निशाने पर ‘‘जूठन’

पेरूमल मुरूगन, सोवेन्द्र हांसदा शेखर और अब ओमप्रकाश वाल्मिकी

-सुभाष गाताडे

‘तुम्हारी महानता मेरे लिए स्याह अंधेरा है..

मैं जानता हूं,/मेरा दर्द तुम्हारे लिए चींटी जैसा/ और तुम्हारा अपना दर्द पहाड़ जैसा

इसलिए, मेरे और तुम्हारे बीच/ एक फासला है/जिसे लम्बाई में नहीं/समय से नापा जाएगा।

- ओमप्रकाश वाल्मिीक (जूता)

1997 में आयी वह आत्मकथा ‘‘जूठन’’ आते ही चर्चित हुई थी।

उस वक्त एक सीमित दायरे में ही उसके लेखक ओमप्रकाश वाल्मिकी का नाम जाना जाता था। मगर हिन्दी जगत में किताब का जो रिस्पान्स था, जिस तरह अन्य भाषाओं में उसके अनुवाद होने लगे, उससे यह नाम दूर तक पहुंचने में अधिक वक्त नहीं लगा। यह अकारण नहीं था कि इक्कीसवीं सदी की पहली दहाई के मध्य में वह किताब अंग्रेजी में अनूदित होकर कनाडा तथा अन्य देशों के विश्वविद्यालयों के पाठयक्रम में शामिल की गयी थी। एक मोटे अनुमान के हिसाब से देश के तेरह अलग अलग विश्वविद्यालयों में - जिनमें कई केन्द्रीय विश्वविद्यालय शामिल हैं - इन दिनों यह उपन्यास या उसके अंश पढ़ाए जा रहे हैं।

The Crisis of Liberal Order in India and Successes of Hindutva Fascism

Sanjay Kumar

The last three and a half years of Modi government have made many Indians acutely aware of the threat Hindutva poses to whatever little democracy exists in the country. Minorities and Dalits have been physically assaulted by supporters of Hindutva with full state patronage. The bureaucracy and criminal justice system, which were already autocratic and corrupt, have been systematically infiltrated to communalise them further. Critics of Hindutva like Gauri Lankesh have been murdered in broad day light.Social media, which has emerged an important medium for country’s urban youth to form and express opinion, is dominated by troll armies of Hindutva that spread hatred and openly threaten people challenging Hindutva, or Modi government. Large sections of traditional media have become mouth pieces of the regime and brazenly pander to Hindu communal sentiments. The leader reigns supreme. The chaterrati in the media even applaud his mindless actions like demonetization. Opponents of the regime are openly branded anti-national, and brazen lies are spread about them. All sensible people of the country realise that the hatred, public violence, and communalization of state institutionsby Hindutva organisations are taking country towards disaster, and if it is to be saved Hindutva needs to bedefeated politically. The disaster India faces is that of a successful fascism. In times like these politically aware groups also have an additional responsibility.Hindutva does need to be defeated. However, this does not mean that the extant liberal mode of governance threatened by it be accepted uncritically.To the extent that the Hindutva is not a conspiracy, and roots of its success lie within Indian society and politics, it is also necessary to critically examine accepted notions of Indian democracy and society.