Writers Gather In In Dandi In Gujarat To Oppose Communalism
By Vidyadhar Date
02 February, 2016.
Countercurrents.org
It was a highly inspiring gathering on January 30 at Dandi, the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous salt satyagraha of 1930.. Hundreds of writers, artistes and activists from different parts of the country travelled at their own expense to support Gandhian values and oppose communal forces.
It was a unique experience to be on the site of the satyagraha on a day when the Mahatma was assassinated by communal elements. Such coming together out of a a sense of belonging, togetherness for the cause of secularism and human values is particularly important because on this day elsewhere some elements were seeking to build a statue to Nathuram Godse, Gandhiji’s killer, and hail him as a hero.
Writers coming together, travelling at their own expense, can also be a fine trendsetter and check the role of big money so obvious at corporate- sponsored literary festivals and conferences. Corporate sponsorship certainly limits free expression. At the recent Jaipur literary festival it was good that a whole session was devoted to the theme of freedom of expression but it has come under criticism for failing to condemn the judicial trial to which prominent writer Arundhati Roy was being subjected to at that very time.
A lot has changed since Gandhiji’s historic salt satyagraha. The salt pans are no longer there and the 240 km route from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad can no longer be traced as numerous constructions have come up along the way over the years. But the spirit very much lives on and one could sense the feeling of camaraderie and a sense of commitment among the delegates who came on their own.
But the state BJP led administration was far from helpful. It forced the organizers to postpone the march to the satyagraha site from early morning to mid-day. But this only strengthened the participants’ resolve. Communal forces were strongly criticized by various speakers. The participants also paid rich tributes to Rohit Vemula, the dalit scholar, who committed suicide recently because of caste discrimination. It also happened to be the birthday of Rohit Vemula.
The Dandi march was the culmination of a movement that is building up over the killing of rationalists and writers Narendra Dabholkar in Pune, Govind Pansare in Kolhapur and M.M. Kalburgi in Dharwad in the last two years. Writers travelled at their own expense and held solidarity meetings in Pune, Kolhapur and Dharwad. The credit for the movement goes largely to Dr Ganesh Devy, a scholar who is working hard to save regional languages, promote a dialogue between writes of these languages and preserve several languages facing extinction. Local activists in Dandi and neighbouring Navsari contributed enthusiastically to the Dandi conference.
The speakers at the inaugural session included Hamid, son of Dr Dabholkar, Megha, daughter-in-law of Govind Pansare, and Vijay, son of M.M. Kalburgi. Rajmohan Gandhi, writer and grandson of the Mahatma, said Gandhiji was very timid in his younger days. How could this once timid man make India so fearless in the fight against the British ? He said that if one loves others, shares their sorrows, one easily becomes fearless.
Rakesh Shukla, leader of the recent agitation of the students of the Film institute in Pune, said it was ironic that the Hindutva forces, who were looked down upon by the Indian people in the 1940s, had grown to come to seize power. These forces had attracted scientists but not great writers or social scientists.
Mr Chaman Lal, a left-wing scholar, said he totally disagreed with some ideas of Mahatma Gandhi but no one worked with such extraordinary effort to work for peace and understanding. Anand Patwardhan traced the history of communal elements since the time of their links with the fascists in Europe in the thirties. Atul Pethe, theatre director and actor, demonstrated people’s unease with communal forces through his acting skills.
But the most striking participant was a 17-year-old girl Ria Vithasha or Muddu Tirthalli, Kannada writer, who returned her Kannada state Akademi awrd. Her parents in the audience were introduced to the participants to show appreciation for bringing up such a spirited daughter. Participants from Dharwad in Karnataka spoke Hindi with absolute charm in their vowelled accents which showed that language can be no barrier in communication when one is inspired and committed . And the meeting was part of the project of Sarva Bhasha Samvad, a dialogue between writers of different languages.Neela, a forceful speaker from Dharwad, recalled the tradition of communal harmony and dissent in Karnataka. Basavanna challenged the Vedas centuries ago and during Muharram a number of Hindu women used to spiritedly join in singing songs with Muslim women.
Salil Tripathi, London-based writer and a prominent member of PEN international organization working for freedom of expression, joined in supporting the Dandi movement. Hemant Gokhale, a former Supreme court judge, always an unobtrusive, low-profile, presence at similar gatherings, was there to show his solidarity. Among other participants were Martin Mcwan, Ghulam Mohammad Shaikh, Gujarati writers, and Ghanashyam Shah, a prominent scholar and researcher.
(Mr Vidyadhar Date is a senior journalist).