Dakshinayan Abhiyan, a cultural organization based in Goa organized a three-day conference, Abhivyakti, from 18–20 November 2016 at Madgaon, Goa. The conference was organized to deliberate on the growing communal threat to India and its impact on freedom of speech. There were close to 800 participants which included scholars and writers from different states of India who had returned their Akademi awards such as G. N. Devy (who is also founder of Dakshinayan) Prof. Chaman Lal (retired Professor of Hindi), Atamjit Singh (Punjabi playwright), K. Sachidanandan (poet), and cultural teams from Punjab, Maharashtra (Dalit singer, Sambaji Bhagat), Karnataka (Dalit Kala Mandali), Gujarat (Charul-Vinay). The conference was addressed by intellectuals and activists including Yogendra Yadav, Sagarika Ghosh, Amol Palekar and Rajdeep Sardesai, Anand Patwardhan. Jignesh Mevani (of Una Atachar Ladat Samiti) was arrested on his way to participate in the conference.

A march (sankalp yatra) was organized from Rabindra Bhawan (the venue for the conference) to the Lohia maidan which culminated in a public meeting. The speakers at the public meeting included Megha Pansare (daughter of Com. Govind Pansare), Hameed Dabholkar (son of Dr. Narendra Dabholkar) and Sri Vijay Kalburgi (relative of Prof. M. M. Kalburgi). The speakers condemned the Sanatan Sansthan which is based in Goa and whose members are connected with the murders of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and Prof. Kalburgi. The murders of Pansare, Kalburgi and Dabholkar, pointed out the speakers, were not only examples of brutal suppression of rational voices, but also reveals the government’s encouragement and support to the so-called ‘fringe elements.’

The conference demanded that the culprits involved in murders of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi be speedily arrested and put on trial, and that a special court be designated for the purpose of trial of the assassins. It also passed a resolution reaffirming that the expression of Art, Culture, Literature, Cinema and Media should not be suppressed by legal or extra-legal restrictions. It considered “the recent government order to take off air NDTV India (now kept on hold), threats to film producers for their choice of actors, brokering huge payments to organizations under threat are against the spirit of democracy and not consistent with the fundamental right of speech and expression.”

Dakshinayan Rashtriya Parishad also condemned “the atrocities perpetrated on Dalits at Una and many other places in recent times.” It raised concern over “instances of discrimination based on Caste, Religion and Sex in Goa and in all other states in India, in Temples, Cemeteries, Schools and Public Places despite Equality of Status and Equality of Opportunity enshrined in the Constitution.” It demanded that “the state should not tolerate any such discrimination and those involved in discrimination based on Caste, Religion and Sex be brought to book.” Another resolution expressed solidarity with the people of Kashmir and stated that the “Kashmir Imbroglio cannot be solved by treating it as the problem created entirely by Pakistan but by reaching out to the Kashmiri people and winning their hearts.” It appealed to the political leadership “to take immediate steps in creating a congenial atmosphere for an amicable solution of the issue by showing greater political maturity.”

The Abhivyakti conference at Goa was third of the major all-India mobilizations organized by the Dakshinayan Rashtriya Parishad. The name of the group—Dakshinayan, which means the sun’s southward journey into darkness—also invokes the dark times we are living in. One is reminded of Bertolt Bretch’s lines ‘Will there be songs in the dark times?/ Yes, there will be songs of the dark times.’ The organization seeks to bring together scholars, writers, artists and cultural activists to forge a new solidarity in the field of arts and creative expression. The objective is to deepen rational thinking and defend the freedom of expression. The first major event organized by Dakshinayan was a march from Pune to Dharwad, via Kolhapur to protest against the murders of the Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi. Com. Pranay Krishna of Jan Sankriti Manch had participated in the march at Dharwad. Another march was organized by Dakshinayan at Dandi, on the occasion of death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (30 January 2016). The third was the Abhivyakti conference and public meeting at Goa in November 2016, which was attended by Comrade Awadhesh Tripathi of Jan Sanskriti Manch.