From cockroaches to butterflies

THE FORMATION OF the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) as a form of protest happened because most avenues of dissent are blocked, not only in politics but also in the media and cinema.

- BY ANAND PATWARDHAN

The tragedy is that the Bollywood of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s produced wonderful films. The independence struggle was recent and people had an understanding of what nationalism actually was. They believed in fighting for the poor, confronting social evils and standing up against religious violence. Much of that has now been surrendered to the politics of hatred.

What we are witnessing today is the rise of a cinema that presents itself as nationalist but is actually propagating hindutva nationalism promoted by people who never participated in India's freedom struggle.

And yes, many of these films are doing well at the box office. They have succeeded in creating a mindset of hatred towards Pakistan, Muslims and all who can be thrown into the category of 'the other'. It is easy to whip up hatred. It is much harder to do the work people like Mahatma Gandhi tried to do, which was to build communal harmony.

Nationalism is a good thing when you are fighting a foreign power, as we did against the British. But today, when an ideology that openly collaborated with the British is in power, what happens when you oppose them? Are you a nationalist or an anti-national?