Vote against fascism, say artistes and activists

‘Atmosphere of fear needs to be eliminated’

Social activists and artistes on Tuesday appealed to the people to “vote against communal fascism”.

Activists such as Feroze Mithiborwala and Ravi Bhilane organised a press conference near the Islam Gymkhana to voice their appeal. The meeting was attended by screenwriters like National Film Award recipient Saeed Mirza and Anjum Rajaballi. Last year, the activists had organised the Kisan Morcha to voice the demands of farmers in rural Maharashtra.

“People need to choose a proper government this time. The Prime Minister is using the issue of the Sri Lanka attacks as a medium to gain votes. He has done the same with the Ram Mandir and Pulwama issues. Through this meeting, we want to appeal that people choose a government which works on actual issues,” Mr. Mithiborwala said. Artistes spoke about the atmosphere of fear that the current government has been accused of creating. “We need to be continuously alert for democracy to be successful,” said Mr. Mirza.

Mr. Rajaballi said protecting the diversity in the film industry was important. “More than 80 artistes from the film fraternity have signed this appeal, including Shabana Azmi, Swara Bhaskar, Reema Kagti and Rasika Duggal. Film artistes are soft targets. They are threatened if they speak against any political party. There needs to be a unified organisation in the film industry to fight these issues,” he said.

Actor Atul Tiwari said the fear in the minds of the artistes needs to be eliminated. “The government has appointed people who are neither qualified nor have any knowledge about culture, drama and films as the heads of well-known film institutions and art departments,” he said.

Several speakers said the environment in the country is worse than that during the Emergency. Jyoti Bandekar, a representative of the Mumbai Janata Dal, said secular votes should not be divided. “The environment with the current government is dangerous,” she said.

The speakers said the current leadership of various organisations consists of Bharatiya Janata Party or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members, who have neither the requisite qualifications nor knowledge. “I was removed from my post because the justice I conveyed through my work was not being accepted by the government,” said Dr. Mangesh Bansod, a former cultural head at Mumbai University.