“An eerie silence”

I refer to "An eerie silence” (Editorial Viewpoint, Parsiana, November 7, 2010) and wish to share that the community is not as non-responsive to the banning of Rohinton Mistry’s novel as you think.

I have unfortunately forgotten the date of the protest meeting but it was just before October 21, 2010 (when I left town). The response, I thought, was quite amazing. The meeting, planned in just 48 hours, was held on the terrace of the Press Club. About

150 persons turned up in response to messages going out by word of mouth,

SMS and e-mail. The meeting took the shape of a book reading from Such a Long Journey. The terrace was jam packed with quite a few Parsis present, including on the podium itself, and doing the reading. Murzban Shroff was also there (by the way, he has always had our support).

So though I agree with you that many more could and should have been present and vociferous, I would like to point out that it is much more practical for indi- viduals to represent themselves than to the organizations they may be a part of. I as an individual attended and signed petitions, but if I were to endorse the same as a representative of an organiza- tion, I would first have had to call a meeting, get an okay from each member, then contend with the reality that the trust/organization I work for does not have objectives that cover such a pro- test, how the government will view such a protest, etc.

We are aware that the parochial po- litical party had to create an issue to induct the youngster into politics. That is hardly newsworthy. But the frightening part is how and why the vice chancellor gave in so easily, why he pretended that the decision was made by a non-func- tional committee. His response to some teachers that he banned the book to en- sure their safety is even more delusional as he has sent out a clear message that violence and even the threat of violence are the most effective and efficient tools to achieve what you want!

PERVIN JEHANGIR

pjehangir@gmail.com