There may be much going on in the world and, more particularly, in India but watching television news and debates these days suggests that there is just one main issue occupying the collective Indian mind and that is the movie Padmavati, sorry Padmaavat, by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Well, even the apex court was fast in deciding a case relating to it: on January 18, the court removed orders issued by some states prohibiting the exhibition of the movie in theatres. The court declared that no state in the country should issue such prohibitory orders over the screening of the film.It subsequently went on to refuse the applications by the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments to recall its order, pointing out that free speech could not be suppressed by mobs on streets.
The movie has been strongly opposed by protesting mobs of people purportedly defending Rajput honour. The Karni Sena is at the forefront of the agitation and has not refrained from ugly violence, against the portrayal of Rani Padmavati in the film. And all this burning of vehicles and destruction of property and in the process killing a few innocent people indulged in without seeing the film. Where did these people get the idea that the film was in any way derogatory to the rani? A rani who many point out is mythical and not historical anyway? Of course, it is pointed out by others that the rani is part of the traditional belief of the Rajputs, so formal history does not have to support her existence. But how is a film’s treatment of a character criticised without seeing the film?
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) passed the film after certain modifications it suggested were accepted and incorporated by the director. These seem to have included covering up Deepika Padukone’s exposed midriff in a dance scene to assuage Rajput honour.And leaving out a dream sequence involving AlauddinKhilji and Padmavati. The name of the film was also changed from Padmavati to Padmaavat – as if that would change the contents of the film!
But the Karni Sena and such outfits were not satisfied. Nor do they seem cognizant of the authority of the Supreme Court. And then some of the representatives of the Rajput groups were actually entertained to a free viewing of the film. (Perhaps this should have been done at the very beginning?) And there seemed to be a thaw for a few hours –when it was realised that there was little to protest about. In fact, as many of those who have seen the film have observed, Padmaavat glorifies the Rajputs to an embarrassing extent, repeating ad nauseum phrases on Rajput pride, valour and honour. But the violence went on, reaching a shockingly low level when school buses carrying children were stoned in Gurugram.
It is surprising that the state governments have not taken the law and order problem seriously enough. How can they allow rampaging mobs to hold entire cities to ransom? In their pandering to vote banks, they have let down rather badly the ordinary citizens who work hard to earn a living and want to go about their lives peacefully. Because they cannot organise themselves into blocs with influence as the goons can?
It is also puzzling why the protests have not died down after it has been established that the movie casts no aspersion on the Rani Padmavati or the Rajputs. Some people have tried to invest the film with a ‘message’ – the bad Muslim versus the good Hindu for example. A bit difficult to digest.However, why is the agitation continuing, in fact gaining support in areas beyond where Rajputs have a hold?
One cannot help thinking that the movie was merely a means for a group to draw attention to itself. These people are caught up in ‘identity politics’. The Rajput agitation is part of a larger drama playing out across the country in many states. We have seen the agitations by the Gurjars and Jats in Rajasthan and Haryana, respectively, vying for quotas in government jobs. More recently, the Patels and the Patidars held huge protests in Gujarat, once again over job reservations. In all these protests, there has been violence with not just property being destroyed but with lives being lost. The Rajputs too may be feeling the lack of avenues of employment besides a perceived sense of injustice as, with the progress of a democratic India, their ‘caste’ importance has waned even as their traditional employment avenues have narrowed down. So they are clinging on to a past glory with a vengeance. This agitation has got the media to focus on them and bring them to the attention of the entire country.
It is all a part of a larger problem that this country faces. We pride ourselves on the fact that we have the largest number of youngsters in the world, but these youngsters cannot be the demographic dividend we boast of unless they are qualified and skilled enough to get employment and work for the country’s benefit. The situation also reflects the fact that the democratic values that we all pay lip service to have not ingrained themselves in a large section of our population.
Our governments need to perceive a law and order problem as such and nip such agitations in the bud; they should not assume that these protests would die out on their own without intervention. It is government apathy that must be held responsible for the loss of lives and property and the trauma visited upon young children who had no stake in the issue at all. Politicians of all hues need to think of the large numbers of citizens who helplessly watch these tamashas – which can turn so dangerous – and have no avenue of expressing their views. At least in some cases, they need to go beyond vote banks.
By the way, I wonder when someone will protest against calling the film Padmaavat, as it does not picturize Malik Muhammad Jaisi’s work. What happened to the parrot?