Friday, January 20, 2012

A blow to literature and freedom of speech...

So, in an effort to start blogging more regularly, here is something that made me sad this morning, on many different levels:

After much debate, Salman Rushdie is not going to the largest literary festival in India, which began today. This started with protests in Uttar Pradesh by a cleric on allowing Rushdie into the country. The trip was cancelled because of an alleged plot to assassinate the author at the festival.

As someone who is a firm believer in freedom of speech and is proud of India for being a democracy which stands for that right (more or less), it makes me sad that an author, born in the country, is too afraid to come back. Now this is an author I “take credit” for, as being brilliant and from India. But instead, I’m having flashbacks to articles read about Chinese artists fleeing and/or not going back to their country for fear of their lives.

To make matters worse, this might not have happened in another time, since it happens to be close to elections in Uttar Pradesh. Politicians have succumbed to listening to people whose votes they want, which I know is not a new phenomenon. However, it does mean that the country doesn’t even stand firmly on one side of the “for/against freedom of speech” argument, but will flip flop depending on what is convenient. Now, which is worse?

While the argument can be made that no one, especially not the politicians, prevented him from coming to the festival. But, while rumors got to him that people from the underworld were hired to kill him, he clearly did not feel that adequate protection would be given to him if he did come. He did not obtain any voice of support from politicians in India either.

Positive Note: Rushdie is getting publicity out of this. For me, the worst opinion to have about someone is a lack of it. In that you don’t deem them important enough to have any kind of response. Yes, Rushdie wrote something a long time ago. But it doesn’t matter now and neither does he. That would hurt.

Irony: The people speaking out against Rushdie do not represent the majority opinion in the country. They are in fact, exercising their freedom of speech by expressing their opinion.

Disclaimer: Author is a biased, huge Rushdie fan! J

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16644782

No comments: