Words Matter: Writings Against Silence
Edited and Introduced by K Satchidanandan.
Published: 2016
ISBN No: 9780670088935
Pages: 260
Price: 399
Publisher: Penguin Books
“Words Matter”; writings against silence, edited and introduced by eminent poet K.Satchidanandan is one of the most brave and powerful descriptions as well as a critique of oppressive contemporary politics that threatens our fundamental right; the right to freedom of thought and expression. As discussed in the introduction, the book emerges from critical moments when several Indian artists, scholars and scientists were targeted (even murdered) for works, their activism in retuning awards or for supporting their contemporaries in exposing the growing intolerance in the Indian society. Critiquing the attitude of silence or humiliation of artists, adopted by the current government, the books makes a case for the encouragement it provides for building an intolerant and exclusionist vision of India that paradoxically prides itself in being multicultural. While alternative theories and protest voices are silenced, sections of societies continue to gain more confidence in indulging in violence and oppress the vulnerable sections of the society. The book presents a mosaic of most emminent democratic voices that protest against the oppressive ideology of the government and fight for the democratic right of freedom enshrined and guaranteed in our constitution.
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The book is divided into three sections, the first section “Farewell to Reason” has six essays dedicated to the struggle and silenced visions of rationalist Narendra Dhabolkar, lawyer, trade unionist and communist leader Govind Pansare, and eminent poet Kalburgi. Selected works of the late thinkers with descriptions of their lives and introductions of their revolutionary ideas make a powerful statement of their progressive and critical ideas that provoked the authorities and ultimately led to their destruction. Their writings and essays by Dileep Chavan, Uday Narkar and Vikram Visaji describes their revolt against insanity and irrationality as illustrations of true project of Indian democracy; a vision that strives towards critical thinking through values of non violence, education, dissent.
The second section of the book titled “Diagnosing the Malady”analyses the current situation of dogmatism, parochialism and fanaticism from different perspectives. A.R. Vankatachalapathy’s essay analyses the growing intolerance that pervades Indian society through the case of a writer’s suicide (writer Perumal Murugan’s). Ananya Vajpayee analyses the rise of Hindutva ideologies through an analysis of contradictions of the visions of Gandhi (his Hind Swaraj)and Savarkar (Hindu Rashtra). This tension is inherent in the imagination of the Indian nation state and its forms of violence are manifested in instances where the government has oppressively punished student activism on campuses. Gita Hariharan’s reflections expose the governmnet’s apathy, sometimes irresponsible and the insensitive behavior that dismisses criticism as “a myth of the intolerant India”.
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Gopal Guru’s article makes an insightful claim from the perspective of caste oppression. While on one hand the Hindutva forces appropriate Ambedkar, they are open in their hatred towards the backward castes. Manash Bhattacharya makes a powerful case for writer’s protest. While most are dismissive of the power of the writers protest, Bhattacharya explains how they reinforce the right to dissent that is at the core of democratic values and practice of human rights. Meera Nanda’s essay offers a powerful critique of the outrageous attempts to appropriate modern science in ancient Hindu myths and legends.
The essay makes a strong case of the dangers of the ideological misappropriation of history and science that justifies violence and exclusion in the name of nationalism. Pankaj Mishra’s essay presents an unrelenting description of the prime minster’s communal politics of violence and elimination that is veiled by adequate propaganda techniques. Ram Punyani’s essay too presents a detailed analysis of events that thereaten to destroy the democratic framework of India and are covered up by rhetorics of economic progress and growth. Romila Thappar’s essay explores the dynamic concept of secularism and the challenges it faces with the rise of parochial patriarchal politics. Evoking Gandhi, the last essay of the section by Salil Tripathi makes a case against tolerance as enduring the other. The writes must provoke people to look into the process of othering and alienation that threatens the stability of any society.
The third section of the book is responses to specific instances, Amrithlal expresses his views on the attacks on Malyalam critic M.M. Basheer that forced him to discontinue his work on Ramayana, Anish Ahluwalia describes the case of the artist Siddhartha Karakwal who was threatened for showcasing an installation of a styrofoam cow and Keki Darulwalla highlights the discrimination of the religious minorities through the Dadri case, meena Kandaswamy’s essay on the suicide of Rohith Vemula, Nayantara Sehgal on the killing of independent bloggers. Markandey Katju, Krishna Rao and Shyam Saran too make a case of growing antagomism in India due the politics of intolerance that poses as a big challenge to the ideal of Indian democracy.
The book is honest about art and writing being a political activity. It is also honest to its commitment to the idea that theorizing is a form of activism; thus writer’s protests become very significant and relevant to democracy. The book deflates all ideas of making politics as an articulation and prescription of universal frameworks of values that ensure justice and equality (in the Indian context the challenge it faces is of universalizing Hindu values). An attempt is made to articulate the political; as sites of performative production of identities and conflict. It aims to expose power and power relations that are constitutive of all knowledge that inform our understanding of the world, so that one can understand the moments that cause violence and exclusions. Thus dissent and protest is central to good politics. The book makes a case that all attempts to thwart the same is not only unfair but also suicidal.
