Same Landscape, Bruised Mindscape

The Muslim community today has become more defensive and reluctant to trust the neutrality of the state. And with the Sena brass all too often labelling the community as pro-Pakistan or abetting Dawood Ibrahim, the alienation has only grown. The serial blasts masterminded by Muslim elements in the underworld only worsened the situation. Says P.A. Sebastian of the Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights, "They fear becoming scapegoats and feel they are constantly expected to prove their loyalty to the country."

The city has also become intolerant. Paintings depicting Hindu gods and goddesses by non-Hindus triggers violent protest as M.F. Husain was to discover. Mani Ratnam had to agree to cuts by Thackeray before releasing his film on the Bombay riots. Another filmmaker was targeted for her portrayal of lesbianism. Gays have been victimised and ridiculed. Pramod Navalkar, the culture police chief of the Sena while he was minister, raised objections to everything he perceived to be remotely not Indian. At one point, the Sena wanted a ban on all Pakistani artistes performing in the city. It also demanded that the Centre call off the Pakistan cricket team’s tour of India.

In recent years, the Christians too have become targets. In August 2001, Catholic priest Oscar Mendonca was attacked by Bajrang Dal activists in Thane. Three years earlier, the Catholic-run Sacred Heart School in Worli was attacked by Sainiks. Commenting on the targeting of Christian institutions, the Bombay archdiocese called it a "smear on the secular image" of India.

The Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar, charged with fanning communal tension during the riots, sees it differently. "Bombay is branded as a secular city by the upper class. But this is not true of the slum population. The educated want Bombay to be seen as secular but not the rest of the city." But, as former high court judge Hosbet Suresh—who conducted a fact-finding study after the riots—points out, "Communal forces are basically politically motivated."

Human rights groups are concerned not only by the communal divide in the city fomented by the Hindu Right but also the threat posed to the city’s democratic spirit by its narrow interpretation of Hindu culture. "The Sena has enforced a tyrannical form of moral policing, which is curbing freedom of expression. People are censoring themselves for fear of antagonising these moral guardians," says Sebastian. Indeed, earlier this month St Xavier’s College scrapped its traditional annual prom as it was "against Indian culture". Score another for the new-look Mumbai. And another blow to Bombay.