Priyesha's Blog

63 years and still struggling

2012-01-26T01:39:00.000-08:00

"Of all the experiments in government, which have been attempted since the beginning of time, I believe that the Indian venture into parliamentary government is the most exciting. A vast subcontinent is attempting to apply to its tens and thousands of millions a system of free democracy... " - Sir Anthony Eden

People need to stand up for each other ...not against each other.

A few days ago I received an email protesting against a play being staged by friends at the ISKCON auditorium. The play "Sons of Babur" has been written by Salman Khurshid, adapted to stage by Dr. Sayeed Alam and directed by Tom Alter. The play was to mark the beginning of a three day theatre festival called Being Hindian on the 26th of January 2012. What the protest resulted in is anyone's guess... ISKCON backed off. What's upsetting here isn't the actual protest but the attitude that the authorities had towards the protesters and the protested.

Curious to know more I replied to the email inquiring why is it that the Hindu Jagriti Samiti (HJS) was protesting against the play, the answer to which was that the title of the play mentioned Babur who according to HJS was a Hindu hater and further more the play was being staged at ISKCON which is a Krishna temple.That Babur had destroyed the Krishna temple in Dwarika and that the play glorifies the Moghul kings which was unacceptable to this group of people.

We all know that history has forever been tailor made by Kings and Queens. History is full of stories about kings destroying and building temples and mosques and they did that not in order to make a religious statement but a political one. For example people know that Aurangzeb destroyed temples. How many know that he destroyed many mosques too and that he also built so many temples and mosques. How many know King Harshdev of Kashmir was the creator of a new post, whose title was "Devotpannayak". The duty of "Devotpannayak was to uproot images and idols of gods and goddesses. The most interesting part is that the Devotpannayak was never instructed to uproot an idol made of stone but ones that were made of gold or silver. Those that were studded with precious stones.

Sons of Babur is a piece of art. There are wonderful moments in the play, lines that show the fratricidal struggle among the Mughals, who occupy an important place in Indian history. Besides that the play is not against Hindus, it shows the syncretic traditions of India and it in its own way promotes the positive aspects of values of Hinduism. .

63 years ago, the people of this country came together against the colonial rule and attained freedom but we never bothered look at our own demons and try to liberate ourselves from them. We have come such a long way embracing education, technology, new ideas of development and we seem to be pretty confident that we're going to go forward no matter what. What about love, compassion, tolerance... humanity? Have we reached anywhere with our internal struggles?

A bunch of people (all due respect to them) protest against a piece of art and the authorities feel obliged to accept their request and cancel the performance under the name of law and order? Is that the freedom we have as Indians?

What is really the way forward? .... there has to be one...

Priyesha Krishnan Nair.

Artists for Sharmila

2011-12-10T19:11:00.001-08:00

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. - Nelson Mandela
Over a hundred and fifty people came together in Bombay on Friday the 9th December for a cause, for a courageous soul, Irom Charu Sharmila who has been fasting for 11 years protesting against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

As children we all grew up playing with toy guns, watching action movies, safe in our homes; what about children who grow up waking to the sound of gunshots, dodging tear gas shells on the streets that were supposed to be their playground. What happens when the State implements a law such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act?

The AFSPA gives the armed forces powers to shoot, arrest and search, all in the name of "aiding civil power". The enforcement of this law has resulted in innumerable incidents of torture and rape by the army. The Central govt. has not paid any attention the innumerable requests of the State government or heard the cry of the people who are suffering this act for the past 24 years, maybe more.

Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign brought together eminent artists from all over the country stood up for the cause through artworks in the form of long vertical flags that were on display and also various other artworks were exhibited in a presentation. The exhibition was followed by a panel discussion where speakers Mihir Desai and Ritu Diwan explained the history of Manipur and the true reasons of the insurgency in the North East.

The eve of International Human Rights Day marked the end of the Save Sharmila SolidarityCampaign with heart wrenching documentaries like Tales from The Margins that unfolded the true story of the North East before the youth of Bombay and maybe marked the beginning of a revolution... leaving behind a desire to stand up for the people, to stand up with Irom Sharmila, for a cause that doesn't concern only the North East, but also Kashmir and who knows maybe, if we don't speak up today the rest of the world too.

Tracing Terror Trails

2011-05-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

A bright late summer morning and I am headed to Islam Gymkhana to attend a National Convention - Tracing Sangh Terror Trails organized by Anhad. Like most of the youth in this country I too have ignored or just scanned stories of terrorism in newspapers and long forgotten them or have chosen to believe that they are forgotten. For such stories always leave you with a bag full of questions you don't want to deal with.

The first question being who is responsible for terrorism? A group of people? Their beliefs? A religion? Sadly, today the world believes so. We do believe that the Muslims; a community that has long lived in peace with the others in this country, are responsible for all the acts of terrorism not only in the country but in the world. Not denying the fact that acts of terrorism have been committed by Muslims as well, the convention aimed at throwing light on many incidents that show us the other picture and tell us that religion plays no major role in one becoming a terrorist.

So then who is to be blamed? The circumstances? Are these created deliberately? Unfortunately the answer is yes. There have been instances of organized violence in the country. Minorities in this country have found themselves struggling to breathe, to survive. Acts of violence have been committed against missionaries, one of whom was burnt alive along with his two children while asleep in a jeep. Land grabbing, rape, murder and humiliation of the indigenous population in this country. All this in the name of Hindutva; these are facts that the media doesn’t speak of or isn’t allowed to speak of that are a threat to the secularism this state claims to be practicing. If Secularism is to survive people need to stand up for people rather than leaving it to the State to resolve issues. One must understand that the talk wasn't aimed at Hindus or Hinduism but at people who believe in wiping out the minorities and turning India into a Hindu State from being a Secular State.

An act of violence cannot be justified be it of any kind; mental, verbal or physical. The convention brought to our notice that when people start believing in religious fundamentalism and also capitalism in some cases they tend to agree with the idea of terrorism. Terrorism of any kind should be opposed be it Hindu terrorism, Jihad or something else. Not only the acts of terrorism but also the climate of aggressiveness and violence should be opposed by all.