By Surendra Bhatia
Just a couple of months back, India voted and re-elected to power the Narendra Modi government with a bigger majority than it had got in 2014, and so, it was thought, the fate of war had been decided for the next four-five years, and guns would be silenced in the interim. But, surprisingly, the usual suspects of the intolerance brigade, including many from the film industry, shot off a petition, indicting the prime minister and his government and his party of various crimes of intolerance. But hadn’t the recent general elections just delivered the verdict on the same issue? People had reposed faith in the government that these same so-called intellectuals had denounced. So, why now, again, the same campaign?
The answer lies in the fact that elections in India never end. Even as general elections have just concluded, the country will witness further local elections in three states in the coming months, and many more in the coming years, so the campaigners against the BJP don’t really have time to rest or take a vacation. Elections are an ongoing process in India, and the so-called intellectuals have to be on duty all through the year.
In most democratic countries, elections bring out the worst in campaigners but once the verdict is delivered, they go quiet for the next few years. In the last year before the next elections, they vigorously get into gear to fight all over again. It is assumed that the elected government should be allowed to rule for the elected term and then fight it out for the next one. Not in India, apparently. Because of regular three-four state elections every year, the campaign period never does end.
The so-called intellectuals signed a petition against the government; another petition denouncing them was signed by those among the film industry, supporting the government… and so the battle for ballot goes on…
One thing does bother, though. Is the note signed by these intellectuals from the film industry any different from what they have been saying since the last six-seven years when it first began to seem imminent that the BJP would come to power? They have just been repeating the same thing over and over. Every time, it seems like they may be able to influence the election results. The fact that they don’t influence, and they can’t influence, seems to be lost on them.
However, when intellectuals like Aparna Sen, Anurag Kashyap and others take up cudgels against the BJP government, it must be asked whether they have at any time done the same for the film industry? During the ten years, 2004 to 2014, of the Congress regime, of which they must be presumed supporters, did they influence the government to solve any of the problems faced by the film industry? Since they have such faith in their ability to influence the country, shouldn’t they have used the same influence to get the government to ease up on taxes, toughen down on piracy, facilitate building of cinemas, etc.? The answer is zilch. They did nothing, just as the ones supporting the present government will also end up doing nothing for the film industry. The fact is, and this may be difficult for petitioners on either side to digest, that they count for nothing and except for public verbal masturbation, nothing is achieved by either side, not in influencing people, not in influencing governments.
