Democracy or Mobocracy ?

Literary Great
or
Blaspheme?

As the famous words by Churchill go, "democracy is the worst form of government except all others that have been tried".  A dysfunctional democracy is no less better than an autocracy. We are going through a period in our democracy where our polity is out for a toss and the general liberty of the populace is also under threat. The point of discussion in this article is the treatment that India's most distinguished writer Salman Rushdie gets from the ruling government. Rather than welcoming him with grace and with a tinge of pride, the government works to ensure that he is unwelcome in the country. Citing security concerns, the Rajasthan CM searches for ways to block his entry into the Jaipur Literary Festival. And, of course, the impending elections in major states with a sizable Muslim population doesn't help the ruling government either to welcome Rushdie with fanfare. After all who wants to 'offend' the Muslims when they can be a vote bank. In this context, the rabble-rousers and 'protectors of minority sentiments'  take advantage of the polity's uncertainty and resoluteness on the issue. I fail to understand why the centre cannot take a stand whether Rushdie is welcome or not. Why play this ''I didn't say no but I don't mean Yes'' game. 

Doomed?

As is well known, the novel "Satanic Verses", due to its supposedly inflammatory  and blasphemous writings about Prophet Mohammad and Islam, is already banned in India since 1988. I don't get the point then, why is there so much hullabulla about Rushdie coming to India then. Protests by a few people should not infringe on the rights of millions who want to welcome the literary great to the country. The bigger issue here is not the coming of Rushdie to India but rather the kind of regressive society we have become as a whole. The falling tolerance levels of our society is a cause of concern for liberals like me. But clearly, without a clear political will these issues will always remain in the collective psyche of our society while also empowering the so called ''sentiment saviors of the minorities''. That time is not far when every writer or politician or person in this country will be jailed for 'hurting the sentiments of some person or a group'. We cannot emulate China on growth and development parameters but we surely are headed for their societal control norms. 

-Sunny Gusain.