The Moderate Mahila Mandate: The way forward in the Maa Kaali poster controversy

Do you wake up every morning filled with anxiety and hate? Not knowing whose side to take in the daily debate? Well, here’s a brand new weekly column by author Meghna Pant that gives you the most unbiased and honest hot takes on what’s happening in India today.  It’s all very muddled, isn’t it? If you don’t know what is right or wrong, or whose side to take, sit tight. Most of the country is in the same boat. There is one camp that respects the feelings of those who are offended. It is not fair to attack anyone’s belief system or make incendiary statements in a delicate situation on Maa Kaali . It is not fair to outrage for one religion, and not the other. Or outrage for one person’s faith, and not the other. Or outrage for one’s freedom of expression, and not the others. Selective outrage is unbecoming. Moreover, they feel that artists today should be cognisant of the era in which they live. Being an artist today comes with a limit and responsibility. Most have self-censored or exercised restraint, so why can’t the others? There is another camp that wants creative freedom of the artist in totality. They believe that artists have the right to express themselves as they wish. How many can be censored? Or limited? They believe that artists should not be curtailed by self-styled moralists who think that imagination is dangerous and combustible and draw lines across everything from religion to gender to literature to science, seeking differences and annihilating those who differ. They believe that Hinduism is diverse, not monolithic. Everyone has different rituals for worship. So how can anyone denounce one person’s path to God versus another person’s dissimilar path to the same god? Between these two camps, here’s the truth. This is not a new issue we are facing. This is not the first time that there is a tussle between the artist and the censor, and it will not be the last. Through the ages art has been marred by blood. Artists and censors alike have been shot, stabbed, incarcerated, hung, lynched, poisoned and stoned for presenting different ways of thinking. We can’t stop the art, but we can also not stop the outrage. What do we do? There are two paths. You either reconcile to this new way of going forward. Those who are looking to create will create anything. Those who are looking to be offended will find offence in anything. It is up to you which side of the fault line you deliberately cross into and then live with the consequences. The second path is one of resolution. A path that nobody is talking about in this controversy: what is the solution to this oft-raised issue? The only logical way to bridge this widening gap is to make a universal law that cuts across religions, caste, and faith. The contours of free speech and creative freedom need to be strictly and narrowly defined. If we’re looking at uniting and not dividing the country, we must also look at responsibility towards free speech. Whether we like it or not, responsible free speech is the best way forward. The change must come in the laws of the land, so the land does not stand divided. Of course, the larger problem is that, unlike say China, the definition of what is right and what is wrong in India is not explicitly stated. Its interpretation is left wide open. Therein lies the moral dilemma. A surgeon and terrorist both kill, one without intention and the other with, so who decides which one to label a murderer? Who decides intent? Who decides what is deliberate or malicious? Who decides what is objectionable? A sensible liberal person will never ask for a film to be censored, but even they will question the motive of the film––to reform or to offend? But where do we even begin to decode art? Censors say that when artists are being provocative, they are being intentionally so. The intent is clear. Artists say this will continue. They say that when some choose to express themselves in a certain manner that they know will offend sensibilities today, they are also willing to pay the price for their art. They are taking that privilege with the prejudice. They say that FIRs, death threats, intimidation or trolling no longer scare true artists. It has in fact become a badge of honour. A fight for independence. A fight not to have their voices stifled. A way, I daresay, to instant infamy, which in today’s world is thinly disguised as fame. Therefore, the only possible resolution here is that censorship should be made uniform. It should across mediums and religions. It should not be a free pass where anyone says anything without fear or impunity about one religion but not the other. You cannot tiptoe or furore around one religious sentiment but not the other. That is not fair or right. The constitutional right of every citizen is the same so we can outrage on any issue, but we cannot have selective outrage. What is good for the goose should also be good for the gander. We must continue to fight for freedom of expression in India but, at the same time, we must be careful not to advocate the other extreme. A right to express one’s opinion is one of the precious gifts of democracy but not when it stifles the voices of others or puts them in danger. Respect must be given to all, and freedom of expression must not become a tool to deliberately offend. Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech, although this right is not absolute and comes with restrictions outlined under Article 19(2). Freedom of speech must therefore not supersede freedom to life. You cannot expect prejudice, but it would be wise to not expect privilege either. Ultimately, we need to keep reminding ourselves that we are one India––ek not anek. We need to use the language of love, respect and kindness more than anything else today, no matter what camp we choose to follow or what the way forward becomes. Meghna Pant is a multiple award-winning and bestselling author, screenwriter, journalist and speaker, whose latest novel BOYS DON’T CRY (Penguin Random House) will soon be seen on screen.  Read all the  _Latest News_ _,_  _Trending News_ _,_  _Cricket News_ _,_  _Bollywood News_ _,_  _India News_  and  _Entertainment News_  here. Follow us on  Facebook_,_  Twitter and  Instagram