This tells a story from an “Institute of National Importance” – an account of a distressing whitewashing that reflects the current state of free speech in a country boasting itself as the “mother of democracy.” On November 15, 2023, a Rangoli Competition was arranged, welcoming all students to participate. The official email stated that the Rangoli’s theme “may be culture-related, social, or environmental awareness-related.” A group of students, exercising their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression (Article 19 (1) (a)), chose to express solidarity with the struggles of the people of Gaza, particularly the children facing a humanitarian crisis. Through their art, depicting a child holding a Palestinian flag, the students made a heartfelt plea to “SAVE HUMANITY” and “FREE GAZA” in one drawing, and in another, they appealed for a “handshake” between Palestine and Israel. While India, like all other years, celebrated Children’s Day just on the previous day, what can be more satisfying than seeing few young students commemorating the death of nearly 4,650 children in Gaza with a positive anti-war message! However, the administration swiftly intervened, sensing “politics” inconsistent with the standards of the “Amrit Kaal of New India,” compelling the students to whitewash these two areas, each six square feet. The students, many just beginning their undergraduate journey, were understandably heartbroken by the unexpected rejection of their thought provoking art and positive messages aimed at addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Albeit to their dismay, they have likely learned some real-life lessons by now. With time, they may also grasp that the term “whitewash” extends beyond art to mean “to try to hide unpleasant facts about somebody/ something.” In the era of post-truth, whether satyameva jayate” (truth alone triumphs) remains uncertain; but it’s quite evident that – truth alone scares. Perhaps that’s why the administration, seemingly scared, hastily whitewashed the “unpleasant” appeals of the drawings, which could have sparked a discussion on the Israel-Palestine issue and brought more “unpleasant facts” to light! India recently voted in favour of five of the six resolutions against Israel at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), one of which criticized “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan.” Let’s momentarily set aside the IsraelPalestine debate and explore the broader questions that arose during the “whitewashing” process. Initially, the administration attempted to label the artwork as “political” and accused the students of violating the event’s theme, despite the phrase “social awareness” being part of the invitation. The larger question here is – can we envision a “society” without “politics”? Avoiding a direct answer, the administration representatives might argue that politics in educational institutes, especially in science and technology institutes, should not be allowed. According to these “apolitical” individuals, there’s nothing political about saffronizing and privatizing education through the National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 or organizing “Hindi Pakhwada”. They are even comfortable with idol worship or puja-paath within an educational institute, conveniently overlooking the contradiction with the term “science & technology”. To sidestep this, they often hide behind the word “culture”, a concept often viewed through the lens of upper-caste supremacy. Another pressing question emerges at this point – can “culture” be separated from “politics”? Unfortunately, there’s no one to answer, as usual. Through numerous orders from the Ministry of Education, the academia is compelled to celebrate “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” and a series of connected events, with no connection to either “science” or “technology”, just to mark the 75th anniversary of our independence – a well-orchestrated “political” attempt to blur the realities of this “rusted freedom” behind the veil of such events, which the administration consider as “apolitical”. However, the irony is we are not “Azad” enough to say or write “Free Palestine”, seeking the independence of Palestine, whose subjugation under Israeli occupation is as old as our so-called “Azadi”. The academia and its so-called “apolitical” force not only seem perfectly fine with such an absence of dissent but also, they are quite proactive in whitewashing such dissent! As Prof. Noam Chomsky aptly puts it, these “apolitical” souls are people who “not only don’t know what’s happening to them, they don’t even know that they don’t know.” The incident also gets a fitting end with a touch of blatant hypocrisy. Eventually, in the evening, a new drawing emerged celebrating “Nari-Shakti” beside the whitewashed spot. A few hours earlier, it was two female students whose right to freedom of speech and expression was whitewashed by the narrow-mindedness of the administration. Such was the staggering display of hypocrisy and the bankruptcy of conscience, ingrained traits in these “apolitical” souls! Meanwhile, dozens of children in Gaza might have been “whitewashed” from this earth, at a chilling rate of one child dying every ten minutes. All while an “apolitical” Rangoli was celebrated, effectively whitewashing both dissent and humanity!
