Telangana Police adopts pick and choose approach in anti-Hindutva cases; banishes Mahesh Kathi but remains mum on rest

“Why is Swami Paripoornananda under house arrest? Is there any Emergency declared that Hindus should not visit temples in Hindustan?” This was an SMS I received from an unknown number on Monday evening. Clearly, this person was not pleased by the Telangana Police refusing the religious leader permission to hold a march with his followers on Monday to the Yadadri shrine, 60 kilometres from Hyderabad, chanting the name of Lord Ram. The sender also sought to extrapolate the police order, interpreting it as an attack on Hindus and the majority community being prevented from following its religion and worshiping its gods. On the other side of the divide, civil rights activists criticised as “fascism” the state’s decision to extern Telugu film critic and Dalit activist Mahesh Kathi from Hyderabad for six months. A couple of weeks ago, during a debate on a regional television channel, Kathi had explained why he did not hold Lord Ram in high esteem. “I believe Rama is as much a cheat (dagulbaaji in Telugu) as he is ideal in the story. Perhaps Sita would have been better and might have got justice if she had stayed with Ravana,” he had said on air. [caption id=“attachment_4708291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Film critic Mahesh Kathi. Image Courtesy: Facebook/Mahesh Kathi[/caption] Predictably, a war of words broke out between Kathi and several Right-Wing supporters, including Swami Paripoornananda. After several cases were filed against the critic for his remarks, the police finally stepped in. On its part, it sought to look fair by reprimanding both sides. While it seemed like the logical thing to do, given the ability of the two individuals to stoke sentiments, the question is whether it was the fair thing to do. Does it mean that in the Telangana Police’s books, Kathi — or anyone for that matter — does not have the freedom of expression to interpret a story the way he wants? Is it against the law to analyse Lord Ram’s character or point out chinks in his character? It isn’t, obviously. Over the years, several critics have pointed out how Lord Ram, despite being projected as the ideal man-god, faltered on several occasions. Whether it was killing Vali by deceit, or forcing Sita to take the agni pariksha, or subsequently exiling her to the forest, Ram did not quite come across as one who made the fairest decisions. But in a world that sees everything in black and white, such greys are an uncomfortable truth. Unsurprisingly, a critic calling Ram a “cheat” is unpalatable for the Right-Wing, which promises to build a grand Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and usher in “Ram Rajya”. Kathi’s vocabulary, too, was designed to provoke. He could have used more refined language to make the same point, given his own boast of being a literary critic. Over the past year, he has been making provocative statements using electronic and social media to boost his profile and for brand equity. Kathi’s claim to fame, so far, has been to critique Pawan Kalyan’s films and then be at the receiving end of abuse from the actor-turned-politician’s fans. This notoriety of sorts earned him a spot in the Bigg Boss house last year. Even those who are not “Hindutva” by definition have said they were hurt by Kathi labelling Lord Ram a cheat. In fact, they believe he got away lightly by being sent to his ancestral home in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district. The chief priest of the Chilkur Balaji temple on the outskirts of Hyderabad spoke of divine anger at Kathi’s comments. “Loose comments made on Lord Ram made Chilkur Balaji, Hanuman and crores of deities angry. Hence, we have had no rain. We prayed for pardon from blasphemy. Rainfall started with divine blessings,” he said. In this context, the Telangana Police does not have much to be proud of either. For years, it has looked the other way as Raja Singh, the BJP legislator from Goshamahal constituency in the heart of Hyderabad, made unprintable remarks against the Muslim community. The vitriol against Muslims and Dalits in the name of cow vigilantism and Hindutva has been poisonous, and only an equally angry reaction from the other side could lead to a communal conflagration in the city. Even so, the rabble-rouser has been allowed to get away with his ugly attempts to polarise the electorate. Defending his decision to banish Kathi from Hyderabad for six months, Telangana Director General of Police Mahender Reddy said, “Certain elements with ulterior motives have been trying to hurt the sentiments of the people of a particular religion in the past two weeks, resulting in disharmony, feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will between groups, castes and communities.” Reddy may well have been speaking about Singh. The police chief chose not to reply when asked why he had applied different yardsticks for the two. He needs to explain why Singh was never exiled from the city to drive home the message that his brand of toxic Hindutva will not be tolerated. By banishing Kathi, the police have only extended a supportive hand to those alleging that the critic was being targeted because he was a Dalit. Actor Chiranjeevi’s brother Naga Babu — calling himself a Ram devotee — used the term “neechudu” to describe Kathi. This was followed by Kathi threatening to file a case against Naga Babu under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for using the casteist slur. Even in his first reaction after being made to leave Hyderabad, Kathi chose to play the caste card and cry victim. He wrote in a Facebook post: “Both the judgment and punishment were delivered and implemented without deliberation or defence. Again, an outcast is exiled. Once again, it is proved that all may be equal before law, but not before a feudal and casteist state.” Hindus have a right to protest against Lord Ram being “insulted”. But why doesn’t the same group protest when rape threats are issued online by people using Ram’s photograph as their display picture?  One Girish Maheshwari did just this recently , threatening Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi’s minor daughter with rape. Doesn’t that defile “maryada purushottam” Lord Ram?