Kabir Kala Manch Fracas, Pune: ‘They asked to say ‘Jai Narendra Modi’ before thrashing us’
"I haven’t told my family in Chennai about the intensity of the incident, or about the police case. I don’t want them to get worried,” said Sriram Raja, the third-year editing student of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), who was among the five students attacked by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) outside the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) following a performance by the Kabir Kala Manch(KKM), on Wednesday.
Kislay Tiwari, another victim of the ABVP attack, said, “The scuffle started around 8:45pm, when the event concluded. They began calling KKM a naxalite body. We asked them to stop, but when they continued with their tirade, the NFAI security asked us to leave the premises due to the ruckus. As soon as we got out of NFAI, Ajayan Adat was surrounded and attacked. The rest of us tried to save him, during which Sriram got badly injured.”
See also Pune Film Institute students protest ABVP assault // Pune Corporation Workers’ Union support students
Adat added, “Before I was attacked, the ABVP people shouted ‘Jai Narendra Modi bol’. When I refused, they started beating me up.” Apart from Raja, Adat and Kisley, Ansar Shah and Shamin Kulkarni were also beaten up. While Raja received injuries to the head, the others got off with minor bruises.
On Thursday, FTII director D J Narin met with student union members and for around 40 minutes, before landing up at Commissioner of Police Gulabrao Pol’s office to file an official complaint. Narin has also issued a media release, demanding stringent action by the city police against such acts.
“As a cultural institution it’s our duty and right to encourage free flow of creativity, thought and ideology. We have demanded that the FTII administration lodge an official police complaint. The student union will meet again to finalise details of our rally, planned for Friday or Saturday,” Kislay, a former union president, said.
He added that there had been considerable pressure following the murder on August 20 of activist Narendra Dabholkar from various quarters to cancel the screening of Jai Bhim Comrade on Wednesday. “We, however, insisted that in the light of Dabholkar’s murder, the film should be screened,” Kislay said.
The FTII media release, which condemned the incident, said, “This incident would not be seen in isolation and we are increasingly witnessing that any individual or organisation that takes an opinion contrary to the mainstream, is labeled as anti-national, and all efforts are taken to intimidate them which can also amount to murder, especially looking at the recent case of Dr Narendra Dabolkar.”
http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2013082320130823094452621d7219a2d/%E2%80%98They-asked-to-say-%E2%80%98Jai-Narendra-Modi%E2%80%99-before-thrashing-us%E2%80%99.html
Javed Anand - Ms Wadud, we are ashamed
Congratulations to the students and faculty of FTII for standing up to fascist intimidation. It is clear that the murder of Dabholkar was intended to send a deadly message to anyone opposed to communal politics. They must in turn be sent a message that violence and threats of violence will not work. The opposite should be the case, let this be an opportunity for a widespread campaign exposing the vicious methods and mindset of the Hindutva 'parivar'.. The Islamists are exactly the same when it comes to violent intimidation. In the above case (see link to Javed's article) in Chennai, the opposite happened, the Centre for Islamic Studies, where Ms Amina Wadud's lecture was to be held, received a threat from an Islamist organisation called Indiya Towheed Jamaad, upon which both the institute authorities & the police backed down & cancelled the meeting. So the hooligans got away with their threats. Here's what I wrote: "The crucial point here is that both police and the academic authorities took the easy way out, the police by citing the 'threat' of violence, the head of the centre by saying it was an administrative problem. In the same way some fanatics obtained the cancellation of a talk by (click link) Tarek Fateh in Jamia Millia (Delhi) recently. Why didn't the responsible people call the fanatics' bluff and insist on holding the meeting anyway? This is what we did years ago (click link) in DU in 1988; and what the organisers of an art exhibition did in Delhi some months ago, when Hindutva fanatics tried to sabotage it on account of M.F. Husain's paintings being included. Why not challenge the police to do their job, instead of backing out? If moderate people are always to surrender before extremists, how can we ever hope to resist fascism? -Dilip
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Comment by Anand Patwardhan
Kislay Tiwari, another victim of the ABVP attack, said, “The scuffle started around 8:45pm, when the event concluded. They began calling KKM a naxalite body. We asked them to stop, but when they continued with their tirade, the NFAI security asked us to leave the premises due to the ruckus. As soon as we got out of NFAI, Ajayan Adat was surrounded and attacked. The rest of us tried to save him, during which Sriram got badly injured.”
See also Pune Film Institute students protest ABVP assault // Pune Corporation Workers’ Union support students
Adat added, “Before I was attacked, the ABVP people shouted ‘Jai Narendra Modi bol’. When I refused, they started beating me up.” Apart from Raja, Adat and Kisley, Ansar Shah and Shamin Kulkarni were also beaten up. While Raja received injuries to the head, the others got off with minor bruises.
On Thursday, FTII director D J Narin met with student union members and for around 40 minutes, before landing up at Commissioner of Police Gulabrao Pol’s office to file an official complaint. Narin has also issued a media release, demanding stringent action by the city police against such acts.
“As a cultural institution it’s our duty and right to encourage free flow of creativity, thought and ideology. We have demanded that the FTII administration lodge an official police complaint. The student union will meet again to finalise details of our rally, planned for Friday or Saturday,” Kislay, a former union president, said.
He added that there had been considerable pressure following the murder on August 20 of activist Narendra Dabholkar from various quarters to cancel the screening of Jai Bhim Comrade on Wednesday. “We, however, insisted that in the light of Dabholkar’s murder, the film should be screened,” Kislay said.
The FTII media release, which condemned the incident, said, “This incident would not be seen in isolation and we are increasingly witnessing that any individual or organisation that takes an opinion contrary to the mainstream, is labeled as anti-national, and all efforts are taken to intimidate them which can also amount to murder, especially looking at the recent case of Dr Narendra Dabolkar.”
http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2013082320130823094452621d7219a2d/%E2%80%98They-asked-to-say-%E2%80%98Jai-Narendra-Modi%E2%80%99-before-thrashing-us%E2%80%99.html
Javed Anand - Ms Wadud, we are ashamed
Congratulations to the students and faculty of FTII for standing up to fascist intimidation. It is clear that the murder of Dabholkar was intended to send a deadly message to anyone opposed to communal politics. They must in turn be sent a message that violence and threats of violence will not work. The opposite should be the case, let this be an opportunity for a widespread campaign exposing the vicious methods and mindset of the Hindutva 'parivar'.. The Islamists are exactly the same when it comes to violent intimidation. In the above case (see link to Javed's article) in Chennai, the opposite happened, the Centre for Islamic Studies, where Ms Amina Wadud's lecture was to be held, received a threat from an Islamist organisation called Indiya Towheed Jamaad, upon which both the institute authorities & the police backed down & cancelled the meeting. So the hooligans got away with their threats. Here's what I wrote: "The crucial point here is that both police and the academic authorities took the easy way out, the police by citing the 'threat' of violence, the head of the centre by saying it was an administrative problem. In the same way some fanatics obtained the cancellation of a talk by (click link) Tarek Fateh in Jamia Millia (Delhi) recently. Why didn't the responsible people call the fanatics' bluff and insist on holding the meeting anyway? This is what we did years ago (click link) in DU in 1988; and what the organisers of an art exhibition did in Delhi some months ago, when Hindutva fanatics tried to sabotage it on account of M.F. Husain's paintings being included. Why not challenge the police to do their job, instead of backing out? If moderate people are always to surrender before extremists, how can we ever hope to resist fascism? -Dilip
Venue for a Speech on Tamas - A Chronicle of an Event That Should Never Have Happened
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Deobandis back to baiting Rushdie at Jaipur Literature Festival
Communalists revive Rushdie controversy yet again
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Comment by Anand Patwardhan
Punyanagari (The Virtuous City)Pune, Aug 22. Last night a FTII and Yugpath student organized screening of “Jai Bhim Comrade” began with a tribute to anti-superstition campaigner Narendra Dabholkar, who had just the previous day been gunned down by fanatics in the same city. It was our 4th screening of the film at the FTII and as before, the large NFAI auditorium was overflowing. The screening and discussions went off without a hitch. Not a single audience question led me to suspect that Hindutva elements were in attendance. In fact I am always happy to get questions from opposite sides of the political spectrum as I believe that such debates and discussions benefit everyone and are precisely the function of the kind of cinema I believe in.
As the film and discussion ended, some audience members left but more poured in for the next event - the first stage appearance of members of the Kabir Kala Manch in over two years. It was of course a depleted KKM. Accused by the State of associating with Naxalites, three of their main singers and poets are still in jail awaiting trial. Last month Sheetal Sathe, their charismatic lead singer/poet was granted bail but was unavailable having just delivered a baby. Barring Deepak Dengle, other KKM members who are out of prison, were not lead singers but part of the chorus or the support team. As Jyoti Jagtap said to the audience in her introduction: “We are not trained musicians from the Gwalior gharana, or the Jaipur or Agra gharanas. We are working class youth from the basti, factory and farm-labour gharanas. We won’t be able to deliver the perfect note or play the perfect instrument but if you listen to our words, I am confident that what we have to say will be of interest.”
KKM lived upto its promise. They began with a song they dedicated to the memory of Narendra Dabholkar. It was the Ambedkar inspired song against superstition “Amhi Devhara Bajula Saarlay” (We have set aside all our gods). Following this was a rousing anti-nuclear song on Jaitapur, then the moving “Sau” an ode to Savitribai Phule and concluding with the defiant: “Kabir wants to break his shackles to dance and sing. Let him dance and sing !”
The entire audience was captivated. People were elated and milled around in the NFAI premises for a long time afterwards. Some students sent for chai, others wanted to take group photos. Suddenly I saw Deepak Dengle surrounded by an animated group of about a dozen people. After a while we realized that this group was hostile and we pulled Deepak away to have tea rather than allow an argument to escalate. The group now took their wrath out on FTII students. A single plain-clothes policeman at the site seemed completely disinclined to stop the aggression. Suddenly the group revealed its identity by chanting ABVP slogans and shouting “Down with Naxalites”. Out of nowhere orange flags and sticks appeared and began to be brandished. Finally as people walked away from them the group seemed to disperse and we got on with our tea and photos. But the group had merely retreated into the darkness and not dispersed. Outside the NFAI compound they physically attacked and injured 5 FTII students, one of whom was hospitalized with a head injury that needed stitches. Concerned with the safety of KKM, the students escorted them out and they all reached home safely.
So ended KKM’s first stage reappearance in over two years. It will be recalled that a few months ago 2 KKM members were jailed overnight at Taloja for singing songs at a protest march against a builder who had usurped a pilgrimage site connected with the working class Saint Tukaram. The police claimed they had sung “Naxalite” songs. The songs in question happened to be composed by the legendary Ambedkarite poet Vamandada Kardak. A pattern of suppression seems to be emerging. By branding them as Naxalites the State has succeeded in creating a tag which even a court judgment in favour of KKM may not remove. When they emerge from jail they will be followed and harassed either by the police or by right-wing vigilantes.
Another pattern is emerging. Two days ago “unknown” gunmen killed Narendra Dabholkar in broad daylight. No right-wing group has taken credit. All the vociferous opponents of Dabholkar from the mainstream BJP and Shiv Sena to the lunatic fringe of the Hindu right, deny all responsibility. Yes we opposed him they admit, but no, we did not kill him. Last night at least the ABVP was not shy to announce who they were. This is of course easier to do when you can paint your opponents as anti-national Naxalites. Earlier Dabholkar too was branded as a Naxalite in some quarters. The non-violent anti-nuclear protestors in Kudankulam have been called Naxalites as have been people connected with Medha Patkar. Naxalites are now entering our cities, scream the newspapers. They will soon be pouring out from our taps.
As the film and discussion ended, some audience members left but more poured in for the next event - the first stage appearance of members of the Kabir Kala Manch in over two years. It was of course a depleted KKM. Accused by the State of associating with Naxalites, three of their main singers and poets are still in jail awaiting trial. Last month Sheetal Sathe, their charismatic lead singer/poet was granted bail but was unavailable having just delivered a baby. Barring Deepak Dengle, other KKM members who are out of prison, were not lead singers but part of the chorus or the support team. As Jyoti Jagtap said to the audience in her introduction: “We are not trained musicians from the Gwalior gharana, or the Jaipur or Agra gharanas. We are working class youth from the basti, factory and farm-labour gharanas. We won’t be able to deliver the perfect note or play the perfect instrument but if you listen to our words, I am confident that what we have to say will be of interest.”
KKM lived upto its promise. They began with a song they dedicated to the memory of Narendra Dabholkar. It was the Ambedkar inspired song against superstition “Amhi Devhara Bajula Saarlay” (We have set aside all our gods). Following this was a rousing anti-nuclear song on Jaitapur, then the moving “Sau” an ode to Savitribai Phule and concluding with the defiant: “Kabir wants to break his shackles to dance and sing. Let him dance and sing !”
The entire audience was captivated. People were elated and milled around in the NFAI premises for a long time afterwards. Some students sent for chai, others wanted to take group photos. Suddenly I saw Deepak Dengle surrounded by an animated group of about a dozen people. After a while we realized that this group was hostile and we pulled Deepak away to have tea rather than allow an argument to escalate. The group now took their wrath out on FTII students. A single plain-clothes policeman at the site seemed completely disinclined to stop the aggression. Suddenly the group revealed its identity by chanting ABVP slogans and shouting “Down with Naxalites”. Out of nowhere orange flags and sticks appeared and began to be brandished. Finally as people walked away from them the group seemed to disperse and we got on with our tea and photos. But the group had merely retreated into the darkness and not dispersed. Outside the NFAI compound they physically attacked and injured 5 FTII students, one of whom was hospitalized with a head injury that needed stitches. Concerned with the safety of KKM, the students escorted them out and they all reached home safely.
So ended KKM’s first stage reappearance in over two years. It will be recalled that a few months ago 2 KKM members were jailed overnight at Taloja for singing songs at a protest march against a builder who had usurped a pilgrimage site connected with the working class Saint Tukaram. The police claimed they had sung “Naxalite” songs. The songs in question happened to be composed by the legendary Ambedkarite poet Vamandada Kardak. A pattern of suppression seems to be emerging. By branding them as Naxalites the State has succeeded in creating a tag which even a court judgment in favour of KKM may not remove. When they emerge from jail they will be followed and harassed either by the police or by right-wing vigilantes.
Another pattern is emerging. Two days ago “unknown” gunmen killed Narendra Dabholkar in broad daylight. No right-wing group has taken credit. All the vociferous opponents of Dabholkar from the mainstream BJP and Shiv Sena to the lunatic fringe of the Hindu right, deny all responsibility. Yes we opposed him they admit, but no, we did not kill him. Last night at least the ABVP was not shy to announce who they were. This is of course easier to do when you can paint your opponents as anti-national Naxalites. Earlier Dabholkar too was branded as a Naxalite in some quarters. The non-violent anti-nuclear protestors in Kudankulam have been called Naxalites as have been people connected with Medha Patkar. Naxalites are now entering our cities, scream the newspapers. They will soon be pouring out from our taps.
Anand Patwardhan
August 22, 2013
August 22, 2013
