(The Times of India 14 Feb, 2007)
Editorial
A movement is building up in Bollywood to counter
unofficial bans imposed by communal outfits
on films that question their politics. A few
film personalities have threatened to black
out Gujarat if Parzania is not allowed to be
screened in the state.
Distributors have refused to release Parzania,
which tells the story of a boy who goes missing
during the Gujarat pogrom in 2002, in multiplexes
in the state after sections of the sangh parivar,
particularly Bajrang Dal, warned of violence.
Last year, political parties including BJP
and Congress had come together to block the
release of Aamir Khan-starrer Fanaa in the state.
The film was targeted because Khan had supported
the campaign of Narmada Bachao Andolan to protect
the rights of people ousted by the Sardar Sarovar
Project.
It is probable that because Bollywood did not
raise its voice against the 'social boycott'
of Fanaa Bajrang Dal activists were emboldened
to issue threats against the screening of Parzania.
The BJP government in Gandhinagar, as expected,
has refused to act against perpetrators of the
unofficial 'ban'.
Bollywood's decision to rally for Parzania
is a welcome step, particularly so because its
threat to stop releasing films in Gujarat would
hurt the industry.
It is anybody's guess if sangh parivar outfits
would care for a boycott by Bollywood, but this
should prompt the government to act against
outfits that conduct politics using the threat
of violence. Such cultural policing is, to say
the least, undemocratic. The politics of social
boycott has a long history in India.
During the freedom movement, Gandhi built on
the tradition of civil disobedience practised
by American transcendentalists like Thoreau
to boycott the imperial government. It is voluntary
political action and derives legitimacy by ascending
a higher moral plane.
When Bollywood decides to protect its right
to freedom of expression by boycotting a state
that has failed to guarantee protection of that
right, it is following in the Gandhian tradition.
The mode of social boycott practised by the
likes of Bajrang Dal is an inversion of the
same idea.
Fear and coercion are central to this tradition
and its political morality is dictated by the
mob. Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of
takers for politics of this kind. Pattali Makkal
Katchi, a caste-centric outfit that is represented
in the UPA government, has raised a 'Black Shirt
Army' to protect Tamil culture and values.
PMK volunteers have resorted to violence and
vandalism in the past as part of their cultural
policing. However, Gujarat stands out because
the Bajrang Dal brand of policing appears to
have received the tacit backing of the state
government.
