Daily Archives: May 30, 2017

Featured The struggle to punish the killers of Pansare, Kalburgi and Dabholkaris linked to the struggle to preserve democracy in India, says Pansaresdaughter.

From the left: Narendra Dabholkar, M.M. Kalburgi and Govind Pansare. Credits: PTI

The veteran rationalist thinker, writer and communist leader Govind Pansare was brutally assassinated in Kolhapur on February 20, 2015. More than two years have passed, but justice remains elusive. The same is true for Narendra Dabholkar and M.M. Kalburgi, whose second death anniversary is three months away. All three men were also killed by right-wing fundamentalists.

The investigations into the assassinations have been very slow and have moved only because theDabholkar and Pansare families have petitionedthe high court to monitor the investigation. The police have managed to arrest only two suspects so far and two have been absconding. All the accused are associated with the radical Hindutva organisations Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagriti Samiti, with their totally unconstitutional agenda of establishing a Hindu Rashtra in the country.

The chargesheets filed by the police in the Dabholkar and Pansare cases clearly mention that the accused are absconding since the Margao bomb explosion case in Goa in 2009. In spite of objections on the pressure tactics used by the lawyers of the accused and the spokespersons of Sanatan Sanstha, no action has been taken against them. The state government has not yet declared the absconding suspects as wanted in the Pansare case. The investigation officer is changed at every interval and the activists demand to hand over the case to a dedicated team for investigation is also pending with the government.

Fundamentalism has no religion

It is really painful to define justice in cases where people are killed because their ideology and expression of thought are not acceptable to some. Regardless of political affiliation, the government seems to be insensitive in solving these crimes and punishing the guilty. Not even a single arrest has been made in Kalburgis case yet.

Fundamentalism and fanaticism is not a characteristic feature of any specific religion. Farook Hameed, a young activist of theDravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK), was killed by Muslim fundamentalists onMarch 17, 2017 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The DVK is an offshoot of the Dravidar Kazhagam founded by Periyar in the 1940s and propagates atheism and rationalism. Being an atheist in individual life is something accepted by the society, but it seems one cannot propagate atheism the way others propagate a religious faith without risking ones life. Farook openly expressed his ideology. He had posted comments about atheism, criticising religion and caste on his Facebook page. He was the administrator of a WhatsApp group called Allah Murdad, meaning There is no God. The result: he was killed, reports say, by his own friends. Farooks murderis infact a threat to allMuslim youths who embrace atheism or even rationalism.

The Coimbatore incident is, in essence, no different from those where the victimsbelonged to the Hindu religion and were killed by Hindu fanatics.

Shrinking freedoms

The situation in India is growing more complex by the day. The space for free expression and freedom is shrinking rapidly. The fascist forces are trying to shut voices of freedom and we are compelled to fight the battle in the available space.

The campaign of returning awards by the writers and scientists brought the anxiety of intellectuals before society. They were concerned about everything that is going against the principle of equality, freedom of expression, cultural diversity and secular values in our nation. There have been three yatras, or journeys, of writers and poets to express solidarity with the families of Pansare, Dabholkar and Kalburgi so far. The first was a part of the Dakshinayan campaign in which 14 eminent writers from Gujarat visited Pune, Kolhapur and Dharwad, where the three rationalists were killed. Then a team of Marathi writers and activists followed the same route during their journey to Goa for a national conference in defence of freedom of expression held in November, 2016. In February 2017, 11 members of the Progressive Writers Association, Madhya Pradesh travelled to Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa. They condemned the respective governments for failing to arrestthe killers. Based on their dialogue with local people in these regions and their experiences, they will write books, plays and hold discussions to spread their thoughts across the Hindi speaking belt.

As the atmosphere of fear and intimidation grows, hundreds of writers and artists visited the historical place of Dandi, Gujarat to hold a silent protest march on January 30, 2016 to commemorate the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. A platform of collective voices of the left and Dalit movement was created in Mumbai Collective, while Delhi observed Pratirodh I and II with a clear stand to enjoy the right to dissent and free expression. The progressive forces in many towns, small and big, in the country have started organising programs like seminars, book publications and poetry recitations to protestagainst the attacks on women, minorities, progressive people and Dalit communities.

Criminalising rights

The atmosphere of fear exists, not only because of fundamentalist violence, but also because ofthe criminalisation of peaceful expression. Many have been attacked by the self-appointed nationalists and so-called religious people, while many from the minority communities, especially youth, have been arrested, held in pre-trial detention, and subjected to extensive criminal trials by the government machinery.

Fear of such repression, combined with uncertainty as to how the statutes will be applied, leads others to engage in self-censorship. Stategovernments areusing draconian laws such as the sedition provisions of the penal code, the criminal defamation law and laws dealing with hate speech to silence dissent. These laws have been repeatedly used for political purposes against critics.

There have been major attacks on free speech in the country from the government itself. The information and broadcasting ministry under the BJP government has become an image manager for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The governments advisory to news channels not to telecast the Nirbhaya documentary and serving a legal notice to the BBC for airing the Nirbhaya film Indias Daughter, issuing show cause notices to channels on Yakub Memons execution coverage, banning a documentary on beef all of this tell their own story. The BJP government has crushed the resistance of the students from the Film and Television Institute of India against the appointment of a pro-BJP director and has charged JNU students with sedition. It has appointed RSS affiliated people in various academic institutes. There have been cases of deaths of journalists, intellectuals, attacks, arrests, threats, sedition, defamation and censorship of films, broadcast media, print media, music, cyber media and hate speech. The attempt to imposea one-day ban on NDTV India, the filing of a complaint against an Outlook investigation on child trafficking in Assam, the trumped up casesagainsthuman rights activists in Bastar, are all attempts to silence the media and the voices of democratic dissent. Reporters covering the courts have been assaulted by lawyers, taken into police custody and their access to the courts restricted.

The bigger picture

The time has come for thinkers, writers, poets, artists, scientists to overcome this feeling of intimidation and regenerate the society. Thinkers can become an explosive, powerful force. We have seen some examples in our freedom struggle, in Revolutionary Russia, Latin America and Africa. We have seen recently in India that the individual writers chose their timing of dissent in tandem with other fellow writers. Their act wasnt solitary, but in solidarity with others.

At such a crucial time it will be unfortunate, if the real thinkers stop writing or speaking or expressing their views. The active thinkers can awaken society, create standards of morality, humanism and honesty and preserve them. The absence of thinkers causes civilisations to collapse. We have been observing thisdecay with our own eyes. The process of decaying has taken alarming speed. Make the people think aptly at individual, collective level and at the level of small groups is the first step. To create a live internal debate is the second and going to the people and thinking together, is the third.

We have seen Russel taking a stand against war, we have seen Sartre taking a stand against the US in Vietnam, and we have seen Chomsky and many others taking a stand against the aggressive foreign policy of America. Many writers opposed Francos dictatorship. We have seen and heard Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi doing this during many social campaigns. We have seen them expressing their views fearlessly throughout their lives. The strategy to fight the battle with right-wing forces, in Pansares words, is shatru-mitra vivek (atru-bandhu bibka). Theregressive forces arein power not because they have support from the majority of people, but because the progressive forces are scattered and not united. The union of the left and Dalit movement can challenge the communal forces in power, he used to say.

So, if now the government at the Centre says that people should sacrifice their desire for justice and truth in the national interest, in the name of nationalism and patriotism, it should be opposed. If there are forces, which declare that Indiawill be a Hindu Rashtra by 2023 or 2025, they should be opposed. For this is a secular nation and will remain secular. This is a democratic nation and will remain so.

Megha Pansare is an assistant professor at Shivaji University, Kolhapur, where she teaches Russian. She is the daughter of Govind Pansare.

Categories: Featured, Freedom of Expression, Politics, Rights

Tagged as: BJP, BJP dominance, Govind Pansare, Hindu rashtra, Hindutva, MM Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar, RSS, sangh parivar

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Injustice, Intolerance and Intimidation in the Making of a 'Hindu ... - The Wire

By Rishita Deshmukh:

On a fine Sunday evening, teenagers, or what we call the youth of our nation, assembled over the vanity of a cup of tea to have a contested discussion about feminism. The advocacy of womens rights on the grounds of the equality of the sexes, is how Google defines feminism. But is feminism only about a discrete gender? How does the concept of feminism, one of the firstinstances of which occurred in France in the 14th century, differ from the knowledge of feminism in the 21st century? Is feminism only about the equality of two genders or is there more underneath it? All of these questions were reinvigorated at the caf discussion that took place at Bees Caf, Aundh on May 21, 2017.

A collective of students, who are organising a Model UN conference, came up with an initiative to bring about a change with the influence of speech. This resulted in an informal discussion about concerned topics, where everyone could voice out their opinions and solutions, which could then be worked upon.

The event started with an address by the co-founders of Omega MUN, followed by a word from the moderator of the event, who acted non-partisan in the entire event, harmonising the atmosphere. To ease up the ambience, everyone got acquainted with one another. After a few rules were explained regarding the conduct of the talk, the discussion kicked in.

While setting up the foundation of the tower named feminism, it was compared to how feminism was in the early ages. Over a period of time, the definition of feminism has expanded. In the 21st century, feminism isnt restrictive to a particular gender. The idea of feminism has differed with time. It has become more of a movement and less of a concept about women and men having an equal stance. The basic impression is equality and hence the need to have a definition that seals both empowerment, as well as the equality of women, was looked upon.

One amongst the audience gave an example of the brand Kinderjoy, a candy selling company who have different toys for boys and girls. This brought up the fact how business industries use stereotypes in their own lucrative way.

For a really long time, the world has been patriarchal, which has given rise to aggressive rationalism stated a young teen, from the audience. While some people believed there was no negative side to feminism, part of them believed feminism, being an ideology, has an extreme stance which can be undesirable. Supporting this argument, it was said that the idea of feminism has become distorted and that aspects of feminism have become about hating men.

To make a non-aligned argument, the moderator pointed out that, Feminism is not wrong as a concept, but when implemented it can be perceived in a wrong way. To validate this point, an incident in the Indian Parliament was brought up. One of the members of Parliament was breastfeeding her child while attending to the ministers. This particular incident was interpreted differently. Some said she wanted to prove a point, that she could be amother as well as a worker at the same time.

Contrary to this, it was said that maternity leave should be given in order to avoid such clashes. Feminism was said to be a subjective ideology which was perceived differently in diverse places. It was argued in the audience that when feminism was first initiated, it was about getting women their rightful position in society and other various rights. However, now it has become an aggressive movement where women want to manifest themselves as greater than men.

In the modern day world, people who need feminism dont even know about it. In rural areas, most women are unaware of their rights, commented a 16-year old participant. A lot of times, society cringes at the visual of a male working in the kitchen and a female working in the office. Why do we need such social norms? Right from the grassroots level, we have such stereotypes which are influencing young psyches. These orthodox thoughts are embedded deep in our values, right from the very start. One of the boys in the room stated that 21% of schools in India are convent schools which separate girls and boys into different sets. From the very beginning, they have been estranged and this stereotype is rooted in our culture. Challenging the status quo is what the moderator quotes. Further adding to it, a mutual point is made by everyone saying, Law views everyone as equal, its society who sees it differently.

As the discussion shifted to the norms of society, the audience talked about certain topics which are considered taboo in our society. For example, sex education, which is not highly recognised in any of the schools but is of utmost importance. Usually, it includes escorting girls into different rooms and explaining the various prospects of their body. Everyone in the room agreed to the fact that whatever happens to our body is completely natural and that one must not be reluctant to talk about it. Hence, they urged schools to prioritise sex education and openly discuss it in the assembly of both boys and girls.

As people voiced out their opinions about the same, there was a shift in the atmosphere and the argument lead to a very controversial aspect of feminism: Religion. The audience perked up and a mutual consent towards Islam was observed. The question was asked whether women, when given a choice, would refuse to wear a hijab. Someone pointed out that women who wear the hijab had been brought up to follow the conduct no matter what. This point was countered by stating that according to the Quran, women are not supposed to go out of the house without their head covered. And even men wear a white cap over their heads all the time. Summing up one side of the argument, a speaker said, Islam is the safest religion for women. Countering the declaration, a boy from the crowd shared his experience of the time he used to live in Saudi Arabia. He said, It was mandatory for my mother, who isnt a Muslim, to wear a hijab. Women there arent allowed to drive a car alone. Whenever a woman wants to buy groceries, a minimum of 10 other women must be ather side.

Were drawn back to the era when feminism started. In Europe France, to be precise. In those days, women werent considered to be tough enough to cut wood which led to themdoing all the household chores while men did the physically hard labour. Hence it turned out to be, what the speaker quotes as, generic nature, for a man to earn money and a woman to spend the same currency. A typical understanding of people is that girls are soft, they like pink and boys are tough, they like blue. This entire argument leads the audience to one conclusion, People are confused between feminism and womens rights. Rights are human and are meant for both men and women.

Further, everyone agreed that no matter what, there are going to be natural inequalities between men and women which will make them different from each other. Before men and female, we are humans, quoted one of the participants from the audience. As the discussion shifted, our question, Is feminism only about two genders? was attended. Men are oppressing women and but this oppression intersects with the oppression faced by LGBTQ people. Feminism preaches equality and hence it should cover all genders. Subsidiaries should be given to trans people.

Here we came to a substantive part of the conversation. What part can we play in making a change? How can we give a new perspective to people? Education all of these values must be taught from a very young age. Awareness let the implementation begin from our families and friends. A participant from the discussion talks about the situation of her maid who wants to marry off her daughter of 13 years. The participant says, My maid doesnt listen to me, neither does she take advice from my mother. What should I do? This situation is provided with solutions like counselling, therapies, reporting to the authorities, spreading awareness.

Another major aspect is introduced in the talk: Reservation. There is a separate coach for women in the Delhi metro and yet they demand seats in the other compartment as well. A woman says, I am not weak but still claims special treatment. While stating statistics, someone pointed out that women have 5% reservation in educational institutes. To this, another candidate says, The reason why they have reservations is because their parents consider them as a liability. Reservation should be given to only them who require it. However, this point is countered by another, who says, India is a diverse country, there cannot be particular criteria for reservation. Women of upper classes live the life of rural people due to certain stereotypes and social norms. Therefore, we must attend to them who are benefiting from the laws rather than the ones misusing it

It is believed that change has started, and gradually in the years to come, well see the results. The government has taken initiatives regarding these issues. Another issue discussed was the conversion of buses into restrooms for women to use. These buses would be parked on the roadside for the benefit of women. There are NGOs who are working for the betterment of women. A lot of celebrities, who have their tours in west Asia and Latin America, boost the idea of feminism through their concerts.

Change is a gradual process and will not happen overnight. As we evolve, we take one step towards making a difference. Omega MUN strives to do the same through small talks, which would help make a bigger change. It isnt just a conference, it is a step towards giving a meaning to the MUN circuit of Pune. It is a way of building credibility through discussion. With an effective team of organisers, Omega Club is set to make this world a better place. A simple e-mail about your ideas and your contribution for developing a greater society will be appreciated. Omega MUN intends to create a chain reaction, connecting thousands of people in the process. They say, The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Our main motive behind this caf discussion is to revolutionise Punes MUN circuit. These caf discussions will help people develop their oratory skills and be confident while they speak. We seek to enrich public speaking skills, says Sarthak Vij, co-founder of Omega MUN, a 17-year old commerce student.

I think the main motive being Omega TeaTalks is to give people an opportunity to discuss issues of global as well as local significance. Often, there are certain things society negates as taboo, and with Omega TeaTalks, were hoping to give people a chance to discuss unconventional issues, and also to interact with different people with different opinions,says Ashwath Narayana, founder of Omega MUN, another 17-year-old literature freak.

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'In The Modern Day World, People Who Need Feminism Don't Even Know About It' - Youth Ki Awaaz