Politics
It was sad to see Prasar Bharati getting into an avoidable controversy and, as its former CEO, I was asked endlessly: was it legitimate and proper to ‘censor’ the pre-recorded Independence Day speech of the chief minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar? Legitimacy and propriety are two distinct issues, but let us first look at the legal aspect.
Narendra Modi is definitely the best orator India has seen in a long while, but we must remember that he chooses his words with extreme care. So when he referred to the slaughter of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 by saying that he would feel fain even if puppy came under the wheels of his car, he meant to convey something that many of us missed. In the same vein, the very sharp words that he selected for the farewell speech of India’s longest-serving vice president carried a message that we need to understand.
In the normal course, one would like to stay away from any controversy surrounding an organisation that one has headed for over four and a half years. But since the matter has a bearing on India’s democratic traditions and its federal polity, I would need to clear the air.
As Indians get ready to celebrate the nation's 70th anniversary in a few days, our main worry should not be whether some have suddenly decided to become anti-national, but it should be on a new, dangerous game of competitive hyper-nationalism that has recently been unleashed. Ridiculous ideas are being floated to instil this 'nationalism', like installing a military tank within the precincts of a genetically restless university. With systematic attacks on plurality, the atmosphere has already been heated to the desired degree that facilitates the branding of inconvenient dissent as anti-national.
Nations, even those born yesterday, take immense pride in showcasing their past, often with large doses of exaggeration to establish their ‘ancient’ ancestry: by utilising odd archaeological finds here and there. In contrast, a civilisation like India that is over five millennia old appears to falter in projecting its rich heritage.
None can forget the painful scenes of mindless violence that followed the Partition, but as Govind Nihalani's iconic film, Tamas, showed, all that one needed to start a riot was to kill a particular animal and place its carcass before a place of worship. The business of riots is not really mindless, but what surprises old 'district magistrates' like us who have handled 'riots' is why they are allowed to recur and feed the new cult of communalism that has penetrated Bengal.
The problem with parliamentary democracy often lies in its inscrutable legal jargon. By the time one gets to know the real purport of a Bill, it is all over and done with.
We need, therefore, to act real fast to convince our lawmakers not to rush through with further amendments to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendments and Validation) Act, 2010.
As a defining moment, the twenty fifth of June of 1975 has more than secured its position on the timeline of Indian history. While the Congress prays hard to just forget the ignominy of Emergency, the prime beneficiaries of this tragic phase, namely the Yadav-led socialist parties, are burping after feasting on power for several decades. As the most fearless and uncompromising opposition to India's Emergency, the Akali Dal earned lucrative political rewards, but the most interesting contender is the ruling party. It is hell-bent on appropriating all credit for everything remarkable, whether in the past or at present.
Unlike other societies, India hardly ever encouraged physical prowess, adventure or competitive sports. We do, of course, have some wrestling but it is restricted to a tiny section of male pehlwans. We read of how the Kshatriyas jealously guarded archery from doubtful aspirants like Karan and how Ekalavya had to pay with his right thumb for daring to excel in an upper-caste elite sport. But, frankly, one sees no evidence of Kshatriyas organising sporting contests, once the Mahabharata was over and done with. Tribals, on the other hand, were more devoted to archery and organised regular hunting meets, but their increasing integration into the mainstream meant that they lost many such traditional skills. What about kabaddi or other village games? We are not saying that no one ever played games: we are simply stating that we did not value sports as highly as many European or African societies did and do.
While politicians quibble over the legality of the recent rules issued by the Central government curbing the movement and trade in cattle of all types and even camels, we may like to take a look at the big picture. The oft-quoted Article 48 of the Constitution is one among the many unrealized directive principles: desirable when able. It talks of banning the slaughter of milch and draught cattle, but the point here is that no one is advocating this patently uneconomical idea. We need to understand that even the best cows become a burden to poor farmers after their lactating period is over. So do old draught animals. Most farmers, many of whom are strict vegetarians, therefore, sell them off so that other humans and cattle can be better looked after.
Every major nation in the world has a public broadcaster and there must be some reason why they do. Before we can discuss the shortcomings of Prasar Bharati, the autonomous body that supervises Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR), we may recall that even as its Act was passed by Parliament in 1990, its spirit of autonomy was vitiated by two sections, 32 and 33, which took away with the left hand what the right gave. They ensured that all its major decisions like manpower, recruitment, service conditions, salaries and critical issues would be decided only by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B).