THREATS OF COMMUNAL WRITING - BEWARE

Mukesh Devrari

What is communal writing? It includes a style of writing, which tends to create rift among different communities. It also promotes and preaches hatred. It encourages communities to indulge in violence against each other. It draws a picture as if communities are pitted against each other and always vying to establish hegemony over each other.

In a country like India, communal writing can lead to rioting, loss of life and property. India has seen many communal conflagrations. In 1984 riots many Sikhs were killed by the supporters of congress party after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was murdered by her Sikh bodyguards. In the ensuing riots after the demolition of controversial Babri Mosque in 1992thousands of Hindus and Muslims killed each other brutally. In 2002 Gujrat riots many Muslims were killed in Gujrat with the connivance of state government led by Narendra Modi.  

Communal writing is an immoral thing, but at times even debate around the social notions of right and wrong, religious myths, evil cultural practices and loose comments on prevalent moral codes of theists can lead to demonstrations and violence. It does not mean that media should stop working on its progressive agenda to bring change and promote stagnation in society.

It would be beneficial for the students of journalism to comprehend India and its peculiar societal constituents to understand better how communalism and communal writing can bring havoc to the long term interests of this country. India cannot remain united as a single nation if minorities did not cooperate. So, it is better if this country treads carefully. Media ideally should continue to make efforts to eradicate conservative ideas from society in a subtle manner. Organized religions have made it difficult for free and unbiased observers and thinkers to speak their mind. Hinduism is also becoming less tolerant.

Generally, a section of writers believes that writing against religion is communal, but their argument is wrong. It is not communal. It must not be considered communal. It’s a peculiar situation in Non-Muslim states. When mainstream media criticizes Islam, Muslims indulge in violence. They threaten peace and security. At times their protests turn violent and they damage public property. They hurl stones at the police which is being deployed to control the mob.  

Examples - What is communal and what is not communal. Danish newspaper ‘Jylland Posten’ published the cartoon of Prophet Mohammad. It does not incite the majority community of followers of other religions to indulge in violence against Muslims. It was merely a creative expression of an individual in a free western society. In the same fashion, if M.F Hussein draws the nude pictures of Indian gods and goddesses. It is not a communal act. He must be allowed to paint those paintings, similarly, if Salman Rushdie wants to write Satanic Verses, he must not be targeted by the religious zealots.

If during rioting a person is killed by a Muslim mob, the media must not mention the identity of either of attackers or victims. It will be tantamount to inciting people to take revenge. Similarly if during the riots a person was killed by a Hindu mob. Then, the identity of either attackers or victims must not be disclosed by the media. 

In poor and backward countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan situation is terribly pathetic. People are religious bigots, conservative, irrational and prone to misguidance by the religious leaders. The situation in India is not as terrible as it is in Islamic states like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia where freedom of an individual has been strangled by the state under the influence of religious fundamentalists. 

People should be taught to learn tolerance for opposite views. The state must not allow itself to be blackmailed by fundamentalists who threatened to indulge in violence when their myths are evaluated and questioned by free, independent and unbiased thinkers. Individual freedom must not be curtailed, but it will very wrong on the part of any individual to promote hatred among communities for each other. The line is thin, so media should tread carefully and strike a balance. It must push individuals and societies towards modernization. 

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