Right to Freedom of Expression

India is one of the largest secular democracies in the world and as citizens we enjoy certain rights. For ages India has been a thriving center for many religions like Hinduism , Christianity , Islam , Buddhism, Jainism and is known for its tolerance for each other. Among these Hinduism is the oldest religion and majority of the population are Hindus. So when India became free in 1947, it only made sense to many to declare India a Soveriegn Socialist Secular Republic. Our Constitution enlists our Fundamental Rights and Duties and as citizens it is imperative to follow them.
One of the most important Right is the right to Freedom of Expression and this happens to be the most misused one. A lot of liberties are taken in the name of this right and protests from religious groups that their sentiments are hurt, have become commonplace. The World has seen what happened in the Danish cartoon issue regarding Prophet Mohammed. Religion and religious sentiments have become touche subjects. Stoking religious sentiments has been the shortcut to becoming an overnight celebrity by many. One of the most high profile of these cases is that of MF Hussain. I have heard of the controversies surrounding the painter but never actually understood what the fuss was about.
Recently I chanced upon a website which is protesting the famous painter MF Hussain's portrayal of Hindu deities in nude and explicit postures, and they have enlisted his paintings there. It was OFFENSIVE to say the least and derogatory and disgusting in many ways. Nude art.. I can understand, but explicit depiction of Hindu Deities.. sorry that is not art in any way...Not that it is a burning issue of national importance but being a Hindu and a tolerant one at that, I was deeply pained to see the offensive works portraying Deities of my religion in a demeaning manner.

Considering the works have been produced long back, and some Hindu groups are protesting now, I guess its a case of better late than never. The artist sure has Right to Artistic Expression but not to hurt religious sentiments of people. Consider this : One painting shows Lord Hanuman in the nude, fighting Ravan who has Seeta Maa in nude sitting on his thigh. This depiction can at best be termed 'GROSS'. Hanuman is a devotee of Lord Rama and Seeta is considered Mother by him, and Ravan according to the Ramayana has never touched Seeta, let alone sitting on his thigh, that too nude( Husain himself said he depicted Hitler nude in one painting to show his hatred). If the guy is interested in art then he has to choose his subjects carefully, and if it concerns a religion other than his, he has to do a research at least. What he has done actually is to deliberately berate Deities and intentionally hurt religious sentiments of Hindus. The hypocrisy of this pervert can be established by his double standards in his paintings. Sample this: he depicts Goddess Saraswati in nude and his stepmother, daughter and Prophet's daughter Fathima fully clothed. I'm not saying he has to paint them nude too, but why Hindu Deities?

The guy has surely taken it too far and I fully support the groups that are protesting( as long as it is by peaceful and lawful means like petitions in courts). It is unfortunate that a set of so called pseudo- secular, pseudo-liberal art connoiseurs are supporting him in his misdeeds. Never mind. Justice will catch up with this 91 year old painter wherever in the world he is. He has a plethora of cases against him and he is not answering or responding to court summons which also amounts to contempt against Judiciary.

This post only vaguely expresses my deep anguish and once again I assert, it is not of utmost importance to the country right now, but nevertheless important in the sense that one has to use discretion and caution in exercising their rights. Let truth and righteousness prevail.

Elections

The election season is in full swing and the first phase of elections in AP has ended on a peaceful note. The TV channels started off with their analyses and predictions galore but must say this election is going to surprise everyone with a stunning result. The main reason for this would be that the educated Upper Middle class has exercised its right to vote in large numbers this time and I see that many of these have voted for Loksatta( I did my own small poll survey) in anticipation of that ever eluding change in the helm of affairs. Some are saying Loksatta might have eaten into the other parties' vote shares but may not win as many seats as to make a mark.
Need to watch this space to know what happens in AP politics by May 16th. Till then,keep hoping for real change....

Do Actors make good politicians?

It is a common sight all over the world, that people with considerable reputation in acting or related glamourous fields, venture into political arena. But the probability that they do a good job in it is highly questionable. We are in an election year and the recent months have seen more and more actors make their foray into politics, but how many of these are coming in with a service motive or to make a positive difference is anybody's guess. Practically none of them have their homework done, all they want to do is cash in on their glamour and come into power, only to fill their pockets.

Our political system is already in shambles, what with politics being coloured by caste, religion, communal and regional differences. These actors are doing a great disservice to the nation by showing up with zero knowledge about issues that matter and nil insight regarding governance. Even our state has a popular movie star jumping into politics but one can make out in the outset itself as to how ignorant he is regarding the real issues that plague our state. Moreover the candidates are asked to pay for getting a ticket from that party, which he would view as an investment. The same person, if elected , would only try and extract it from taxpayers money tomorrow. When would this vicious circle end? Already a bad precedent has been set in terms of caste based candidature and money ridden politics. Now it would be really unfortunate if this party indeed wins majority of seats and forms government in our state.
There are already many things which need immediate attention in our state, and handing the government to wrong hands would only worsen the situation. I am hoping that majority of people would be sensible enough not to hand him power.