(The Times of India
14 Feb, 2007)
Editorial
Boycott Bigotry
A movement is building up in Bollywood to counter unofficial bans imposed by communal outfits on films that question their politics. A few film personalities have threatened to black out Gujarat if Parzania is not allowed to be screened in the state.
Distributors have refused to release Parzania, which tells the story of a boy who goes missing during the Gujarat pogrom in 2002, in multiplexes in the state after sections of the sangh parivar, particularly Bajrang Dal, warned of violence.
Last year, political parties including BJP and Congress had come together to block the release of Aamir Khan-starrer Fanaa in the state. The film was targeted because Khan had supported the campaign of Narmada Bachao Andolan to protect the rights of people ousted by the Sardar Sarovar Project.
It is probable that because Bollywood did not raise its voice against the 'social boycott' of Fanaa Bajrang Dal activists were emboldened to issue threats against the screening of Parzania. The BJP government in Gandhinagar, as expected, has refused to act against perpetrators of the unofficial 'ban'.
Bollywood's decision to rally for Parzania is a welcome step, particularly so because its threat to stop releasing films in Gujarat would hurt the industry.
It is anybody's guess if sangh parivar outfits would care for a boycott by Bollywood, but this should prompt the government to act against outfits that conduct politics using the threat of violence. Such cultural policing is, to say the least, undemocratic. The politics of social boycott has a long history in India.
During the freedom movement, Gandhi built on the tradition of civil disobedience practised by American transcendentalists like Thoreau to boycott the imperial government. It is voluntary political action and derives legitimacy by ascending a higher moral plane.
When Bollywood decides to protect its right to freedom of expression by boycotting a state that has failed to guarantee protection of that right, it is following in the Gandhian tradition. The mode of social boycott practised by the likes of Bajrang Dal is an inversion of the same idea.
Fear and coercion are central to this tradition and its political morality is dictated by the mob. Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of takers for politics of this kind. Pattali Makkal Katchi, a caste-centric outfit that is represented in the UPA government, has raised a 'Black Shirt Army' to protect Tamil culture and values.
PMK volunteers have resorted to violence and vandalism in the past as part of their cultural policing. However, Gujarat stands out because the Bajrang Dal brand of policing appears to have received the tacit backing of the state government.
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