Ahmedabad, September 8: As part of its ongoing ‘Save Democracy’ campaign, ANHAD organised a day-long seminar on Saturday at Dalal Hall in Ahmedabad. The seminar was attended by eminent poet and former civil servant Ashok Vajpayee, noted academician Tridip Suhrud, danseuse and social activist Mallika Sarabhai, and theatre activist Hiren Gandhi.

During his address, Ashok Vajpayee said that while as a nation India has always thrived on the plurality of beliefs, it has been growing increasingly intolerant. “In ancient India, each philosophy had to go through a process of serious discourse and debate to establish itself. Today’s society is fast growing intolerant to voices of dissension,” he added.

“Never in the history of India has one religion or philosophy been allowed to have its hold over people for a long time,” Vajpayee observed adding that this is how Buddhism and Jainism came into existence. They were by no means extended branches of Hinduism, he said. “Voices of dissension were raised during the Bhakti period, too, when poets like Kabir questioned and ridiculed both Hindus and Muslims alike,” he said adding that it was this period which saw the growing involvement on part of people from the lower strata of the society, leading to democratisation of religion. “I strongly feel that the spirit of democracy, which is so vibrant in this country, in spite of all odds, is because of the impact that the Bhakti movement left on us,” he said.

Rita Kothari, associate professor, Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, pointed out that the debate and discussion on issues concerning public interest is missing from our day-to-day lives. “It is under this situation that intolerance is spreading its tentacles,” she said. Referring to the recent Fine Arts ruckus at MSU and the ban on screening of ‘Parzania’, Kothari observed that the trend of violent protest instead of healthy discussion and debate is dangerously percolating through all sections of the society. She urged the youth to be aware of the perils of such a development and to work towards creating an environment of healthy debate and discussion.