Image Courtesy: Facebook

This new implementation was decided in a meeting held with university Vice-Chancellors across the country. According to the circular undersigned by the university Registrar, it directed the Head of departments in the university, “to convene a meeting of faculty members and prepare a shelf of projects to be taken up for research studies pertaining to their respective subjects, considering national priorities.”

Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, Meena T Pillai said, “I received the circular on 13 March and the circular seems to have many problematic things. For me, this sounded like the bedlam of research in this country. How can someone else decide the area of interest for a student?  Who decides what is of national priority? Moreover, what is irrelevant to you may be relevant to me.”

According to the Central University Act, 2009 (CUA), it is the responsibility of the Dean of the school to maintain the quality of teaching and research. The highest body in the university to decide on educational matters is the Academic Council. But this decision was taken by the Vice Chancellor of CUK unilaterally violating CUA, and also surpasses the power of both Dean and the Academic Council.

“Presently, many central universities are refusing to comment on this decision made by the centre; choosing to remain silent on this issue. It is pointed out that faculties of such institutions are also often targeted. Raising voices against the administration have led to suspensions, and enquiries in the past. In this context, how are we supposed to take free thought in our country?” added Pillai.”

The faculty also received huge support from politicians and civil society members across the country. Expressing solidarity with the professor and condemning this new circular issued by the university authorities, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post that, “It’s an extremely unfortunate situation where a university forces its students to do research as per certain “national interests”. Over the years, we have witnessed how the right-wing government has promoted unscientific and superstitious beliefs in our country. The present circular has an agenda behind it.”

Further, to enforce the process in different centres, the CUK administration has also sent a letter to the departments demanding them to change the research topics of students as per the “national interest”. This new circular not only forbids the students to think politically but also violates the Article 19(1)(A), right to freedom and expression, in any form. Talking to the Indian Cultural Forum, a faculty member of CUK said, “There are many students who had to change their topics. Some of the students who were researching on Kerala Muslims were asked to remove certain theoretical art from their study. Even if we decide not to change the topic, there is still a possibility that the Executive Council of the university would not approve.”

The new circular not only restricts a researcher to undertake research only within a  narrow scope, but also constrains the nature of debate in this country. The circular not only questions the ability of a 25 year old researcher’s thought process but indicates that the government or the faculty can think for them. When a 25 year old can decide who they can vote for, then how can the authorities say that the next generation PhD scholars are unable to think?

While the writers and free-thinkers urge us to uphold constitutional morality, some of us are asking what exactly falls within the purview of “national priority”. “Would a small tribal issue from Jharkhand be a national priority or is a fisher man’s life from a coastal area a national priority? The biggest question here is, if these are not national priorities, what else is?” Pillai asked.

Saffronising Education
As per India’s constitution we are a secular country, but over the past five years we have been witnessing this secularism being snuffed out. We have seen massive attacks on education, where India’s plural past has been replaced with the glory of one religion. So who decides what is important to our nation?

In the years this right-wing government has been in power, it has destroyed the educational sector in our country— from massive seat cuts and reservations to changes in syllabus. The Modi government appointed Sudershan Rao, an ABISY member as the head of the prestigious Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR). In October 2015, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry appointed Baladev Sharma, former editor of RSS mouth piece “Panchjanya” as the new chairman of National Book Trust.  There has also been a series of attempts to rewrite history by the same right-wing forces.

Last week, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) decided to drop three chapters from its Class IX history textbook as a part of the second textbook review undertaken by the current government.

It included “Clothing: A Social History” which detailed the influence of social movements on clothing and a section on “Caste Conflict and Dress Change”, the impact of colonialism and capitalism on rural communities and peasants titled “Peasants and Farmers”. The same council was under pressure last year to replace the title “Anti-Muslim Riot” with “Gujarat Riot”.

Clearly, for the Narendra Modi government, the new agenda in doing research—”the national priority”—is to replace and manipulate existing history while glorifying the current government, RSS and other Hindutva forces.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

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Image courtesy: Chobi Mela

In the session titled “Utmost Everything”, Roy was in conversation with the Bangladesh based photographer Shahidul Alam. Announcing the change in the venue, the photographer wrote in a facebook post: 

“The permission to hold Arundhati Roy’s talk at the pre-determined venue (Krishibid Institute) was withdrawn late last night. After massive juggling and a lot of help from friends, we have been able to obtain a new venue.”

According to reports, the permission was cancelled by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) due to “unavoidable circumstances”. As per the schedule released by the organisers, the talk was scheduled to take place at Krishibid Institute Auditorium.

Chobi Mela is an international festival of photography held in Bangladesh. Since its inception in 2000, it has become one of the most significant photography festivals in Asia.  The festival is organised by Drik Picture Library Ltd and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute.

The Bangladesh civil society has condemned this unprecedented act by the government. Further, revoking the permission to hold the programme also highlights the shrinking spaces for free speech in Bangladesh. Last year, photographer Shahidul Alam, who is also the organiser and speaker for the scheduled event, was jailed by the government over 100 days. The award winning photographer was arrested for supporting the then ongoing mass student protest in Dhaka and expressing his views to the media. Arundhati Roy is also known for her vociferous opinion. The Man Booker Prize winner has often criticised both the BJP and the Congress government for their inability to bring justice and peace to the Adivasis and Kashmiris in India. She was charged with sedition in 2010 for expressing her views on Kashmir.

The Dhaka police’s move to shift the venue without giving any substantial reason not only exemplifies the misuse of power, but also shows how threatened the government feels by the opinions of social activists.

Watch the entire conversation between Arundhati Roy and Shahidul Alam here.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

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The whole incident took place after a local  newspaper report misrepresented the theme of the play stating that the “play depicted Army men in poor light.”  

Along with the cancellation of the play, the protesters also demanded that sedition charges be slapped on the director.

Written and directed by Abhishek Majumdar, the play has been performed several times in India and abroad without any censoring in the past two years. Since the play takes up a currently sensitive topic, Kashmir, it has received a lot of criticism. Yesterday, the situation worsened when the director was forced to leave Jaipur due to safety concerns.

Majumdar is one of the finest writer and director of the country and has always been vocal about his views. Through his work, he brings to light, the issues relevant to our society , culture and democracy. The well acclaimed play stresses on the need for a dialogue in Kashmir. The whole play raises certain relevant question in our society which the government has failed to take a stand on.  It sends a message highlighting the importance of having a dialogue on Kashmir along with the need to understand what motivates these young people to take up arms. The play neither portrays army men in bad light not does it condone any act of terror.

Apparently, the protesters gathered to threaten the organisers and crew members at the Navaras festival had not even watched the play. The whole denouncement of the performance happened following a newspaper report.

Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, managing editor of Leftword and performing artist of Jana Natya Manch, Sudhanva Deshpande said, “It is extremely unfortunate  that it happened in a Congress ruled state. The administration should have protected the cast and director of the play. They should have ensured that the performance happen and not let miscreants and hindutva forces to get away with the censorship. I wish the authorities, the administration, the police and the state government had moved in such a way that the play could have been performed. The miscreants should be booked and there should be cases against them. This is not unexpected and it happens again and again, but it is really sad that it happened under a Congress ruled state.”

Censorship in Rajasthan

Last year, the Bollywood film Padmavat went through a series of hindrances ahead of its release. In the name of Rajput pride, even before the movie was screened, the state witnessed violent protests. The title of the movie was changed from Padmavati to Padmatvat following the protest organised by the Karni Sena. Along with demands on banning an unreleased – unseen movie, this fringe group also threatened both the director and the actors of the film.

A similar crackdown was witnessed yesterday when an unleashed Hindutva group wreaked havoc even before the staging of the play Eidgah ke Jinnat.  As Deshpande said, “They don’t know what are they protesting against and why they are protesting. This whole thing is about censorship. The protesters have no clue about the text of the play. There were two performances that were lined up and it’s really terrible that the the second show of the play couldn’t be staged.”

Over the past four years, censorship has become a standard pattern that is being normalised by the present right-wing government.  Ironically, in both the cases, the “angry” protesters had neither watched the play nor the movie and staged protests on the basis of some false assumptions.

Extending solidarity to the director and the actors, a group of artists have come up with an online petition to the Rajasthan government seeking to protect artists’ freedom of expression. 

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

The post The Censorship Saga: Play on Kashmir cancelled after protests appeared first on SabrangIndia.

However, there are many who seemingly could not accept the SC verdict. Recently, the administration of the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, denied permission to hold a lecture on the LGBTQ. Directing the organisers to cancel such events, the administration said, “such lectures will have a negative impact on the society”. The talk titled “Visibility of LGBTQ + Community” was organised by I-INK, an art club in the campus.

The organisers of the lecture scheduled to be held on 12 February, had invited Muhammed Zuhrabi, a graphic designer and LGBTQ activist based in Kerala, as the speaker. When organisers of the event approached the Dean seeking permission for the programme and venue, the administration refused to grant permission. Turning them down, the university authority said “are you trying to turn everyone in the campus gay?”. Mocking the organisers, the administration also said that the students have come here to study engineering and should be focussing on their studies.

The administration also told them that they cannot bring outsiders as speakers in the campus.

The Indian Cultural Forum spoke to Sourav, one of the organisers, who said, “This is not the first time we are organising a programme related to the LGBTQ. Last year we had successfully conducted programmes related to this topic. But this year the administration has been putting so many restrictions upon us. We have already invited the speaker for the talk too.”

Since the student community on campus was already informed about the programme, the organisers had to shift the lecture in the parking area of the campus. Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, Muhammed Zuhrabi, who delivered the lecture said, “It is an unfortunate incident. I was informed about the denial of permission by the organisers. I am disappointed to see how such prime institutions in our country are denying permission for a talk. As someone belonging to a minority community, we ar expected to admire such institutions for their stand and the solidarity they extend towards us. This attitude of the university administration is highly condemnable.”

This is the second time in the past two months that the administration has denied permission to the programmes conducted by the students. On Rohith Vemula’s third death anniversary earlier in January,  the students of the campus organizesd a screening of Deepa Dhanraj’s documentary, We Have Not Come Here to Die. The screening was interrupted in the middle by administrative officials. Later on, following students protest, the authorities were forced to screen the documentary. In a similar incident, the same administration also denied permission to conduct “Arpo Arthavam”, a programme in solidarity with the Sabarimala judgement and on breaking the taboos on menstruation. The administration directed the students to conduct more “creative and positive” lectures.

NIT is one of the prime institutions of the country. While the right-wing is trying to curb progressive thinking and the voices of students, we have also witnessed some landmark judgements and acceptance of minorities in the country. Apart from that, Kerala is one of the first states in India to accept the LGBTQ community and provide job to the transgenders. Yet, a university in the very same state has denied acceptance to the community. As Zuhrabi said, “we choose to love a person from the same gender and the society cannot alienate us for the choice we have made. Such lectures will help people understand and accept the LGBTQ.”

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

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Image Courtesy: ToI

The Kerala government, in an unprecedented move, has allotted Rs 3 crore to women filmmakers of the Malayalam film industry. The allocated amount was announced by the Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac while presenting the 2019 annual budget for the state.

Issac tweeted saying, “Emergence of a women’s collective has been an important turning point in the struggle for gender equality in Malayalam film world. Kerala budget provides for a special scheme to financially support women filmmakers.”

According to sources, the amount has been allotted to the filmmakers after the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) submitted a proposal to the government highlighting the issues faced by women in the industry.

Over the last couple of years, several women actors in the film industry have said that they have been denied many opportunities for being outspoken about the discrimination faced by them within the industry. Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, a member of the WCC said, “This is a much welcomed decision. One of the major issues faced by the women in the industry is financial capital, which is predominantly owned by the men in the industry. Hope this initiative taken by the government can provide more opportunity to the women in the industry.”

Noted film-editor and co-founder of WCC, Bina Paul told The News Minute, “We are happy that the government has taken such a decision. This is a first for any government in India. We have only heard of the European Union and Sweden government announce such schemes in the past. We realise it is a very small amount. But this amount could help at least a few women. These days, documentary makers make films in Rs 30-40 lakh and this amount could be subsidised for them, without compromising on quality. Therefore, such token amounts are important.”

WCC is a collective of women working in the Malayalam film industry. It includes directors, assistant directors, technicians, artists, makeup artists etc. and presently has a core of 20 members. The collective was formed in 2017 after a female actor in the industry was abducted and sexually harassed. After the police enquiry, it was found that her colleague and a well-known actor of the film industry, Dileep, was involved in her abduction. Rather than supporting the actress, the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (AMMA) stood with the accused. Subsequently, a group of women from the industry formed this collective. The formation of WCC has opened up the gates for discussion on issues of gender not just within but also outside the industry.

Appreciating the decision in a statement shared on Facebook yesterday, the WCC members said, “It’s a democratic decision made by the government. The allotment of Rs 3 Crore would provide scope for women to work in the industry. It also gives them confidence to stay in the field. Since the formation of the WCC, this was one of the demands we made to the government. And as women who are fighting against the existing norms in the society, this is also a validation of our struggles.”

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

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