Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 13.6.21
Freedom to critique
Remember
the criminal defamation case filed against Chennai-based cartoonist G. Bala in
2017. Madras High Court recently quashed the case.
The
court upheld the cartoonist's right to freedom of thought and expression and
observed that courts cannot teach ethics to people.
Justice
G. Ilangovan ruled that cartoons can be perceived in different ways by
different people. He observed that “in democratic country freedom of thought,
expression and speech are the foundations upon which democracy survives,
without which there can be no democracy and therefore, no evolution of the
human society”.
The
case pertains to a self-immolation incident that took place in Tamil Nadu’s
Tirunelveli district in October 2017. Four of a daily wage labourer’s family
had burned themselves in front of the district collector’s office after they
were forced to pay an exorbitant interest on a loan they had taken from a local
moneylender. The district administration and the local police had failed to act
against the moneylender even after the family had lodged several complaints.
Ultimately, the family had died by suicide.
G.
Bala drew the cartoon (posted here) which was widely circulated in social
media.
Police
arrested him and filed criminal defamation case against him.
I
presented this as a case study in my paper on the hazards of cartooning
presented at an international conference in 2019. The paper was later published
in an international journal.
Though
it took nearly four years, the Court stood for freedom of speech and
expression. It includes the freedom to critique, which again includes the freedom
to ridicule.
Cartoon,
as I have written and spoken on many occasions is the barometer of democracy.
Intolerance to cartoons is like fever in human body. It indicates there might
be deeper problems.
1984@72
June
8 marked the 72nd anniversary of Nineteen
Eighty-Four or ‘1984’, the much acclaimed, much quoted, dystopic novel by
George Orwell.
It
was published on this day in 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and
final book completed in his lifetime. Along with ‘Animal Firm’, this has been
one of the most widely read novels of Orwell.
 |
| Cover of the first edition of 1984. Cover artist: Michael Kenner |
Like
the Animal Firm, 1984 has given several new words to English literature and new
concepts to world media-sphere. The concepts of Big Brother (a person or
organization exercising total control over people's lives), the Thought Police,
Thoughtcrime, Memory Hole (oblivion), Doublethink (simultaneously
holding and believing contradictory beliefs) ann Newsspeak (ideological
language) have become common phrases for denoting totalitarian authority.
And
here is an interesting anecdote about the rather unusual title of the book. The
initial tile of the book was The Last Man in
Europe. But in a letter dated 22 October 1948 to his publisher Fredric Warburg,
eight months before publication, Orwell wrote about hesitating between that
title and Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Warburg suggested choosing the latter, which he took to be a more
commercially viable choice for the main title.
Prof. Radhamohan
Prof. Radhamohan, noted development economist and environmentalist
who not only preached but practised sustainable agriculture fell to Covid
related complications on 10 June night.
 |
| Prof. Radhamohan (30 Jan 1943- 11 June 2021) |
He
was the first Information Commissioner of Odisha.
Sustainable
development was what he taught, advocated and tried to practice in his own way.
Clad in khadi dhoti and kurta, he would talk and write about traditional firm
practices, creating seed bank, using bio-fertilizer. He showed the benefits of
these by doing them in the firm of his organization.
UNEP
conferred 'The Global Roll of Honour' for distinguished work on environment.
The Odisha State Government conferred Utkal Seva Samman for dedicated public
service. He received Padma Shri the fourth highest civilian honour of the
country in 2020 along with his daughter Sabarmatee, the true heir of his legacy in
pursuing sustainable development.
Tea
India
drinks her tea (or chai) in myriad ways. From the Noon Chai in J&K to
Nilgiri Tea down south, from smoked tea in North East to Nathwada chai in
Gujarat- we have various kinds and concoctions of tea. In Bengal and Assam-
putting milk in tea is sacrilege. In Hindi heartland it is the main ingredient.
Our
engagement with tea has changed drastically over time. When I was a kid- (I was
born in 1961) tea was kind of adult drink. Kids only get to drink it
occasionally- like when somebody has fever or has an examination and has to
study late into night. Now it is ok to allow even toddler to have tea.
Unlike
coffee (which in Eastern and Northern part of India has always had a bourgeois
kind of feel), chai is democratic. There is hardly any class barrier.
The
other day I was reading about tea and learnt about the phenomenal popularity of
tea in the eighteenth century Britain, which led to widespread smuggling and
adulteration. I also learnt about the Boston Tea Party of 1773, which sparked
off the American Revolution.
See,
Chai is no ordinary drink. After water, tea is the most popular beverage in the
world. Its popularity has survived thousands of years and has played an
important role in many cultures. It is enjoyed both hot and cold, as a
refreshing drink, as part of a ceremony, or as a tonic for improved health.
Tailpiece: Love at the time of Corona
Wife: Why can’t I
see your love for me?
Husband: It’s
asymptomatic.
(Courtesy: Social
Media)
+++
The columnist is a journalist
turned media academician. He lives in Dhenkanal, a central Odisha town. He also
writes and translates fiction and poetry.
mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com
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