IPTA Attacked: Saffron Cancer Continues To Spread

Need a certificate stating you are a Nationalist or a Patriot? Please contact the nearest office of the RSS or any of its other organizations. It’s not that they have just entered this profession; they have been printing out such certificates since the time of their formation, only now they have adopted a much aggressive marketing strategy. Ever since, RSS’ ’56 inch chest sized golden boy (or bhagva boy) became India’s Prime Minister, they have treated this country as their private acquisition. In past 2 years, we have seen continuous attacks on any person(s), organizations, institutions etc. which doesn’t agree with RSS’ ideology and politics. RSS has always been dangerously aggressive when it comes to protecting their faulty ideology, but since May 2014 they have been under the protection of Central and BJP ruled states.

The latest addition to their unconstitutional program to protect (a certain breed of) nationalism in India is the attack on IPTA’s national conference in Indore on 4th of October. A group of some 25 people of Bharat Swabhiman Manch (BSM) forcefully got on the stage and interrupted the program. When they were being removed from the venue they started pelting stones and one IPTA member was hurt in the incident. The trespassers’ “sentiments were hurt” by the opening address of eminent filmmaker M.S. Sathyu in which he expressed his disagreement with the recent surgical attack orchestrated by the Indian Army across the LOC. These views of a citizen of this country were apparently insulting towards the Army and by extension the whole nation. There are reports that a complaint under the sedition law is being filed against IPTA.

This incident took place a few days after ABVP carried out an aggressive protest in Haryana against the staging of a play based on a short story called “Draupadi” written by recently demised acclaimed writer Mahashweta Devi. ABVP too alleged that the story disrespects the armed forces. Hence, the staging of the said play was an anti-national activity.  

These attacks have been condemned by various individuals, organizations, and political parties who believe in the constitutional right of freedom of expression. Janvadi Lekhak Sangh condemned these attacks stating that ‘‘both these incidents are the latest additions in the hindutvavadi conspiracy to promote the nationalism mania to suppress the voice of dissent. Janvadi Lekhak Sangh condemns the incidents and shows solidarity with the teachers of Haryana Central University and with the comrades of IPTA…We appeal to the writers and cultural activists that they should come forward once again to directly oppose this attack on the freedom of expression”.

Indian Cultural Forum has also released a statement condemning these attacks “These repeated attacks on our culture are by curbing our right to free speech. They seem to have imagined an article in the constitution that condemns Pakistani artists from working in India, and subsequently forgotten Article 19(a) which makes freedom of speech and expression a fundamental right. The Indian Cultural Forum joins all citizens of conscience in condemning these attacks on the right of Indian citizens to express their point of view, even if they do not toe the line of the ruling ideology. We also condemn the spirit of growing jingoism, not just against people of the other countries, but against the Indian Cultural fraternity”.    

The RSS has always treated one’s right to freedom of speech and expression as the eternal sin if it interferes with their unholy agenda of saffronization of India. These are not isolated incidents or knee jerk reactions of some “nation loving” sub-species of Indians; they are manifestation of a larger and intricately woven conspiracy to morph the multi-cultured Indian society into a mere reflection of RSS’ ideology. 

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