Cultural fascism

Shiv Sena, a junior partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, blackened the face of former BJP leader Sudheendra Kulkarni’s face for hosting Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri’s book launch ceremony. Kulkarni, addressing the media with his face and hair covered in black ink, condemned the incident as an assault on democracy.
Over the years, Shiv Sena has flexed its muscle to thwart attempts at cultural collaborations with Pakistani artists, sportspersons and others. The Sena has maintained that the government should call off every cultural and sporting relations with Pakistan. The party is playing cheap, anti-Pakistan politics.
Afia Ambreen
Rawalpindi
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Conflicts between two neighbouring countries are nothing new. We have conflicts like North-South Koreas, Iran-Iraq, the US-Cuba, etc. But these countries are moving towards normalising their relations. The case of Pakistan and India is quite the reverse. People in both the countries are living in terrible poverty. In some quarters people are dying of hunger and thirst. Despite common problems, some groups do not want peace in the region.
The Shiv Sena’s throwing ink on Kulkarni’s face was a heinous act. He was only organising the book launching ceremony of Pakistan’s former foreign minister. People like him are the real hope for peace in the region. It is time we learnt from Europe. They forgot the World War II hostilities and formed a single union.
Nasir Soomro
Hyderabad