Margaret Atwood at the Jaipur Literature Festival. All rights reserved.The Jaipur Literature
Festival passed off peacefully! The
formulaic beginning, used for surcharged political rallies in India, is
appropriate for this literary meet because of the ongoing furious debate on the
freedom of expression and rising intolerance.
For five days, Jaipur
saw a large gathering of writers many of whom have been damned as anti-national
subversives by the political activists loyal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The campaign against
writers began when dozens of them returned their literary awards in protest
against violence against writers. One of them had been killed by a mob. A
rationalist thinker met the same fate. Another writer felt so disturbed by
threats that he “killed” the writer in himself, declaring that he was
abandoning his cherished vocation for ever. Some citizens became the victims of
prejudices against a particular religious community or caste. Some vigilante
groups started dictating what to eat, what to wear and whom to marry.
While reports of
violence continued, several political leaders and others denied that there was
any intolerance. Those talking of intolerance were charged with sullying
India’s image. To utter the word “intolerance” is to get categorised as
“anti-Modi”. He or she faced a verbal
onslaught and in some cases, physical or financial harm. No one has been spared,
not even the most popular film stars. Senior members of Mr. Modi’s ruling party
keep hitting out at the writers and warning them to “keep off politics”. The
cyber army deployed against the writers uses stronger words. The wave of spontaneous, un-coordinated protests by
writers with no shared ideology was seen by the leaders of Mr. Modi’s party as
a conspiracy to defame the Government. It was described as “manufactured
dissent”.
The wave of
spontaneous, un-coordinated protests by writers with no shared ideology was
seen by the leaders of Mr. Modi’s party as a conspiracy to defame the
Government. It was described as “manufactured dissent”. The writers were called
the agents of an opposition party. Some
were blamed for not having protested when individual freedom was curtailed in
the past during the Congress regime even though they had protested. In every TV
discussion, the question “where were you when…?” was raised. A speaker hit back
by ridiculing this question. Where were you when Sita was abducted by Ravan,
the demon-king, he asked.
The tirade against the
protesting writers had gone on for weeks when the Jaipur Literature Festival
was held. The speakers belonging to this maligned community must have breathed
a sigh of relief that no one obstructed their entry into the festival. The
festival was held amid heightened security. The police presence was large. Some
entry cards had to have photographs this year. Fortunately, the mischief-mongers
who insult writers did not turn up outside the venue. In the festival, no
speaker was jeered; no one’s face was painted black. Lovers of literature do
not do such things but nothing prevents a determined group to sneak into such
events and snoop on their target!
Ironically, it helped
that Rajasthan is ruled by Narendra Modi’s own party. The State Government
wanted the show to go on and made it clear that it was fully behind the
festival. Generally, if the Government gives the right signals, the mischief-mongers
can be kept at bay.
The Rajasthan Chief
Minister, Ms. Vasundhara Raje Scindia, is far from a typical member of Mr.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist party. Coming from a feudal family and being a public
school product, she combines tradition with modernity. As a book lover, she
could discuss Lolita or the Gita. She inaugurated the festival after
a warm handshake with Margaret Atwood. She declared that she felt privileged to
be able to personally greet the Canadian author. For a moment, it seemed as if all
recent trespasses by the writers are forgiven. And lest his opponents in the
party blame her for hobnobbing with the anti-national elements, she listed the
economic benefits of the event that brings shoppers and tourists to Jaipur from
all over the world!
The writers may have
been pleased even more by the large responsive audiences who applauded attacks
on the rising intolerance. One film director who finds his creativity
constrained by the fear of mobs and police cases said democracy was a joke and
freedom of expression was a joke.
A TV reporter called
him brave for making such a daring statement after knowing what two eminent
film actors had to go through because of their milder remarks about
intolerance. The organisers were fair and had invited even those who would
criticise the protesting writers. These included a Hindi film star and a
bureaucrat according to whom, by commenting on intolerance, a famous film star
had diminished India’s brand image!
But unlike in the TV
studios where the anchor incites adversarial debates, in the festival the
speakers were willing to listen. Dialogue won over rhetoric. The writers got an
opportunity to explain their roles. A Hindi writer said just as birds get the
wind of a coming earthquake, writers are able to record advance warnings about
the developing fault lines.
Eloquent statements
were made about social concerns getting reflected in prose and poetry with
reference to a range of protest literature. The Progressive Writers’ Movement
generated a lot of literature on the themes of poverty, inequality and
oppression that provoke writers. Returning an award in protest is a tradition
that was followed by Tagore against the British. One of the writers said apart
from expressing their disagreement in words and returning awards, what can they
do to fight intolerance? The discussion was
timely since powerful political elements are seeking to demolish the
credibility of writers.
Surprisingly, this
time there was no literary spat. No Hindu God came in for a critical analysis
and no one recited the Vedic hymn that questions the Supreme Being’s ability to
know everything. Still those engaged in the crusade against writers on behalf
of the ruling party should have come to the festival to take notes on the ignoble
personal lives of some major English writers. They would have got ammunition. There
was enough provocation for a moral vigilante group to disturb some sessions.
Much was said in favour of the same-sex relationship. British writer Stephen
Fry certainly went back convinced that India is still a tolerant nation because
every time he used an unprintable word, the women and men in the audience
cheered him. The dirty words were used in a proper context – while speaking on
his literary hero — Oscar Wilde.
Stephen Fry at the Jaipur Literature Festival. All rights reserved.
The literature
festival provided some more positive signs. French economist Thomas Piketty who
unmasked the true face of Capitalism in his bestseller and warned India against
growing economic inequality was treated like a rock star. French economist Thomas Piketty who… warned India against
growing economic inequality was treated like a rock star. His two
sessions heard complex economic arguments about growth and inequality and from
the cheering audiences one could guess which side they are on. The loudest
response came to his criticism of the privatisation in the health and education
sectors. This may disappoint the economists supporting Mr. Modi. It is said
that the Indian middle class does not care about inequality if it grows in the
process of development. Those cheering the French economist were young men and
women belonging to the middle class.
Prime Minister Modi
may have noticed that the literature festival included a discussion on two of
his favourite projects: Clean up India and Make in India! Some themes and
speakers mystified the purists who sought an answer to the age-old question:
What is Literature? But it is all for a good cause. The sponsors make the
enjoyment of pure literature on such a massive scale possible. And they expect
something in return. The festival casts its net wider and wider in the belief
that those who come for one thing may stay on for another. The business model
of the festival will be studied as a case study by the management schools. The
two writer-directors have been able to yoke together the rival Hindu Goddesses
of wealth and wisdom.
One can give only a
few glimpses of a festival that runs six simultaneous sessions for five days
and is attended by a crowd that can fill the Wembley Stadium. The freedom of
speech was just one of the dominant themes but because of it one returns from
this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival with the hope that it will not be easy
to tamper drastically with the idea of India.
