|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | COMMENTARY | THE OUTSIDER | |||
|
August 3, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
|
How Readers responded to Saisuresh Sivaswamy's last column
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 00:49:07 -0500 I agree with Saisuresh. Dissenting opinions and their tolerance are the foundations of real democracy. Even though I admire Gandhi, I do not support the idea of censoring the opinions of those with a different view. I do not think he would have had a problem accepting an opposing view point either. To me, censoring the Godse play would fall into the same category as the fatwas that went out for Rushdie, and the censoring of Husain's paintings because they were unacceptable to a section of the public. Till India learns to take dissent in her stride we cannot lay claim to being a true democracy. Kuruvilla
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 20:14:21 -0400 I admire Sai for having the courage to write his views -- which, incidentally, I share 100% -- so clearly. I could not have said it better. But I disagree with one sentence in his article. He says that Gandhi did not want deification of himself. In my opinion, he may not have initially sought deification, but he did not discourage it when it was offered to him. He did enjoy being made a Mahatma and did everything that he felt necessary to justify that title.
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:30:31 +0530 I have no issue with Mr Sivaswamy's view except that ideals apart, freedom of expression is simply not possible in India today. Reasons? 1. The State is too weak to protect anyone who might be the object of dislike of even a moderate number of people. So even if the courts said the play should not be banned, I doubt if the government will let it go on -- on the ground of law and order situation which our so-called government never controls... only anticipates and adapts itself to it. That is why we were the first to ban Satanic Verses. 2. Following democratic ideals requires that they are understood. There are very few people in India who have ever applied their mind to the implications of democratic ideals, and where the line ought to drawn, and whether it should be drawn at all. So we have censorship of all kinds. And this is applied even to content which might not be offensive to the majority. We are simply too confused on a variety of issues like sexuality, religion, tradition etc to analyse them impartially. Therefore we commit stupid acts like forcing cable networks to censor their content. I think it is a great tragedy that a brilliant and sensitive movie like Leaving Las Vegas had to have its scenes cut out just because they featured nudity, even though the thrust of the movie was not sex. 3. Our political system is such that anyone in the government can use all the resources of the country towards furthering their own personal ends. So the BJP wants to ban Pakistan TV. And the Congress banned Rushdie. So Mr Saisuresh, this country guarantees us Freedom of Expression only if we say something that does not offend the sensibilities of too many people. And based on what I have seen and heard, even the Constitution frowns on the other type of expression. And by talking of obscenity, majority-minority, offensiveness in this context, you are siding with conditional freedom, which is a contradiction in terms. Amit
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 20:14:44 EDT For once I agreed with Saisuresh. We are making Gandhiji into a demigod. While Ambedkar's book criticising Hinduism was widely distributed (V P Singh, the wimp, gave it to Nelson Mandela), the play exposing the other side of Gandhiji -- the Father of Moslem appeasement -- has been crushed under pseudosecular, pseudointellectual hype. Once again the message is: in a secular India, criticise Ram or Krishna and you will be held as a Messiah of Dalits, criticise a human, the self proclaimed devotee of Ram, Gandhiji, and all the hell breaks loose! Why this duplicity?
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 13:58:19 +0530 Saisuresh talks of freedom of speech ad nauseam... His friendly proponents of the play, the Shiva Sena are definitely known for their thoughts on that aspect. Godse's act of murder is termed as much different from the killings in Bombay's byelanes. He murdered a proponent of freedom, secularism, equality, piety, humility, most of the positive words I can think of, most of the positives on which our nation is built upon. I disagree with Gandhiji's economic philosophies, but I disagree more that his assassin "has a right to be heard." A line of thought which had to depend on a heinous assassination does not deserve the right of expression. It is the thoughts of a demented person, a murderer, a demon. His thoughts are dangerous to civil society. No amount of literary gymnastics or Shiv Sena doublespeak can change that.
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 00:28:13 -0500 (CDT) I agree with Mr Sivaswamy that in a democracy we need to be able to express ourselves even if our views don't match that of the majority. How else are we to have different view points? We as a people have the habit of either putting people on pedestals or crushing them to the ground. This very much shows our immaturity as a nation. Ironically, we have put two noble souls born in our country -- Buddha and Gandhi to give them a name -- on a pedestal and resent anything that casts them in a shade other than pure pristine white. Unfortunately for the followers of these two, this is exactly what they did not preach. They preached a tolerance for diversity (including views). The only thing we seem to have a tolerance for is corruption, and by this I mean corruption of institutions, corruption for material things and corruption of the minds. Our education system too instills in us the feeling that things can only be right or wrong, never in between. Unfortunately for us, most things in life fall between these two extremities. I am not for a moment condoning what Godse did. But that is something done and over with. The fact of the matter is Gandhi was 78 when he was shot and not in good health due to the fastings that he went on from time to time. I have had a chance to read Godse's book May I please your Lord or some such thing. Though I do not agree with the contents of the book as a whole, I am sure most balanced people will see some truth in his statements. The solution may not be right but his reasoning in certain issues was certainly so. I am also told that to this day the book is banned in India, which is such a great shame. How are we any better than a country like China where one has to tow the official line if we cannot get books, cannot see films or listen to audio that does not suit the majority? Are we going to carry it to the next stage and say that since the ruling party came to power on a Hindutva undercurrent everybody has to follow Hinduism, after all that is the majority religion? If religious beliefs are also views I see no reason why the rule of the brute majority would not be enforced. I hope that the powers that be come to their senses to make India a true democracy and not the sham(e) that it is currently. Balaji
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 09:48:38 +0530 That was really well written! Your work is always so succinct and lucid! Namita
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 08:58:47 +0530 Hello Saisuresh, I agree with you: why should Godse's relatives be convicted for his mistake? This is a problem with our mentality. If we can convict Godse's family for his mistake, then why haven't we done the same to the Nehrus? The whole nation knows what Nehru and Indira Gandhi's contribution to this nation was. We haven't recovered from that damage as yet. They were the root of corruption & groupisim in India. But we Indians are crazy -- if some person becomes a leader we think they are nothing less than god, we forget that even god makes mistakes. If somebody tells that a leader has made a mistake, his followers takes it as a prestigious issue & tries to deny or suppress it. I just want to ask them why can't you think unemotionally & rationally? It is 100% true that every man makes mistakes & YOUR leader cannot be an exception. Please understand this. Thanks, Raghu
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 11:52:47 +0900 Hello Mr Saisuresh Sivaswamy, A great article. Indeed, in India we do forget what a democracy is supposed to be. And, for the sake of cheap votebank politics, the freedom of expression is suppressed. What you said about Nathuram Godse is 100% correct. It is time for the nation to reconsider the issue. Uday
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 14:50:38 -0400 I suppose soon you would have people patronising Hitler, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth. I'm sure they were great people too who believed in some purpose and were on their road guided undoubtedly by their own principles and philosophies. Right Mr Sai? I am also sure there would be clever guys who would dig up enough dirt and scandalous material to persecute Mother Teresa and Gautam Buddha. How can you compare the minds of the Father of the Nation with that of a common assassin on the street? What makes you believe Godse was not a madman ? What makes you feel he had only the nationalistic interests foremost in his mind? Tell me, Sai, how did you apply your mind to read Nathuram Godse's action? If Godse's family is still persecuted, I'm sorry about it. But that's what happens by having a rotten egg in the family. They get what was coming to them. Also, what makes you think that Gandhi has been elevated to the status of a demigod? I don't think there could be another supreme example of self-sacrifice in a soul. Gandhi was more than God. How many gods do you know of who have protected a million people from being killed? How many gods can you think of who have prevented fierce bloodshed? History should be enough evidence to judge Gandhi. And in the end what did he get for himself? A metre of loin cloth. Let's face it, this guy didn't get anything but insults. It has become a fashion nowadays to be anti-Gandhi. Making an anti Gandhi statement is like making a bold political statement. If these people applied a tenth of the brains (if they have any) to study their history, they would be bragging otherwise. Sai is the same chap who was once justifying Husain's paintings defiling Hindu religious feelings. I don't suppose he would have reacted the same way had his mother or sister been portrayed thus by the great Husain. Tell me Sai, would all your idealist thoughts and feelings have accepted that?? Goddess Saraswati is treated like mother in many parts of the country still, let me remind you, if you have forgotten your culture and tradition. Sai, I wish you would get your brains cleaned. Please do not spread your disease around. You sound like a person with a constipated brain and a diarrohea of words. Leave the writing to the knowledgeable, not just the literate. Being literate only means that you can read and write, not that you can interpret and communicate. For that you need some common sense Ravi
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 12:26:05 -0500 I think the author's view on the subject is true and should be accepted. No doubt Gandhiji is the Father of the Nation, but he still had many drawbacks. This play is supposed to be one that tells Godse's point of view and is not derogatory of Gandhi. So it should be allowed. Vishnu
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 13:22:22 -0400 (EDT) I agree with Saisuresh on this point. The problem is that we glorify and pay lip service to the Mahatma without even realising that his greatness stems from the fact that he was an ordinary human being. It was Mohandas K Gandhi who managed single-handedly to bring an entire nation out of its stupor and get it to fight for freedom. He became the Mahatma only after that. This kind of stupid controversy really does highlight the fact that though our politicians claim to idolise Gandhi, they really have no understanding of the principles he lived and worked for. It is prudence to try and avoid communal or caste-based dramas in an already violent environment, but the topic of Gandhi is one which we are supposed to have imbibed already. If the government has a problem with this play, the correct path to seek remedy through the legal system. Outright banning of a play which seems be pulling in audiences is immature and testimony to the lack of faith that the government has in its people.
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 17:08:01 +0000 I very much agree with this article. However, I wonder if India's masses can differentiate between free thought and plain murder. Will they idolise Godse for murdering Gandhi because of his beliefs and his ideologies? Will this play tell Indians that it is OK to kill for your ideology? Nehru was wrong in banning the RSS. It was wrong to ban the book The Lotus Eater of Kashmir. It was idiotic to ban the movie The Last Viceroy. A lot of people knew of the affair Nehru had with Edwina (among others). It is therefore wrong to ban the play Mi Nathuram Boltoy. I had the honour of being introduced to the Mahatma at the age of 7 and sat beside him on the little stage erected on the railway platform in Vikarabad, Deccan. At that time I did not think much of the "Naked Fakir." But as I became older I began to appreciate the man's courage, his beliefs and his iron will. Einstein summed it very well when he called him the greatest man to walk this earth. Surely Gandhi was human and, as such, made many mistakes? It is sad that it was left to a Britisher to make Gandhi come alive on stage and show the world what a giant he was. And, also, what a coward Nathuram Godse was. Canaran
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 13:14:39 -0400 Hi Saisuresh, I completely agree with what you have said in your article. I think the people who are the most guilty of deifying Gandhiji are today's politicians. Everything they do is against what Gandhiji stood for. These are the shameless people who are creating such a hue & cry about deifying Gandhiji! I am sure if Gandhiji had the faintest idea of what today's politicians would be like, he would have given up the freedom movement. We have only ourselves to blame for all this mess. Anish
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 11:25:49 -0700 Excellent article. Godse was a killer. Gandhi, in his quest for being the torch-bearer of both Hindus and Muslims, did more than compromise the integrity of the nation. You are right. We blame Nathuram Godse for having killed the "Father of the Nation". This nation was not born in 1947. Our nation has been in existence for thousands of years, may be not as a political entity, but certainly as a cultural entity. How can this man be the "Father of the Nation"? And during Partition, Muslims in Pakistan killed millions of Hindus. Gandhi did nothing to prevent that. But when Hindus retaliated, he went on a "fast unto death". That is because only Hindus listened to him. And these are facts that should not be ignored. And in common parlance, he had a "screwed-up" vision for the nation. He installed a person as PM, when the popular perception was that Sardar Patel was a lot more competent to handle the job. Let's face it. Why is it that the majority of people, especially the educated ones, find no fault with Godse? I being one of them, almost revere Godse. Should the nation not have tried Gandhi and Nehru for the loss of lives during Partition? Or, were they the chosen ones who could get away with anything? This has nothing to do with the BJP or RSS. The RSS never conspired to kill Gandhi, and the court has cleared them of that. Most RSS/BJP people hold the view that Gandhi was responsible for Partition, and that his deifying leaves so many other revolutionaries like Khudiram Bose, Praffula Chaki etc lost in oblivion. There is nothing wrong with a difference in opinion. Thanks for a bold article. I went one step further. Sameer Kuppahalli
Date sent: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 13:57:18 -0400 Saisuresh Sivaswamy does not give a coherent reasoning for his appeal to stop the demonisation of Godse and the deification of Gandhi. If the public thinks that Godse is a demon, that is their opinion -- just as much as the theme of Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy is its author's. It is fashionable nowadays to reevaluate and run down everything once held sacred. Nathuram Godse is vilified not because of his views but because he killed a man. There is no necessity now to glorify him because of his views. Ranjit Mohan |
| Tell us what you think of this column | |
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
SPORTS |
MOVIES |
CHAT
INFOTECH | TRAVEL | LIFE/STYLE | FREEDOM | FEEDBACK |
|