Bengaluru, 24 Oct

The Karnataka leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra which came to a close yesterday after 23 days, saw several important people lend their support and solidarity to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s innovative attempt to unite the country.  Among those who walked with the yatra was legendary filmmaker Saeed Akthar Mirza known for his iconic film Naseem (among others) which captured the rising tide of hate politics way back in 1995.

Salar News caught up with the 80-year-old filmmaker who had travelled all the way to Ballari to be a part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, to ask him about the now entrenched  communalism, the separatist politics that has been governing the country in the last several years and his reasons for walking with the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Why would Saeed Mirza the film-maker walk with the Bharat Jodo Yatra?

“The Bharat Jodo Yatra is primarily an act of courage by a young man,” Mirza says. “Rahul Gandhi has decided to take the bull by its horns. He is not skirting around the issue of communalism. He is forthright and clear about what he is doing. And that is the reason, I decided that I had to meet him and walk with him and ask him why he is doing this.”

And what was being a part of the yatra like?

The filmmaker says he walked a short distance with the yatra but spent almost an hour talking to Gandhi.  “He is incredibly curious, engaging with different people, trying to understand the complexity of this country. He is also well-read and intelligent and has the courage to speak against hate.”

 “Unlike the other side which seems to have all the answers, this young man is still looking for answers. He is meeting people, learning from them. He is fighting against the odds. Trying to figure out where this country is going.”

Has India turned a chapter as far as hate is concerned, I want to know

Not really. The work doesn’t end with the yatra in Kashmir. This is a long battle. We are fighting against an agenda of hate that has lasted for the last 100 years at least. Everything from the greatness of a civilisation, its history, its complex nature has been used effectively to spread venom, to create a wave of hate. This othering of the minorities especially the Muslims is complete. Today what we are seeing is a battle for the idea of India. The question before us is:  What kind of an India do we all want? Do we want a compassionate, inclusive country in which there is space for everybody?

Mirza says he will return to the yatra some time in December or January in his working avatar as a filmmaker and record the yatra on film for posterity. This is a historic moment in the 75th year of our independence says the film maker who had recorded what India looked like in its 50th year of Independence in 1997 through his 16-episode documentary ‘A tryst with the people,’ where he had travelled through the length and breadth of the country to see how the people of India lived, worked and thought, five decades after the country’s ‘tryst with destiny.’

What does the future hold for Rahul Gandhi?

Only time will tell, he says. Is this young man merely a Don Quixote or will all this amount to something tangible? That, only time will tell. But no matter what, there is something really noble in this act of walking and that is the reason why so many people, irrespective of political affiliations are joining him.  I walked with him as an act of solidarity, he says, as did many others.

Today, we are faced with real issue like price rise, unemployment, inflation but none of that seems to matter because all those issues are subsumed by this wave of hate which has engulfed the country.  Every economic data is calling for a change. This walk is a battle for that change.

There is a dire need to battle the divisive forces, take them on and fight them.  For that one needs fortitude, courage and  stamina. This yatra will show us whether India has the required fortitude, courage and stamina. They are calling this yatra the fight for India’s soul. This yatra will show us whether India has what it takes to reclaim its soul, he signs off.

Saeed Akhtar Mirza is a film director who is well-known for his work in parallel cinema. He has directed notable films like Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!, Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Daastan, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai, Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro and Naseem. His film Naseem which addressed the rise of rightwing Hindu fundamentalism in India won him two National Film Awards in 1996 for Best Screenplay and Best Direction.