Deshpande vs Shiv Sena; Thackeray now
Sekhar Ramakrishnan
[from the Hindu. sekhar]
New row between Sena and litterateur
From Mahesh Vijapurkar
MUMBAI, Dec. 3. Should Mr. P. L. Deshpande, a Marathi literary doyen,
poet, singer, musician, music director, film director, film producer,
dramatist and actor, who is known for his satire and humour, have accepted
`Maharashtra Bhushan,' the new award instituted by the Shiv Sena-BJP
Government, especially if he has objections to the politics of its major
constituent, the Shiv Sena? This is a new controversy that has developed
after Mr. Deshpande accepted the citation and a Rs. 5 lakh cash component
on Saturday and criticised the dictatorial tendencies in political parties
which came to power only because democracy allowed that.
Having said that, with clear reference to the Sena's methods and its use
of force, Mr. Deshpande himself has refused to get into the thick of it.
The Sena chief, Mr. Bal Thackeray, has chided Mr. Deshpande, (now stricken
by Parkinson's Disease) for accepting the award and then criticising the
politicians behind the award. What has hurt Mr. Deshpande's following here
is that Mr. Thackeray went on to belittle the award itself by saying that
it was first offered to him. When he declined, it went to Mr. Deshpande,
known in every Marathi household as `Pula,' an acronym of his initials
`PL,' standing for Purushottam Lakshman.
The two sides of the issue are: Mr. Deshpande did not solicit this award,
set up by the alliance Government. Nor was the Government doing the world
of art and literature any favour. A former president of a Marathi
Conference, and poet, Mr. Narayan Surve, has categorised the Thackeray
outburst as an insult to the world of literature. But there are others,
like the senior writer, Ms. Durgabai Bhagwat, who insist that Mr.
Deshpande erred in accepting the award itself and then speaking out
against the kind of politics of the Sena-led Government.
Mr. Deshpande is no mean writer. At 77, he has 40 titles to his credit,
several plays and his manuscripts are being sought by every university in
Maharashtra. He has been awarded the Padmashri, later crowned with the
Padmabhushan, has received the Sangeeth Nataka Academy and Sahitya Academy
awards and fellowships and only yesterday, he was conferred the Asiatic
Society of Bombay's Fellowship for Life. A few years ago, when the
Congress(I) Government conferred the Maharashtra Gourav award, the Rs. 1
lakh component went to the Asiatic Library to preserve old books. He is as
much a donor for several causes as he is a recipient.
The Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Joshi, has described Mr. Deshpande's
carefully crafted statement upon receiving the award, made in the presence
of virtually the entire Government and Mr. Thackeray himself at the
ceremony, as `irregular and an impropriety.' Mr. Deshpande himself does not
speak out, but his wife, Mrs. Sunita Deshpande clarifies: ``He does not
speak because of his illness. His memory is affected, he does not even
sing now. What he had to say has been said and others are reacting to it.
It is for others and you in the newspapers to say whatever you have to. He
is yet to study the entire statement of Mr. Thackeray. Different
newspapers have reported it differently.''
Though he is capable of it, Mr. Deshpande did not make an off-the-cuff
remark that has Mr. Thackeray's ire up. What was said at the Saturday
night awards ceremony was carefully drafted because he could not stand up
and speak for the entire duration given his present disability. His wife
read out the speech for him. Mr. Deshpande himself admits that most of what
he speaks normally at important events on important issues is ``done with
deliberation, with preparation.'' Clearly, what was said was no gaffe.
Save a couple of voices, Mr. Deshpande has found lot of support, including
from Marathi newspapers, which have a passion for literary issues. And Mr.
Deshpande is their icon.
The issue may tend to get politicised, going by the way the Congress(I)'s
Mr. Madhukar Pichad and Mr. Chagan Bhujbal, Leaders of the Opposition in
the Assembly and the Council reacted. To them this episode marked Mr.
Thackeray's ``arrogance and haughtiness.'' But there are others like Prof.
Y. D. Phadke, history scholar and political scientist, who have urged that
the issue of awards and the Government should be discussed by the annual
Marathi literary conferences which are part of the State's cultural life.
Thackeray gains wide acceptability?
From Mahesh Vijapurkar
MUMBAI, Dec. 16. Last week, it was the third such attack on Mahanagar, a
Marathi eveninger edited by Mr. Nikhil Wagle since 1990, all by the cadres
of Shiv Sena, only this time, it was led by Mr. Suresh Gambhir, party MLA
and another municipal councillor. The attack was preceded by a large group
of women cadres raiding and damaging the residence of Mr. G. R. Khairnar,
the civic official who made a career of razing illegal buildings here and
attacking politicians for corruption though he could not prove a single
charge.
Mr. Khairnar's fault: his speech earlier on at Thane where he described
some of the seamier virtues of Mr. Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena supremo. The
newspaper's fault: it published the speech. Seven women Sena councillors
were arrested for the attack on Mr. Khairnar. Those who heard him at Thane,
where he launched a Peoples' Party for civic elections, view it as an
intemperate speech. ``For a man who makes allegations but is not obliged
to prove them, it was leagues away from good taste.''
Interestingly, the attack on Mahanagar did not quite provoke the same
public outrage as in the past, though Sakal and Loksatta, two leading
Marathi papers, did strongly condemned it. Mr. Thackeray's description of
Mahanagar as maharog, in his newspaper, Saamna too has angered those who
are in the forefront of guarding newspapers' right to freedom of
expression. Saamna has reported that all its shakhas have demanded that
the newspaper be not allowed to sell.
In fact, this silence from those who would normally be quite incensed is
somewhat disquieting, as though that section has begun to accept this
unbridled use of muscle as a reality, allowing Mr. Thackeray the right to
say what he wishes. Is it that it is seen that Mahanagar was equally
responsible for its plight, provoking an attack on itself as was Mr.
Khairnar in mouthing whatever he did?
About the same time, at a function organised by industrial business house
of the Poddars, Mr. Thackeray heaped ridicule on the plight of the poor
who use the roadside and rail tracks to answer nature's call. According to
him it was a `tradition' in India. It is as though Mr. Thackeray did not
know that toilets in rural areas are virtually non-existent and that in
urban slums, totally inadequate and that the rulers _ a class to whom he
now belongs _ have never shown any anxiety to remedy it. It may have
raised a few laughs. It was gross. And insensitive.
It is hard reconciling this undignified comment on the poor's plight and
his stated passion for providing close to nine lakh free dwelling units
for slum dwellers here. But a fact stares one in the face: all these
point to the willingness of the hitherto indignant _ at least of a
substantial part of that -_ leaders of society to make peace with the Shiv
Sena and since it is already in power, confer some legitimacy by offering
silent approbation to its deeds. There is a segment among the chattering
classes to not only hold Mr. Thackeray's hand but also accord him
recognition. This is now a perceptible trend.
The exception to this has been Mr. P. L. (Pula) Deshpande, the litterateur
who accepted Rs. 5-lakhs and citation of the Government's Maharashtra
Bhushan Award but roundly criticised the dictatorial methods of the Sena
even after it came to power through the ballot. That was by far the most
telling comment on the Sena, made in a written speech read out by the
Parkinson's Disease-stricken writer's wife and heard personally by Mr.
Thackeray and Mr. Manohar Joshi, Chief Minister, some time ago when the
award was conferred on him. That whether he should have said what he did
after accepting the honour is being debated but many are glad that he spoke
his mind.
There was this award for his lifetime contribution to journalism _ the
irony of that should not be lost on the sensitive _ by the Maharashtra
Sahitya Sangh. After this acclaim, the Maharashtra Chambers of Commerce
gave Mr. Thackeray an award. In his acceptance spech, the Sena boss did
admit that people do give him ``little something'' for the work he does
for them. He said: ``people say, you have done a good turn to us; you keep
something for yourself. I take it but my needs are limited.'' Or words to
that effect. By Mr. Thackeray`s own admission, the Maharashtra Bhushan was
first offered to him. On declining, it went to Mr. P. L. Deshpande.
Then there is the case of Ms. Asha Bhonsle, singer, who was asked to
question Mr. Thackeray ``on anything,'' by journalists at a gathering of
political scribes and politicians. She prefaced it with a cautious remark:
``I feel like asking many things. But I have to remain in Mumbai .... in
Maharashtra." Like several others, she touched his feet, though he was as
eager to be seen in her company amid the crowd as others jockeying up for
even a seat close to him at the event at the Mayor's Bungalow. It does
good to be seen in Mr. Thackeray's company, socialites have realised and
when his nephew organised a bash preceeding Micheal Jackson's show, people
scurried to pay and dine.
In fairness to Mr. Thackeray, this social penchant to be ``in his good
books'' is not in the least new; it is something that existed, especially
among the film world`s bigshots for quite some years. Only the desire has
more depth now from all walks of life. Those who upbraided Mr. Thackeray
and his style do not mind sharing the platform with him. Many run around
his son, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and nephew, Mr. Raj Thackeray, just to be
noticed. After all, a powerful clan is now in power. And to the
establishment, that matters. One recalls a former police chief, Mr. Vasant
Saraf, reminding businessmen some time ago how they did not mind hiring
the Sena hands to break left trade union strikes in the past.
That was before the Sena came to power. Now it is in power. What was then
a ``covert'', is now unashamedly patent. Therefore, Mr. Thackeray
continues to conduct himself, his party and his clan the way he always
did. After all, over time, he has managed to get acceptability. That
matters.