Perspectived: Cancel Culture, Movie Boycotts, and the Swadeshi Movement of 1905

It was August 7, 1905. Almost exactly 42 years before the night free India was to be born. The British rule had done much for us, the ICS, Railways, Sati and Child Marriage abolition, modern democratic system, and more. At least this is exactly what is taught in the British textbooks. Yet there was something else going on. Most of the Indian manufacturers and traders were out of business, and amidst the famines and starvation, cheap foreign goods were the only option. Cotton and indigo exported from India were sold back to her cultivators at dozens of times the profit, as 'finished material'. Handlooms, Khadi, and the local industry were starved for promotion.

However, more than anything else, it was the decision to divide Bengal into Hindu-Muslim lines by Lord Curzon in 1905 that sparked the start of what could be called the final phase of the Indian National Movement. The era of militancy was to end, except in some places, and systematic, organized, and non-violent struggle was born. It was everything the 1857 sepoy mutiny/war of Independence (let's face it, it was both) was not, and perhaps why it is successful.

With "Bande Mataram" as the theme song, the Indian Boycott Movement or Swadeshi Movement was born. Manchester Goods were boycotted and destroyed, Education was given importance, and (primarily in undivided Bengal), there was a rising sense of the need for unity and strength to be vested in the people; and understanding of what it means to be a 'nation'. The various kingdoms and provinces of pre-British India had finally gained an identity, of being a 'Swadeshi', and living in the promised-land i.e. 'Swadesh'.

In 2022, Aamir Khan, the critically uncontested actor of movies like "Lagaan", "Rang De Basanti", "Taare Zameen Par", "Dangal", "Aandaz Apna Apna", "Sarfaroz", and many more released a movie, "Laal Singh Chhada", an Indianized adaptation of Tom Hanks' legendary movie "Forrest Gump". It borrowed heavily from the latter, as it was supposed to do, but also functioned as an innocent journey through the history of post-British India. Albeit a bit overacted (though far less than some of our recent hits), the movie was, objectively, Hindi Forrest Gump with one of India's most legendary actors, and a sensitized Indian touch. Something we Indian cinephiles would eat up relentlessly normally, but the normal of 10 years ago no longer apply. A few days before the movie was released, the communal elements of India exploded with bad reviews; and soon enough, with the hashtag #boycottlalsinghchaddha being at the top of trending for days, the movie was a flop.

The Ranbir Kapoor starter 'Shamshera' and the upcoming 'Brahmāstra: Part One

– Shiva' have also fallen victim to this, following a decade-old video of him surfacing in which he claimed he liked beef. In a recent incident, Ranbir Kapoor was protested out of a temple because of this, contrary to the very fundamental, unchangeable even by the Government part III of our constitution forbidding this exact thing.

Maybe it was a one-off? Hopefully, but cancel culture has a bad sting. Like a heroine injection, its craving can be met only by more of it. We saw it with the fall of Aunt Jemima in USA that mass hysteria does not have a side. J.K. Rowling's cancellation came at a point when she is nearly unaffected internationally due to PR, but former presidents of America are not immune to statue-destructions and vandalism. The large numbers of Hollywood actors, singers, and celebrities are perhaps the most notable. But the most significant ones have to be in Academia. A separate article about it will follow.

It is evident that mass hysteria does not have a political side. Three of Madeleine Albright's warning to fascism: Disdain for the Intellectual and the Arts, Obsession with Crime and Punishment, and Identification of a unifying enemy is inherently evident in this mass hysteria. But perhaps what's the most saddening thing amidst all this is that the most involved in all this is our current generation. The future of India is tainted with the same religious communalism which tainted our freedom struggles. The greatest weapon that the oppressor foreigner had against us is a laughing meme culture. The internet's inherent dividing power has replaced the Britishers', and the dominating politicians are far too happy to use it for their political gains, as they had always done. Maybe this will not explode, and like all the other times, die out to more attractive trends. But in an India where coffee table short talks have been replaced with Hindu-Muslim rhetoric, it is only hoping, as against action, one can do lest being culturally canceled; or worse (but often), even be arrested for hurting 'sentiments'.

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