exploit them. It is something they learned a long time ago if you remember that the first country to ban The Satanic Verses was India. Hardly anyone had read the book at the time but Muslim feelings were 'hurt'. On behalf of hurt Muslims, Indian governments have gone out of their way to harass Rushdie. So when Mamata Banerjee banned him from entering Kolkata last week she did it in keeping with an old tradition.

In the general hysteria over hurt feelings what is forgotten is that India is a democratic, secular country and if we want this idea of India to survive we must allow full freedom of expression. This includes the right of filmmakers and writers to bring religion into the realm of cinema and literature no matter how ugly the discourse gets. I wrote recently in this column that I did not think it was right to arrest Akbar Owaisi for his venomous speech because in a democracy he has the right to make it. If Hindutva types found it offensive they had the right to take him to court but not to resort to violence. If they choose the latter to vent their hurt feelings, then it should be the duty of the state to arrest them.

This is what the government of Tamil Nadu should have done with those groups who made plans to burn down cinemas in which Vishwaroopam was being screened. This is what the government of West Bengal should have done to those who wanted to prevent Rushdie from attending the Kolkata literary festival. And, this is what the Gujarat government should have done to those Hindus with hurt feelings who burned the paintings of M.F. Hussain. Why does it never happen? Could it be because it is much easier to arrest writers, painters and filmmakers than terrorists?

This is another old tradition. The Indian state is brutal when it comes to soft targets and gutless when it comes to dealing with real terrorists. So lovers on Marine Drive routinely get arrested by the police while rapists roam free. This uniquely Indian approach to law and order is one of the serious problems that could enter public discourse if we could find time to get away from the violent activities of hurt feelers. So it is my humble suggestion to the Prime Minister that he dissolve the minorities and scheduled castes and tribes commissions into one large Ministry of Hurt Feelings. Let it be in a place with a large open area in front of it so that all manner of anger can be expressed by all manner of groups peacefully. No violence. No intellectual terrorism.

Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ tavleen_singh

Courtesy : The Indian Express