We need Arundhati's straight talk

 Arubndhati Roy, the great social thinker, humanist and internationally acclaimed writer, has stirred up the hornet's nest by speaking her mind in a seminar on 21.10.10 in Delhi.The seminar was organised by the sympathisers of the movement  for self determination of long pending dispute of Kashmir.The necessity of organising such seminar was ostensibly been taken to make people aware of the situation in Kashmir soon after the armed forces had killed 107 innocent child & adolescent people for their alleged stone pelting to the security forces.

Kashmir is now under seize .Seventy thousands of Armed Forces are on constant vigil so that no anti national element could raise any voice to ask for minimum freedom of expression let alone " Azadi". Now, the question ,why the majority of people ( From 8yrs.to 80 yrs.) are doggedly struggling for Independence? Because, the annexation of Kashmir was done by deceit. The Plebiscite, as assured to the people of Kashmir in the United Nations,had never been attempted to . And, hence our country had been hoodwinking the people of Kashmir by denying them the opportunity of ascertaing the mandate of people through referendum. Since, that was the basis of merging of Kashmir to the independent India.

In this context,we have read many books and came to know the hard reality of Kashmir. ARUNDHATI ROY has just narrated all such facts in minute details at the Seminar.This has irked the hardcore Hindu Fundamentalist so much so that any person who would try to even acknowledge the historical truth would be branded as an ant-national----- as such any statement pertaining to the aspirations of the people of Kashmir would be trampled down.This travesty is nothing but transgressing to the fundamental right of a person.

Kashmir is and always has been an emotive and sensational issue.The print & electronic media are equally to be blamed for not analysing the volatile issue in a more objective way rather than sensationalising it to raise the readership/ TRP rates. That is why Nwespapers/TV channels with a few exceptions,have come

down heavily on one and only eminent writer-humanist-our conscience keeper Arundhati Roy. I, for one, regard her as Noam Chomsky of our country.Name any issue of suppression/oppression by the state perpetuated against the general mass, she is there, as a conscience-keeper to  make us understand the role of the oppressor and thereby  raise our voices against it. So, quite obviously all the stake holders in the fray would be furious to hound her out to prove her as an anti-national.

In the premise,the vandalism as shown by a handful of religious bigots, vigourosly trying to tear apart the pluralistic society by committing progom and genocide in Gujarat and elsewhere, should never been allowed to happen in the seminar in Delhi. Because,in democracy, it is imperative to allow any dissenting voice to be heard by people howsoever it may ridicule the state for that matter.

In the year 1922,M.K. Gandhi arguably the father of the nation was arrested under 124(A) IPC of 1898,by the Britsh govt.and many more  freedom fighters were also arrested during the freedom movement in India.As per this draconian law if any person does express his/her disaffection towards the elected govt. of the day by writing,statement,deeds,lecture etc. it could be termed as treason and may be booked under this draconian law. Mr. Gandhi, during his trial satirically said that " if one had no affection for a person or system,one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection....".

Arundhati's straight talk has thus placed her in the same league as Gandhi.The history of dissenting voices have long list of legends e.g.from Voltaire,Jean Paul Satre,Ralf Waldo Emerson,Hainz, Sigmond Froyd,Bertand Russel et al to the moderndays Noam Chomosky and ours Arundhati Roy. We must feel extremely fortunate that instead of being swayed by this hedonist and consumerist culture of the world, her every move gives the middle class people an insight as well as prick our conscience that ALL IS NOT WELL here.

.On 12.09.10, Hindustan Times had published an article in page no 11 where a young girl of 30s named SABBAH HAJI expressed her anguish, desperation and above all her alienation from the spirit of our nationhood. Her interpretation of nationhood is completely different from us as she has been subjected to by the "oppressive" state apparatus of Kashmir.Arundhati Roy has narrated the collective voices of the disgruntled,humiliated people numbering 66% of the valley. It's not morally right to gag her voice on the pretext of her having "anti-National" stand. The print and electronic media has clubbed together to insinuate her in a most unethical way so as to arouse public outrage against her. This is evident from the vandalism organised by the Women wing of obnoxious RSS at the residence of the writer in full view of OB van of ND/TIMES TV.soon after the seminar was held.

Hence, under the present situation prevailing in our country, in spite of the much-touted  GDP growth rate and fastest growing number of billioners,  we should  recall the Ambedkar's warning " On the 26th. January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality.In politics, we will be recognising the principle of one man-one vote-one value. In our social and economic life,we shall by reason of our social and economic structure continue to deny the principle of one man-one value.How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril".