“Our response to such events must not come from a mind consumed by violence. This is difficult, but it has been proven time and again that anger cannot be answered with anger, nor animosity with animosity. Even if the response to terrorism is strong, it must not be blind. The true method to resist terrorism must be one that is rational and rooted in truth.” – Dr. Narendra Dabholkar 
(Translated from the editorial in Sadhana Weekly issue dated 29 September 2001, written in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in the United States on 11 September 2001)

Yesterday, at the urging of Prof. Samar Nakhate, I saw an Iranian short film from 2011. In fact, he 'showed' it to me himself, and explained social, political, historical, and cinematic nuances. The film was indeed a lesson in ‘fearless creativity’.

The film's English title is 'Two And Two'. It is set in a school classroom in Iran. At first, we see a classroom full of boys wearing black and white school uniforms, chattering in class. A loudspeaker is seen above the classroom door. When the class begins, we hear an announcement coming from the speaker. It’s the headmaster informing students that their teacher is bringing them change. An immaculately dressed, serious-faced male teacher enters the class and writes on the blackboard: 2+2 = 5. Students are confused. A student hesitantly stands up and asks, “Sir, is it not 4?” The teacher firmly tells him “2+2 is not 4, it is 5, and that’s that!” The student doesn’t dare talk back and sits down. Later, another student stands up and starts arguing that 2+2 is in fact 4 and that is the truth. The teacher tries to coerce the student, but student is adamant. The teacher then calls 3 older boys wearing the same uniform with distinctly visible red armbands on their right arms. Teacher threatens the student that if he doesn’t agree, he’ll face the consequences. But the student is still defiant and says I will say the truth, 2+2 is 4. The 3 older boys fire gunshots through imaginary guns, but the defiant student dies, nonetheless, his red-hot blood splattered across the white writing on the blackboard. The teacher continues with “2+2 = 5” and asks the students to repeat after him, they do. Then he asks them to write the same in their notebooks and they do. And then, we see a boy strike the number 5 and write 4, in his own notebook. This is the last visual of the film.

After watching, I was speechless, completely awestruck. I had to take a moment to put my thoughts in perspective. And when I could, the first thing that crossed my mind was the cold-blooded assassination of Dr. Narendra Dabholkar. Dabholkar was the voice of reason, raised against the oppression propagated in the name of religion, and socially unhealthy religious practices and superstitions. He was a staunch advocate of the scientific temperament and a seeker of the truth. And he was silenced with a bullet, pulled by a hired assassin and masterminded by the regressive individuals belonging to oppressive organizations like ‘Sanatan’. 

Just like the movie, in our society too, some voices of reason are silenced by exercising dominion, and the defiant rebels are killed. The truth is retold to suit the people in power. And the ingenuity of the tyrant forces is that they are controlling the most vulnerable members of our society, young, impressionable minds, already programmed to believe in whatever ‘education’ shows them. We are experiencing this right this moment when our textbooks are doctored to slowly glorify fascism. The film categorically uses black, white, and red colours only, just like the Nazi Germany’s fascist flag, symbolizing absolute fascist power and an authoritarian state. Our situation today under the so-called Vishwa-Guru Narendra Modi is no different. It’s an Autocratic government disguised as democracy. And the motives of the power are far from honourable.

And this brings me back to what Dabholkar said after the 9/11 terror attack in the US. The first two responses from the students were consumed by violence. The first was consumed by fear induced by tyranny, and the second was consumed by reckless rebellion in response to the inherent terror of dictatorship. Both were ‘reactions’, influenced by violence and terror. Of course, they are significant in their own right, even though the first rebel voice was suppressed, it inspired another to raise voice and keep arguing. Even his martyrdom inspired a third to state the truth, even in the face of terror, and gave him the courage to go on. And it is this third student, who calmly, in his own book, writes what the truth is, the one that embodies what Dabolkar said. The true method to resist terrorism or absolutism must be rational and rooted in truth. 

Dabholkar based his movement on three pillars – science, fearlessness and morality. He believed that imbibing the scientific temperament is key to make people question, challenge and critique every single belief, and find rational answers. He was even willing to concede people’s theist beliefs if they made people act in humanitarian ways. And as a result, he fearlessly stood up to all forms of oppression, may it be in the name of caste, religion, or abuse of financial or political power. He challenged sinister forces of autocracy, and homogenization of thought and ideologies. 

The murder of Dr. Dabholkar was a chilling sign of the ominous era to come. The decade that followed caused dismay for the spirit of the progressive movements and brought damaging and far-reaching threats to India’s democratic framework. Dabholkar, Kalburgi, Pansare and Gauri Lankesh were neither highly attacking nor abusive. They never crossed the boundaries of normative politics. They fought their fights with dignity, calmness and within the framework of the constitutional processes. They could have been challenged in arguments. They were weaponless. Their approach to politics was non-violent, persuasive, and argumentative. And yet they were found to be 'dangerous', and were shot dead. That goes to show how our society is rapidly becoming thoughtless. If this tendency keeps growing, we as a civilization, are doomed.

Yet, all hope is not lost, as his staunch followers stand tall, and act in the best interest of the society. Those who killed Dr. Dabholkar are long gone. Dr. Dabholkar's legacy, however, lives on! Today, after 12 years of the brutal murder of Dr. Dabholkar, movements like his are needed more than ever before to guide people on the path of seeking truth, to raise a voice of reason and rebellion to defy absolute authoritarianism, and most importantly, to prevent the slow yet fatal poisoning of young, impressionable minds of the generations to come.

- Rucha Mulay
kartavyasadhana@gmail.com 

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