The attempted gag order on Goan tiatrists booking the Ravindra Bhavan for their performances does not seem like a stray unforeseen accident, in the whirligig of politics and statecraft.
To any keen observer, the gag order may appear as part of a season of gag orders and an evolving pattern coming from different directions and by different personalities –in fact a well scripted mega tiatr of gag orders or restrictions on liberal society.
The mega tiatr seems to have opened its first act with demarcation of gender roles and territories for men and women. The Sri Ram Sene decreed that there are certain things men can do but which women cannot do. Women have to keep off the forbidden territory of drinks, smoking and visiting pubs. These it is suggested and approved, are privileges reserved only for men.
The second act suggested that all that is western or foreign including Valentines’ day celebrations are bad and necessarily antithetical to Indian culture and its desi strands. Therefore foreign dress, customs, food, drinks, almost everything should be bad. But what to pick and choose from this list is invariably, left to the main actor in these two acts, one Muthalik who will decide for the rest.
The third act of the tiatr was dominated by actor Sudin Dhavalikar, who declared that pubbing should be banned since it leads to vices and yup there should be no bikinis on beaches. So there goes the gag order so to say no pubbing and swimming in bikinis. Non pubbing and not wearing bikinis it is implied will rid society of all crimes against women. The fourth act featured a virtually unknown actor –Deepak Dhavalikar, whose ticket to fame has been riding on the fame of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shouting on stage that Modi will ensure that a Hindu Rashtra happens in India under his leadership. Deepak would hope that if not on his own merit, at least Modinama will ensure he is remembered by generations. In between, the various acts in a tiatr, there is always song and dance sequence and a comedian, who has the audience in splits. The people will have to determine whether this role was assigned to Francis D’Souza, who declared that India is already a Hindu rashtra and we are all Christian-Hindus and whether he played it to perfection.
However, the biggest plot in this tiatr is in the last act –the attempt to bring in laws to gag activists who are taking up civil society issues. This act is essentially aimed at regimentation of society. This act will tell all how to behave and how not to. What to do and what not to. In short how to be good altar boys and girls. This final act (and many such future acts) will essentially remove all discomfiture from society of useless protests and dissent and have a comfortable tailored, regimented democracy, where everyone will live happily ever after.
In this mega tiatr, the modus operandi seems to be to throw a stone and then watch the reactions. If there is vehement criticism, the act is pulled back, if not, the next act is pushed on stage, in the well scripted tiatr.
In a democracy, we have to understand that people are an intelligent audience who have the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression, to discuss, criticise and provide feedback. If any of this strays into defamation, already there are ample laws to effectively deal with libel. Therefore it is quite incomprehensible that restrictions are sought to be brought in to muzzle people’s dress styles, lifestyles, cultural elements such as tiatrs or for that matter criticism through the press or through activism. In a liberal democracy, one has to respect the other no matter his culture, language, religion, gender or the colour of one’s skin. In other words, one has to, as in a tiatr, learn to pick up the bouquets and the brickbats.
