DNA Exclusive: Is Indian Constitution in danger due to silence over insult to Hindu deities?

 New Delhi: India is facing a challenge of a two-and-a-half front war today– on one side there is Pakistan, on the other China and the half front belongs to those people who stay in the country and conspire to destabilize it. The reality now is that modern warfare will no longer be on the borders. Now war means diving the civil society and making people fight on political ideologies and creating hatred on the basis of religion, caste, language and region. 

Psychological warfare is the most lethal weapon of modern warfare, which the opposition parties are not ready to accept. The Opposition sees the government as a political party and opposing the government is politics. In this politics, the wrong tradition of disrespecting the country has also started. 

In today's DNA Zee News' Aditi Tyagi asks the most pertinent question– Is the Constitution of India not in danger now? If there is outrage in the country over the insult to Prophet Mohammad and silence spreads during the insult of Hindu deities, then it is not wrong to say that the Constitution of India is in danger. If the constitutional right to freedom of expression is divided on the basis of religion, then it indicates that the Constitution of India is facing serious challenges today.

Canada-based filmmaker Leena Manimekalai recently released the poster of her documentary showing Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette, following which FIRs were registered against her in many Indian states. Notably, the intellectuals, liberals and many leaders of opposition parties raised objections over the insult to the Prophet, however, they did not react in the same manner when the Hindu deity is being disrespected. This contradiction is unfortunate, as it shows that the freedom of expression has also been divided on the basis of religion. 

#DNA : अभिव्यक्ति के नाम पर हिन्दू देवी-देवताओं का अपमान#KaaliPosterControversy #Leenamanimekali @aditi_tyagi pic.twitter.com/Ly4Mf294EC — Zee News (@ZeeNews) July 7, 2022

Amid the ongoing backlash, filmmaker Manimekalai shared a new picture on Twitter of people dressed as Lord Shankar and Goddess Parvati, who can be seen smoking.

Even though the Aga Khan Museum in Canada has removed the presentation of Manimekalai's documentary 'Kaali', the filmmaker has not expressed any regret over the poster so far. It seems like Manimekalai knows that no action will be taken against her for inciting religious sentiments and she can escape by citing creative freedom.