Note: I have been absent for a long time, so I figured I would put up my newspaper editorials as a meagre sop to my conscience. There are two types: ones that I write for Junior Herald, which is once a week, and the others which I write for the broadsheet, once a month.
Aditya Arya, new DGP of Goa police, remarked that if he was present in Balli, he would have ordered firing on the tribal protestors. I happened to be seated behind him at the time, and was part of the collective gasp that followed his comment. He may have explained, refined or even retracted his statement later, but the damage was done. The press, us included, have been hard on him; justifiably so, as a matter of fact. Why? Because his remarks hurt sentiments; inexcusable, regardless of whose sentiments they happen to be.
I apply the same logic to the controversial paintings of the late M F Hussain. People have argued artistic license and creative freedom till they were blue in the face, but the fact remains that his depictions of the Hindu goddesses Sita and Saraswati, hurt those of us who revere them.
To draw upon a simple analogy, which one of us, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, would like to see our mothers painted in that fashion? None of us, and yet Hindus who worship Sita as the epitome of motherhood are expected to swallow nude paintings of her without an objection. Personally, I find that unreasonable, and while I certainly did not celebrate his death, I found myself entirely indifferent to it.
When recounting this to someone, they then said me it was unfair to judge a person on the basis on a few misguided examples of his work. M F Hussain was a revolutionary figure in the industry of Indian art, and his contributions shouldn’t be forgotten. True, I replied, but the man lost my respect when he displayed such flagrant disregard for the sentiments of others. Just because he has a certain societal standing, doesn’t give him license to be careless of other people.
As a matter of fact, M F Hussain’s standing should have been the very factor that compelled him to exercise more discretion. The same applies to Aditya Arya; as a figurehead of sorts, he not only represents his own views but is effectively speaking on behalf of the Goa police. How could he be so wantonly careless? Or was that really the message he wanted to send to the tribal folk?
Effective communication is crucial, and shooting one’s mouth off in the heat of the moment rarely brings about happy consequences. And frankly, it is not restricted to just public figures; a number of misunderstandings would be avoided if people embraced the concept of careful thought before speaking. Additionally, if we stopped to consider how hurtful words can be, we wouldn’t unleash them with so much uncontrolled ferocity. I don’t know who once said that words were like arrows, once shot they could never be taken back; and like arrows they have the ability to wound and sometimes kill, though not in such a literal sense.
All of which leads me to the sad belief that human sentiments are not considered important any more. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is transactional and symbiotic, and no man can really live, in the true sense of the word, without other beings. So how do we co-exist harmoniously and productively in an environment such as this? The answer is quite simple: as of now we cannot; and until we all undertake to change, we will not.
2 comments:
You the first thing which crossed my mind after reading this article was:
Will this ever happen, that people will start using their words carefully? I mean, as you were talking about people who have higher responsibilities... I really wish that people could have showed this maturity..
But as I have experienced, people who know how to speak are not the one with the responsibilities and the people who are with responsibilities never care.. (Kundan)
M.F was surely a controversial figure.However,which such figure of grat stature are all the same.
This is a great compilation.Keep up your great work.
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