Towards 'a world of acceptance, not tolerance'

She is one of the most fearless artists in the land. She has always believed the arts to be a powerful — and empowering — tool for change. Her distinguished family is associated with the founding of several great institutions — the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the National Institute of Design (NID), the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, the Calico Museum of Textiles and many more — that weren’t simply about building new capacities in a newly independent India but also a celebration of a richly diverse national heritage and a deeply held belief that independent India could — and would — claim its rightful place in the world.

Before her show at the AICC convention in Ahmedabad on 8–9 April, Mallika Sarabhai spoke to Vishwadeepak on what it’ll take to fight the ideology of hate that has swept her beloved country.

You are an artist. What’s the need for an artist to take part in an event hosted by a political party?

Look, usually when the government in power pulls the strings, all artists start dancing. That’s because you get money, opportunity, everything. I have never aligned myself with a political party. You probably don’t know that in 2009, I contested the Lok Sabha election as an Independent.

What’s happening today… the — I’ve been fighting that for many years. For me, anything that divides our country — religion, region, language…anything — is wrong. I will fight till the last minute of my life for the kind of India where all of us are equal, where religion is a private issue and not the business of the government.

Today, the INDIA bloc, of which Congress is an integral and strong part, is standing — at least verbally — for that kind of India. So yes, I will perform. I will not perform for a right-wing organisation because it goes against my grain. As an artist, I have a tool in the form of art. I have a language in the form of art, which is the greatest political tool, the greatest communication tool, and I will use it.

How does the philosophy of the Congress resonate with your artistic practice? Do the campaigns of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi’s , for example, align with your philosophy of art and artistic intervention?

Whatever I have heard of Rahulji’s speeches, he always talks about love. I think what the world needs more than anything else is love, tenderness and humaneness. These things have vanished. We speak of killing each other, of grabbing the wealth of the world for ourselves, of intolerance. That’s why we are where we are today. People are living in such fear… we have been filled with so much insecurity, we have forgotten everything except hate. This is not the way to live.

Who is living joyfully today? Who is saying, “Yes, this is where I want to be”? I do say this is where I want to be, but this is not where I want my beloved country to be. What Rahulji is saying today, that is very much the kind of world I’d like to go towards. A world of love, a world of acceptance; not ‘tolerance’. A world where each of us can have the freedom of choice as long as we are not hurting anyone else.

What message will your performance convey to society, to the party, to civil society organisations, to the people of this country?

Some time ago, I realised that there is a definite attempt to make our culture monolithic. If you look a particular way, if you are . If you are different, then you are not Indian. You are hanging in mid-air; this is complete nonsense. That is why I created this performance. It’s called ‘India: Then, Now, Forever’. What it looks at is the very many parallel streams that have come into this huge land of ours and that continue to live on.

[Even] today, a mere 10 km from an ultra-ultra IT city, perhaps there is an Adivasi community doing the same puja they have been doing for thousands of years. There is no starting point and ending point in India; there are parallel journeys. For example, when the Bhagwat Mela Natakam was taking birth in the 16th century, in what is known as Andhra Pradesh today, about a thousand km north, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was spreading Vaishnavism in Manipur by performing Lai Haraoba, without any exchange of information.

But we do not put these strands together. My show is a celebration of , of the incredible diversity, [of our] village [and] city; traditional and contemporary; music, dance and theatre cultures. It’s a celebration of my idea of India.

What do you think is the biggest question facing the Congress today? You said: it’s not simply a question of elections; it concerns culture, art, thought, ideology… How can the Congress and other parties opposed to the ideology of hate reinvent themselves?

Whether you look at the TMC (Trinamool Congress) or at the ruling party in Kerala or Tamil Nadu, there is a feeling that what is happening is destroying the fabric of our country. I think there are times when you need to accept differences in ideology but also accept that the enemy is so powerful, so rich and so bombastic that without coming together and always showing a united front, there is no way of winning. Winning, not for the sake of winning, but to . It has to be [that way].

It’s not about getting power and pilfering the government’s and the people’s money. Where is the government that has actually shown that they care, not only at the beginning [but to] continue caring, and will debar anybody who is corrupt or guilty of malpractice?

There isn’t one. You know, five years before I went into electoral politics, I tried to travel all across India and tell people: look, whatever your ideology, if you want an India where everyone has food, happiness, health, then forget ideology and give me seven years.

Why seven years? For two years, we will prove to the people in the area that we are committed to their betterment. Then we will stand for elections. If I get 200 such people and even 40 of them get elected, then we will form a very strong governance bloc; not an ideology bloc but a governance bloc.

Today, the government has enough money. If every rupee went to the person it was supposed to go to, we would be a very developed nation. This hasn’t happened for the last 75 years. Because out of every rupee, maybe two paise gets to the last person. What if I am not corrupt? What if I decide that I don’t want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to live off the butter that I skimmed today?

Can we not find 50, 60, 100 people in this country to say “I care about the last person?”, I don’t care about my wealth or getting 2 million or 3 million or 5 million and building houses that are like palaces and completely ridiculous. Can’t we find enough people just to say “I care and I will be completely transparent?”, if I bring my son [or daughter], then s/he will be completely transparent.

They will have to prove their mettle. Young people, middle-aged people have to get together. The only [means of] survival for any party in India today is to get rid of the people who have done wrong and get new people in, who you can inspire with your ideology. There’s no other way.

You’ve lived in Gujarat all along, in Ahmedabad, which is regarded as the ‘laboratory of Hindutva’. Modiji was the chief minister here before becoming the prime minister. Opposing the strongest, most powerful, most harmful ideology in India, standing against it alone in Ahmedabad, don’t you fear for your life?

This is my city. So many of its institutions were built by my family, keeping the future of the city in mind. Why should I leave it? If women from families like mine, could have fought for a certain idea of India, have gone to jail and sacrificed their lives, how can I not follow? Yes, when my kids were very young, I used to feel scared. I received many threats, many false cases were lodged against me. But if I stay silent, what expectation can I have of the ordinary person whose house — how can they stand up?

You have seen the rise of Modiji very closely — from an unknown politician to the prime minister of the country. You have been following his politics closely. How would you describe him?

Mr Modi must get every acting and fashion award in this world. That’s my answer.