Majlis

Against Cultural Terrorism

Ban on film Fire, 1999

In December 1998, the Shivsena (the right wing xenophobic party of Maharashtra) cadres imposed a ban on the film Fire by Deepa Mehta. The film was on a lesbian relationship of two women. The Shivsena deemed it anti-national and attacked a few cinema halls showing the film. Shivsena was in power in Maharashtra. Hence the civil society was forced to keep quiet, newspapers maintained a distance. But we feared it to be a test case for more violent censorship to come up. Along with some friends we launched a clandestine campaign against the state and the police. Money was collected without any official paraphernalia, posters printed secretly in the dead of the night and pasted all over the city by volunteers while playing hide and seek with the police. The clandestine poster campaign slowly grew into a full-fledged public protest at the Chowpatty (sea beach) on 15th December 1998. This was one among the very few substantial protests against Shivsena’s cultural terror at that time.

Link: Campaign Report

Against attack on Fine Arts Faculty, MS University, Baroda
2007

In May 2007, a young Fine Arts Faculty student, Chandramohan, was attacked and arrested for his art work that was on display as part of his third year examination fulfillment requirements.

Subsequently, the University as part of the same case suspended the Dean of the Faculty. A massive protest campaign was launched in Baroda, and across the nation against attacks on freedom of expression. A busload of artists, academics and students from Mumbai went to Baroda to support the campaign.