This was yet another instance where scepticism about India’s association with democracy hit me hard. In all my social science lectures where discussions were about the degree of exercising liberty which our country holds, the concepts and ideas always felt nice theoretically. But then one fine day, you wake up and hear about the political criticism a college is facing after conducting an art exhibition!
On January 19 and 20, Loyola College in Chennai held an art exhibition which had paintings on the themes of social and political issues. The exhibition was organized by the college’s student support services that majorly assists the students from vulnerable sections of the society.
The paintings depicted images of Hindu religious symbols, gods and goddesses and expressed political satire. In short, the works had a strong essence of dissent. These reasons were enough for some Bharatiya Janta Party and Hindutva activists to bring down the whole event by tagging it as ‘anti-Hindu’ and ‘anti-national.’ After facing heat from these opposing allegations and with the current right-wing political environment in the country, the college took the safest step and asked for forgiveness for the whole incident.
The administration released an apology right after the protests broke out, stating, “…we are deeply pained, saddened and equally anguished that the venue to conduct a cultural event, Veethi Virudhu Vizha, held on 19th and 20th January 2019, has been misused, our illustrious and pluralistic campus was used for derogative exhibits against a particular religious group, social institution, political party and country’s leadership.” The statement went on to say, “We acknowledge our lapse and sincerely apologize for the insurmountable hurt this has caused.”
The timeline, however, is much more than a series of events. There are a lot of points of view which need to be evaluated and discussed. In conversations with my college peers, various kinds of opinions gave me many insights. There are two major sides to the whole situation which, in my opinion, can be considered as holding equal validation.
The evaluation of one aspect begins with talking about the importance that dissent holds in today’s times. People defending this side of the argument have tried analyzing the incident from the lens of freedom and liberty which our democratic constitution grants us. It is about the freedom which a blank canvas gives to an artist’s brush, hence making the whole process about pouring out of the artist’s thoughts.
An important question that arises from a situation like this is, since when did the domain of art come under compulsion of appeasing its viewers? It must be understood that a piece of dissent might not necessarily be a piece of offence but just an expression with a very strong message. Being a citizen of a society which welcomes expression and liberty, protests on such things are doors to uneasiness, especially when a tag like ‘anti-national’ is used.
However, there is the other side of the coin too. Some students I spoke to expressed deep sadness as they felt that the paintings were on the lines of hurting religious sentiments. In the secular state of India, where religion has always held a very important place in terms of culture, social and personal domain, it is important to care.
Observing this side’s argument, I was able to draw an understanding behind not having absolute rights. There exists a line which has to be identified, at least in the public space. Keeping the voice of protests aside, I did encounter some people who did not relate to the politics involved but still found their religious sentiments challenged.
The way the exhibition and the following protests took place was an unfortunate one. Some students from Loyola College also conformed to the college’s apology. But in all of this, I feel unsure like a pendulum swinging between right and wrong. An absolute stand is hard to take and I, as a college student, am left with the question, “Is this what it is like to dissent as a citizen?”
Featured image source: Sundar/Twitter; Loyola College/Wikipedia.
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