India's cultural EMERGENCY

...very broad stroke, indeed !
India seeing a 'cultural emergency', says Salman Rushdie
NEW DELHI: A new
cultural "emergency" is emerging in India, and writers, painters, and
filmmakers are becoming soft targets, says author Salman Rushdie, citing the national "Emergency" during 1975-77.

"It seems that culture has become the new target. It may be because the
writers, painters, filmmakers, artists don't have armies. We don't have
the boys to put on streets to defend our film, novel or painting. So
it's not hard to attack," Rushdie said in an interview to news channel
CNN-IBN.

Rushdie, who has been amidst controversy for long for
his book "The Satanic Verses", which has been perceived as anti-Islamic,
said it is "unfortunate" authorities do not defend the artists.

"The strange form of identity politics has developed in which people
don't define themselves with things they love but by the things they
hate. So to attack a book about the Ramayana, book about Shivaji or
painting about Saraswati... these things are easy to do. That somehow
galvanize the sense of identity of these extremist forces," he said.

"Unfortunately the authorities don't defend the right of people to
express themselves, but blame them. For instance, I heard one police
officer saying the Jaipur Lit Fest organisers not to do anything that
defames someone," he said.

Filmmaker Deepa Mehta
echoed the sentiment, noting that nobody had the right to curtail
other's freedom of expression and artists needed to carry on with their
work.

"It's been going on with me for about five years now. It started with 'Fire'. At that point when the Shiv Sena
attacked theatres, there was a point I thought I won't make another
film that has anything to do with India... Then there was 'Water'.
'Water' was closed down, I said not again. But you have to carry on.
Because, if you have a story that moves you, nobody has the right to say
you not to tell that story because it might offend somebody," she said.


Mehta's film "Fire", based on homosexual relations, and
"Water", which was based on lives of widows in an ashram in Varanasi,
came under severe attack from some right-wing groups.

Her latest project is based on Rushdie's Booker Prize winning novel "Midnight's Children".

Rushdie added that the India needs to decide what kind of a country it wants to be.

"That's about India also. What a country would you like to be? A
country where Kamal Hassan's films, Deepa's films can be seen, Pak
(Pakistani) writers can visit and share their ideas, painters as great
as Hussain are not forced to exile, the works of great scholar like
Ramanujan is allowed to be studied. In the country we believe it to be,
all these things should be possible," he said.

http://www.samachar.com/India-seeing-a-cultural-emergency-says-Salman-Rushdie-nbysU3gfgcd.html

You should listen to our leader Dr. JJ not to fellows like Rushdie.

Rishi wrote:You should listen to our leader Dr. JJ not to fellows like Rushdie.

Paparajan, does the mendicant want to prove that he is a mendican?

This is simply elitist whining against the essence of democracy. The Indian masses may not be able to express their opinions through elegantly worded essays but they sure can express themselves very clearly and loudly by hurling rocks and burning buses. Like a typical elitist, Rushdie is finding fault with the common man's manner of expression and trying to deprive them of their freedom of speech, while claiming to protect his own.

Such sophistry will not work. The Indian masses have awakened. To Ram Lila grounds we shall march. The voice of the people shall not be silenced. Onward ho!