Freedom for ONE or Freedom for ALL
In this recent Rush-die event all the sponsors of art, writing and creativity kept on harping on the fundamental right to Freedom of speech.
My assumption is that Freedom of speech that is being asked for is not for the one Rush-die but for all the Indians.
Let’s move forward with this assumption and the dangerous freedom.
1. What will happen tomorrow in case One billion Indians start abusing (in speech or writing or art) the Prophet?
2. What will happen tomorrow in case half a billion Indians start drawing nude portraits of Hindu gods and Goddesses?
3. What will happen tomorrow in case if half a billion Indians start mocking the great guru Nanak sahib?
4. And so on…..
Well if we are going to give this freedom to Rush-die or Late Husain ji, then that freedom is available to all the Billions of Indians.
What will happen if all Indians start exercising that very same Freedom?
Simple, we will move from a civil state to a JUNGLE state. Everyone is having the freedom to eat everyone.
Well if this is what freedom will bring us then at least I am afraid of it.
Let’s argue that all the billion of Indians are more mature than these creative artistic people. Should we still allow this to happen?
I don’t think so for the following reason:
All the writers are in the business of Writing. All the painters are in the business of painting. All Film makers are in the business of Cinema.
When a writer writes book, a Product is created. The Product is then marketed and then sold. A lot of money is earned by these so called creative writers. Please be careful this is no social service that is being carried out. Money from that book is not used by the government for public good but is the property of the writer.
No issues with that.
But when you are in a commercial space then one must obey all the commercial rules and not hide behind the Freedom expression.
Tomorrow a Business man wants to print curtains with nude Hindu gods. He can turn back and say he is just being CREATIVE and this is his right to expression. Well if a painter is allowed then why not him. The painter is also selling his painting just like the business man will sell his curtains.
Similarly a Business man wants to have Koran writings on a door mat. For him this is being creative. He is also just selling a Product.
But we will all then say that this is not right. The business man is trying to sell his product by defaming others. Only a Writer has the right to commercially sell his book and be creative and has the right to Freedom of Expression. You are an ordinary Businessman and your work is not creative hence we will not allow you to do this.
This post is based in several false premises. First, neither the work of Rushdie or MF Hussain was designed to insult Muslims or Hindus. In both cases they were making comments not on the deities or the prophets themselves, but instead commenting on the way in which these deities are exploited by flawed humans. They are on the side of the Gods, not against them! The idea that either of these artists, or others like them, are deliberately and cynically insulting others for commercial gain is a false axiom and you should stop using it.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that these artists set out to offend is propagated by the religious leaders who are the real subjects of criticism. It is they who whip up anger against the artists, because it is they who have most to lose from the criticim represented in this art. If 1 billion people began making and discussing art in the same manner as MF Hussain and S.Rushdie, that would be incredibly healthy for democracy and for those who resent having their faith exploited by religious leaders.
In this post you also present a very negative view of Indian people. "the freedom to eat everyone". Are Indians cannibals and savages? You seem to think so. You portray them as base and reactionary, likely to kick off a riot whenever art is made about a god or a prophet. This is simply not true - Indians will make up their own mind. The riots that we do see against art are caused by a very small number of reactionaries, encouraged by the religious leaders who have the most to gain from the status quo, and who are the real subjects of the artists' criticisms.
Third, who is to say that Creativity and Business cannot go together? Rushdie and Hussain made money because they were creative, and one should not condemn this. Are you saying that artists should remain unpaid? What a culturally barren India that would be the result.