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Freedom of expression is an absolute right and banning plays is never the right answer. But there hang some uncomfortable questions in the heat and dust kicked up by the controversial Marathi theatre production Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy glorifying Mahatma Gandhi's murder as vadh (vanquishing) and his killer as a hero. By justifying a murder are we not killing the whole argument of freedom of expression - after all, if we kill each other over ideological differences what freedom are we talking about? How did the scrutiny committee, which had only recently insisted on checking every line sung by a rock group, miss such disparaging remarks against the father of the nation? There is no doubt that the play is rooted in a political belief, but does it also carry a political motive? The last question is the most worrying.
For, the playwright, Pradeep Dalvi, was quoted in a rightist Marathi newspaper as saying: ``I am sure when viewers leave the auditorium, they will destroy Gandhi's statues in everychowk and smash all signboards carrying Gandhi's name.'' Not the words of a passionate writer. Not the words of a votary of freedom of expression. Not the words of a responsible citizen. These are words of plain hatred, nothing less nothing more. These are the words of a man hell bent on destroying an icon of our times, an enduring image which stood for a set of principles that we as a nation have tried to abide by in the last 50 years. And in this attempt he is certainly not alone. That in the thick of the controversy he still managed to declare his intention to launch a new project - a play on Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray - is not an indication of Dalvi's cool demeanour, it's a sign of political cunning. There is every reason to believe that he was dangling a carrot in front of the government as a quid pro quo for its support to his Gandhi bashing. Freedom of expression is an absolute right and banning plays is never the right answer. But there hang some uncomfortable questions in the heat and dust kicked up by the controversial Marathi theatre production Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy glorifying Mahatma Gandhi's murder as vadh (vanquishing) and his killer as a hero. By justifying a murder are we not killing the whole argument of freedom of expression - after all, if we kill each other over ideological differences what freedom are we talking about? How did the scrutiny committee, which had only recently insisted on checking every line sung by a rock group, miss such disparaging remarks against the father of the nation? There is no doubt that the play is rooted in a political belief, but does it also carry a political motive? The last question is the most worrying.
For, the playwright, Pradeep Dalvi, was quoted in a rightist Marathi newspaper as saying: ``I am sure when viewers leave the auditorium, they will destroy Gandhi's statues in everychowk and smash all signboards carrying Gandhi's name.'' Not the words of a passionate writer. Not the words of a votary of freedom of expression. Not the words of a responsible citizen. These are words of plain hatred, nothing less nothing more. These are the words of a man hell bent on destroying an icon of our times, an enduring image which stood for a set of principles that we as a nation have tried to abide by in the last 50 years. And in this attempt he is certainly not alone. That in the thick of the controversy he still managed to declare his intention to launch a new project - a play on Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray - is not an indication of Dalvi's cool demeanour, it's a sign of political cunning. There is every reason to believe that he was dangling a carrot in front of the government as a quid pro quo for its support to his Gandhi bashing.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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