Intolerance, backed and supported by the State, continues to be a constant source of amusement for me. A few recent examples will illustrate what I exactly mean.
1. Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah was banned in Gujurat because it glorified Jinnah and called Sardar Patel as the reason for Partition.
2. Many libraries in the USA do not allow patrons to issue "Tintin in the Congo", one of the earliest Tintin books because of the naive, objectionable ways it depicts Africans.
3. Sites like Orkut have been banned in the UAE because of the moral decay they apparently spread in people.
4. Catholic Groups all around the world demanded a ban on Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy as it supposedly preached atheism.
There are so many such examples, some that make you laugh while others that make you worry. I have tried to include perspectives from around the world, to show that this is widespread even in countries you might assume are liberal.
The USA is certainly not a very liberal country especially as fringe hardball Catholic groups have always commanded great attention.
Banning books or other forms of art on the basis that they preach against a religion is a major form of hypocrisy. How can any work of Art hurt your sentiments about God? This belief is supposed to be a highly personal, highly strong bond. A mere painting should not be capable of hurting this bond. If it does, then your faith was never strong in the first place.
I believe that the Pareto's principle applies in the case of intolerance as well. 80% of all these protests, calls for bans and other extreme reactions are done by only about 20% of the practitioners of the particular religion. The rest 80% are the silent majority who unfortunately let these 20% hog the limelight, allowing them to act as spokespeople.
I hold the worst scorn for Governments which ban works of Art for the apparent "Good" of their people. India is a secular country, but the States are run in a bigoted feudalistic fashion. States such as Gujurat, Maharashtra and Karnataka have generally been at the forefront of banning stuff left, right and centre.
I very strongly believe in the freedom of expression. For me, no work of art can shake my belief in God. If one actually goes by the holy Books of every major religion, in no Book is it written that Ban something that goes against your religious beliefs. Dialogue and Debate are at the heart of a healthy society.
If you do not agree with the contents of a particular book, don't buy it, but don't stop other people from exercising their fundamental right of being able to buy that book. If you are worried about your children falling prey to the corrupt influences of such material, discuss with them about the pitfalls associated with such material, allow them to build a rationalistic approach towards life.
It is indeed sad that a fanatical fringe group of society decide our lives for us and worse when the very Government (especially one which claims to be a Secular Republic) which should support our rights to express our individual opinions in Society chooses to do the very opposite.
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2 comments:
Well said,did not know u were still blogging, however the groups in the US are rarely ever Catholic,they are usually Christian.
I wasn't aware about the brouhaha but a google search about it came up with the following quotation as being the cause for controversy:
the witch Serafina Pekkla: "All the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity. The rebel angels, the followers of wisdom, have always tried to open minds; the Authority and his churches have always tried to keep them closed."
freedom of speech being what it is however i can accept this paragraph,by the same coin however i can also condone a call for a ban,the right to protest something you see as unjust should go hand in hand with right to free speech,as long as there is no danger to life or property i do not see the harm
Note: this is only in reference to Christian groups and the pullman book as one thing i do say about the west ,having an open and reasonable dialog on issues is more likely than in India, where the view of the many (stupid though it may be) is often foisted on all and dissenting opinion often leads to a lynching
Hmm Irv, well now that you pointed it out, most of these protests were organized by fringe Christian groups in the US and not just Catholic as i wrote.
Yes, the right to a peaceful protest is just as important as the right to create a work of art. Unfortunately, we in India believe in forcing our principles down peoples throats.
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