Da political code

There is something mildly amusing about a political party that claims to honour atheism using its governments to ban a film for fear of hurting religious sentiments. DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu has joined a string of Congress-ruled states in ordering the removal of The Da Vinci Code from theatres. Two aspects of the ban by constituents of the UPA are unsettling. One, the action in states like Andhra Pradesh and Punjab comes upon an already ludicrous intervention by Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, Union information and broadcasting minister. Remember how he disregarded the clearance by the Censor Board and presided over a preview to personally determine if the film would offend Christians? Two, even if one disregards the unnecessary ministerial activism, a compromise was reached. The Da Vinci Code was allowed to hit cinema screens if it carried a disclaimer. The producers finally agreed, and that should have been that.

Pointing to the fact that the film has been screened in tranquillity within shouting distance of the Vatican is to miss the point. In India, there have been just stray cases of anger against the film. The crux of the issue is this: governments, at the Centre and in assorted states, committed to secularism by the Constitution are proactively taking a position on the power of a work of fiction to outrage religious sentiments. This is extremely dangerous terrain for elected governments to venture into. Banning a creative work 8212; a work of fiction at that 8212; is an extreme step. A ban is meant to be an instrument of absolutely the last resort. And even if it is used by an administration, it amounts to an admission that the authorities have failed in their responsibility to maintain public order. Is that actually the submission of the chief ministers of Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Nagaland?

In the absence of any major agitation, a disquieting conclusion is drawn from the ban. By the ban, these state governments are complicit in designs to construct outrage. It is akin to what is currently unfolding in Gujarat and its so-called boycott of Fanaa. The Centre started it all off by taking undue cognisance of certification for The Da Vinci Code. Ironically, if it fails to step in now and counsel the affected states, it would be abdicating its duty.