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It is not a very
easy task to decide as to where the freedom of expression ends and
Hate speech begins. A lot of perception about this depends on
one’s convictions about the underlying ideologies which are being
talked about. At another level how democratic space is subverted
for anti democratic agenda is a serious issue. The challenge is to
combat Hate ideologies and Hate Speech within the democratic
system, to protect it from being subverted by sectarian ideologies
in the name of democratic freedom.
These questions
came to one’s mind once again when Subramanian Swamy, the
President of less known Janata Party, wrote an article, ‘How to
wipe out Islamic terrorism’ on 16th July, in a national
newspaper, in the aftermath of Mumbai blasts of 13th
July 2011. In his article Swamy argued that the acts of terror are
by Islamic terrorist, Muslims are directed against Hindus, to kill
them in Halal fashion. This is the unfinished agenda of Islam to
convert India into Darul Islam, a plot of global Islamic agenda.
Swamy suggests that conversions to other religions (except
Hinduism) should be banned, article 370 be abolished, temples be
built at Ayodha and Varanasi and Muslims should be disenfranchised
if they refuse their Hindu ancestry. This article of Swamy has
raised lot of reactions. While a many have said that we don’t
agree with you Dr. Swamy, the National Commission for Minorities
has asked for criminal proceedings against Swamy for promoting
hate amongst religious communities.
The students at
Harvard University where Swamy teaches summer courses had begun a
campaign to terminate the services of Dr. Swamy for his offensive
and dangerous views. This campaign against Swamy gathered some
support but Harvard authorities decided to continue Swamy on the
grounds that a robust expression of ideas is necessary in the
academic world. This came in as a strange view from the
authorities, as many a times academics with very hateful
ideologies have been shown the door.
Dr. Swamy’s
views are an amalgam of the views of RSS ideology of Hindutva as
expressed by several of its ideologues, like Golwalkar, Sudarshan
etc. As per the RSS ideology, India is a Hindu Rashtra and as
Golwalkar pointed out Muslims have to be disenfranchised if they
don’t subordinate to Hindu race. Similarly Sudarshan, another
Sarsanghchalak of RSS had asked for scrapping of Indian
Constitution and substituting it with Indian holy book, hinting
that laws of Manusmirti need to be brought back. This Hindu
Rashtra ideology provided the base for the demolition of Babri
Masjid and the consequent anti Muslim violence in last two
decades.
To make India
as Hindu nation has been political goal of RSS and its fellow
travelers like Swamy. The other component of Swamy’s outpouring
comes from the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ thesis of Samuel
Huntington, which says that the backward Islamic civilization is
the major threat to Western democracies; to the World as whole.
This thesis also provided the pretext of the invasion by US on the
Muslim countries of West Asia with massive oil reserves.
The language and
tenor of Swamy is full of frightening prospects. It goes against
two major documents. One is the ‘Constitution of India’, which
bases itself on the concept of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
and gives equal rights to all the citizens irrespective of their
religion. It goes against the Indian culture and syncretic
traditions as symbolized by Saint Kabir and Nizamuddin Auliaya,
where average people mix with each and celebrate life irrespective
of their religion. Swamy’s outpouring It goes against the life and
work of Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and scores of
other leaders and followers from all religions who participated in
the freedom movement, cutting across all sects.
Swamy’s ideas
also go against the United Nations’ charters and particularly the
document, ‘Alliance of Civilizations’, which was produced by a
high level committee with scholars from many countries. This
document points out that world has progressed because of the
interaction of different civilizations. All civilizations have
contributed immensely to the growth of human race and its culture.
What Swamy is
articulating is the blunt form of propaganda being indulged in by
different wings of Sangh Parivar, BJP, VHP. Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram
and Bajrang Dal etc. Same ideology is being percolated through the
publications of the Sangh Parivar, the schools run by them, the
books being used by it and the section of media. Similarly Clash
of civilizations thesis is the mainstay of the United States’
media in particular and other World media in general. This was
exemplified recently when the terror attack in Norway was
attributed to Al Qaeda, but as it turned out, the attack was done
by one Christian Fundamentalist, a Norwegian. At one level what
Swamy is saying is just the forthright summation of both these,
RSS ideology plus US propaganda put together. Such anti-Human
ideas do promote hatred and are against the ethical and moral
values of United Nations and Indian Constitution, both. So what
does one do?
Just before
Mumbai violence of 1992 Bal Thackeray in his mouth-piece Saamana
exhorted Hindus to take up arms. Many a vigilant civic action
groups took up the matter and wanted Thackeray to be punished for
‘hate speech’. Court turned it down. The likes of Togadia are
spewing hate with every outburst of theirs’. No action possible!
Freedom of expression! Hitler had gone a step further, using the
democratic space itself, he demonized Jews and other minorities to
bring in a fascist state and unleash the holocaust, anti minority
pogroms. Democratic system watched itself being subverted with
helplessness. The question is can democracy based on pluralism
permit the very forces which are pitched against its core value of
pluralism? Can Togadia’s and Swamy’s carry on their divisive
agenda in the name of religion without any hindrance, without any
checks from the system? This thin line between ‘freedom of
expression’ and ‘hate speech’ needs to be delineated to ensure
that we are able to enhance the amity in human race, nurture
pluralism and diversity to ensure a better atmosphere, congenial
for progress of human race and in a particular the rights of
weaker sections of society and to curb the ideas which promote
divisiveness in the society.
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