SAHMAT
8, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg
New Delhi-110001
Telephone-23711276/ 23351424
12.9.2008
PRESS STATEMENT
We are alarmed at the damage to cultural freedom and the larger repercussions -- in terms of intolerance and lawlessness -- arising from the unseemly competition between different elements of the Thackeray clan for the mantle of Mumbai’s most extreme exponent of ethnic and linguistic chauvinism.
The traditions of cultural creativity and freedom that Mumbai is rightly proud of, are gravely threatened in this cynical game of competitive extremism.
We condemn the witch-hunt and the crass campaign of social ostracism launched by Raj Thackeray and his party, the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena, against the actor Amitabh Bachchan for statements made by his wife, Jaya Bachchan.
If mob fury can be unleashed (though admittedly only symbolically) against a celebrity couple just because one among them insists on speaking in the language of the state she represents in politics, one wonders what fate Raj Thackeray and his followers have reserved for the millions of migrants from the Hindi-speaking area, who contribute richly to the daily life of India’s greatest metropolis.
We appreciate the fact that Raj Thackeray has since seen the wisdom of toning down his rhetoric and scaling back his campaign. But this we fear, has less to do with doing what is right and reasonable, than with doing what is opportune.
That the game of ethnic chauvinism, once launched with such virulence, admits little scope for moderation, is borne out by the manner in which the Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray – whose baneful though politically profitable legacy is what the whole fight today seems to be about -- has chosen to enter the fray.
Asserting his presumptive rule that anybody who comes to Mumbai for a career should leave behind all other loyalties and partake of what he deems the unique and indivisible Marathi culture of the city, the elder Thackeray recently castigated the Hindi film star, Shahrukh Khan, for referring to his antecedents in Delhi.
Celebrities may by virtue of their status, enjoy immunity from these periodic outbursts of hate and intolerance, but the ensuing climate embodies a very real threat to the millions of Mumbaikars who, despite their cultural differences, contribute to the vitality of India’s greatest metropolis.
We deplore the reaction of several members of Mumbai’s film community to the statement by actor Shabana Azmi, that Muslims suffer from a degree of institutional discrimination in India. Surely there is little in what she said that would seem exceptionable to people in an industry that believes in chronicling life in this vast country in all its complexities.
That extremism is not the exclusive preserve of any one party is proven by the recent edict by a member of the Muslim clergy against actor Salman Khan, for his participation in the Ganesh Chaturthi festivities.
We call upon the authorities and in particular, civil society in Mumbai, to call an immediate halt to this cynical game. Stoking imagined grievances may be a convenient way for politicians and celebrities to keep themselves in the media spotlight, but the climate of intolerance this creates will have severe consequences for those without the armour of wealth and status, who alas, all too often lack the protection of the law too.
Ram Rahman, Vivan Sundaram, M.K.Raina, Madan Gopal Singh, Sohail Hashmi and Indira Chandrasekhar
