Sagarika Begum's folly

Every time they recover from tough political situations and go back to their usual routine of H-bashing, our liberal intellectuals get another one thrown at their teeth. Since encashable incidents are hard to come by, they have to manufacture different types of shows, TV programs, seminars etc. to keep old issues alive.

The Taslima Nasreen issue has opened up like a bad boil too painful to be ignored but not yet ripe enough to be squeezed. Like most other issues, the intellectuals have taken a compare and contrast approach to this. Of course the control incident in this case is that of M F Hussain, the lecherous dude and a potential stalker of film star Madhuri Dixit (he bought all the tickets at a theatre for a show of Aaja Nachle in UAE - almost reason enough to keep him away).

Now, there are several ways to deal with the Taslima fiasco. We understand the political leanings and compulsions of CNN-IBN. They could simply report it as news, without resorting to analysis. That would be an honorable escape. They could even report it and as a footnote mention the fascist threat to Hussain - thus maintaining a semblance of neutrality.

Instead, CNN-IBN, spearheaded by their star reporter Sagarika Ghose, has embarked on a campaign of bizarre rationalization of the issue. It is quite obvious that Sagarika Ghose is way out of her depth and knowledge of the issue she is dealing with. To rationalize something, you gotta have a sound knowledge of it. She does vaguely understand the dangers of treading too far:

Can a religious tradition, which is as great and magnificent as Islam be damaged by something written by a writer? Whether it's the Danish cartoons or this Taslima case, can they really damage a centuries-old religion? [link]

Quite obviously the participants went round and round instead of answering her. Perhaps Mr. Owaisi has the answer to her in this video. Watch the last portion, Owaisi not only rejects Taslima's withdrawal of certain pages from her book, but confidently suggests that Taslima will surely make mischief in future as well.

Sagarika has obstinately refused to call a spade a spade. Contrast this with the unambiguous and intense criticism meted out to other parties. BJP has been excoriated for no uncertain terms in the past. As a matter of fact, most reports of Taslima coverage starts with BJP bashing. For instance, BJP capitalizing on Taslima controversy etc. Is that really the central issue here? Also to be noted, a complete insulation of Congress from all these controversies.

She also hosted a chat with readers. Here are some of her comments from the chat (strangely titled The issue isn't Taslima, the issue is freedom, raising deep metaphysical questions):

Freedom of expression does have its limits and the limits are generally laid down by the Indian Constitution when it comes to public actions and speeches but when it comes to art, I believe that freedom is absolute.

As Nehru said, freedom is indivisible. (Ed. If the dude believed in it, he certainly didn't practice it - several books critical of Nehru were banned and still remain banned).

Taslima the individual is not that important, but what she represents IS of great importance. (Ed. Ayn Rand fans will have something to say about this)

A number of Muslims have spoken out on the need for her to stay in India: there are many liberal and moderate Muslims who oppose the fundamentalist forces within their own community very strongly. (Ed. Example please?)

Protests against artists are all politically organised. If you went to an exhibition and saw a painting of a nude Saraswati, what would you do? Immediately lead a morcha against the artist and start screaming for his murder? No, right? (Ed. Could an equivalent rhetorical question about other religions be asked by the host?)

Husain does not just face legal cases: many groups have issued death threats on him, said they want to gouge out his eyes and behead him. I wish such anger was reserved for the corrupt and the criminal, not directed at those who harmlessly paint pictures or write books. (Ed. Encounter killing? Hmmm)

I think religion only becomes stronger is artists are free to question it in whatever way they want.

Democracy is not only about casting votes. It is about abiding by certain values: values of social equality, artistic freedom, engagement in civil society, and participating in public life. Sitting secluded in our own homes, trapped by suspicions about everybody is not democratic behaviour. (Ed. Must she spoil it all by throwing in such plebeian stuff with alarming regularity?)

The best Sagarika can hope for is for the issue to tide over so that she can go back to Gujarat election covering. She can rationalize or right-size the issue in her mind and feel justified in her political belief, but her rationalizations will not be acceptable to those they are targeted at.