AA Edit | Haasan Drama: Don’t Sow Discord

The entire episode of actor Kamal Haasan making a reference to the Kannada language and a section of Kannada activists objecting to the release of the actor’s film is unfortunate and contribute nothing to the cause espoused by either the activists or Haasan.

There are grey areas in the right to freedom of speech and expression and hurting sentiments of others may be one. There are even penal provisions for speech that can create enmity between communities. There cannot be a compromise on the people’s right to speak the truth but it would be advisable for everyone to be careful when airing their opinion of others. It is also advisable that people are tolerant of others’ opinions. There is always the option to counter an opinion but the threat to use force is unacceptable. The law enforcement agencies must do their job if any one party thinks that they have a right to take law into their hands to right what they perceive as the wrong of others.

India is a land of diversities the magnitude of which only a human brain can imagine. The fault lines one can see in a small Indian community are countless compared with another one from any other country. It is up to each member to decide how to move ahead as a community. We can launch ourselves on the path of quarrels and fights, like several other countries have put themselves on, to the peril of each one of the participants. Then there is the path of tolerance and co-operation, which India has chosen despite the mayhem in which this country was born.

Language can be a tool to divide communities, but it can also be a tool to find common cause and patterns for co-existence. The underlying factor must be respect for each other and the realisation that no one benefits by irresponsibly pushing boundaries. As K. Kanimozhi, MP, told a questioner in Madrid the other day, the national language of India is unity in diversity. The endeavour must be to discover the points of unity, not discord.