Mumbai:
The Maharashtra Chief Minister says the Mumbai University is right to have withdrawn Rohinton Mistry's novel,
Such a Long Journey, from its syllabus. "Whatever language is used in the book is highly abusive," said Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
His statement led to an immediate told-you-so from the Shiv Sena which has campaigned extensively against the book for making what it described as derogatory references to the party. "If the Chief Minister of the state is also with us, you have to understand that we are right," said Sanjay Raut, a Sena leader.
Not so fast. In Delhi, the Congress party spokesperson said that "the chief minister is entitled to his opinion" indicating that Chavan may have crossed the party line on the issue.
In September, 20-year-old Aditya Thackeray, grandson of Sena founder Bal Thackeray, used the book to announce his political coming of age. He insisted that the book, part of the BA syllabus be dropped. The university agreed, prompting much criticism from intellectuals, academicians, and the author. "A political party demanded an immediate change in syllabus and Mumbai University provided deluxe service via express delivery, making the book disappear the very next day... Mumbai University has come perilously close to institutionalising the ugly notion of self-censorship," said Mistry.
The Chief Minister said his stand should not be seen as an endorsement of the Sena's cultural and moral policing. "I have my own opinion. Shiv Sena may have its own view. Why should a political party take credit for this?"
But this is not the first time that the Congress in Maharashtra has tried to pilfer causes embraced by the Shiv Sena in the name of Marathi pride.
Jaimes Laine's book on Shivaji, opposed by the Sena, was banned by the Maharashtra government. Even though the Supreme Court lifted the ban, the state government has said the book cannot be published or sold in Maharashtra.
"You can see time and again the Congress playing a supporting role to those who decide to take the law into their own hands," says film-maker Anand Patwardhan.
Others say that the Chief Minister may have a hidden agenda in his opposition to Mistry's novel. In the book, journalist Meher Pestonij points out, "Rohinton Mistry has been far more scathing about Indira Gandhi than Bal Thackeray."