prasad1
Active member
The barbaric attack on Sanjay Leela Bhansali at Jaipur’s Jaigarh fort by Karni Sena goons is deeply disturbing. Karan Johar, who was one of the first to show solidarity with Bhansali, tweeted about feeling anger, helplessness and repeatedly thinking of the physical assault on a fellow filmmaker, a colleague. It is indeed this feeling of shock which captures the chill of how casually fringe groups can take the law in their hands and resort to mob violence and vandalising in our country. Anytime they may invoke their ‘right to feel offended’ and decide to make some big headlines through harassment, rowdiness and destruction — plenty of precedents exist for that.
It does not even concern me right now that the goons (no, they are not ‘protesters’) had mere hearsay and rumors about the scenes and the storyline of the movie to their provocation – they had no access to the script or the dialogues. Their sources about the filming of an ‘intimate scene’ between the characters of Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmini were unverified and false. Even if all that was true, these actions would be no less despicable in their own right.
It seems like we have a chronic mob problem. There is a legitimate space for peaceful protest in a democracy — through written and verbal expressions of dissent. Indian freedom struggle was in fact the torchbearer of this powerful form of resistance, which set an example to the world. But that is kind of hard to remember now because what we are witnessing in events like these is a gagging of free expression by brute force. No intellectual dissent, no dialogue – only cuss words, punches, slaps and vandalising.
It makes one feel that really nothing has changed since the time when M F Husain was forced to flee his country. Is it our revered constitution or our goons who proffer rights upon the rest of us citizens? Modern forms of violence that is orchestrated and waged by outfits like Karni Sena, Bajrang Dal and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena — against artists and filmmakers who have broken absolutely no law – would leave any patriotic Indian’s head hanging in shame.
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/attacking-sanjay-leela-bhansali-made-a-mockery-of-democracy-4495986/
But then again now "new patriotism" and "Religious zealotism" is the present mood. We are sacrificing "individual rights" to mobs.
It does not even concern me right now that the goons (no, they are not ‘protesters’) had mere hearsay and rumors about the scenes and the storyline of the movie to their provocation – they had no access to the script or the dialogues. Their sources about the filming of an ‘intimate scene’ between the characters of Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmini were unverified and false. Even if all that was true, these actions would be no less despicable in their own right.
It seems like we have a chronic mob problem. There is a legitimate space for peaceful protest in a democracy — through written and verbal expressions of dissent. Indian freedom struggle was in fact the torchbearer of this powerful form of resistance, which set an example to the world. But that is kind of hard to remember now because what we are witnessing in events like these is a gagging of free expression by brute force. No intellectual dissent, no dialogue – only cuss words, punches, slaps and vandalising.
It makes one feel that really nothing has changed since the time when M F Husain was forced to flee his country. Is it our revered constitution or our goons who proffer rights upon the rest of us citizens? Modern forms of violence that is orchestrated and waged by outfits like Karni Sena, Bajrang Dal and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena — against artists and filmmakers who have broken absolutely no law – would leave any patriotic Indian’s head hanging in shame.
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/attacking-sanjay-leela-bhansali-made-a-mockery-of-democracy-4495986/
But then again now "new patriotism" and "Religious zealotism" is the present mood. We are sacrificing "individual rights" to mobs.
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