Writers spurred by political affiliations: MT Ramesh

Thrissur: The Kerala BJP Unit has dubbed Sarah Joseph’s decision to return the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in protest against the alleged communal agenda of Central government, as a political drama.

M.T. Ramesh, vice-president of the state BJP unit said that writers who have returned their award and resigned from their post of the academy were selective in their reactions against communalism.

“These writers have certain political affiliations. We have not seen such a reaction from them after the mysterious disappearance Chekannur Moulavi, who was an Islamic scholar or during the palm chopping incident of T.J. Joseph, a professor of Malayalam at Newman College, Thodupuzha by Islamic extremists,” he said.

Mr Ramesh said that the Central government had condemned the Dadri lyncing incident and that its cabinet ministers called a press conference to convey the government’s stand on it.

Further action needs to be taken against those involved in the incident by the Uttar Pradesh government, he said.

Continuing intolerance towards creative writing

Several writers  in the past also have faced threats and attacks  forcing th-em to return    the awards and quit   Kendra Sahitya Akademi posts.  

The following are some prominent instances. M. M. Kalburgi,  Kendra Sahitya Akademi award winner,  was shot dead on August 30 at his residence in Dharwad district of Karnataka by two unidentified men.

Govind Pansare belonging  to the CPI and  author of the best  Marathi language biography  Shivaji  Kon Hota and a crusader against Hindutwa forces’ was killed on February 16   by  gun-wielding men.

Narendra Achyut Dabholkar,  an Indian rationalist and author from Maharashtra and founder of Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti , an organisation set up to eradicate superstition, was murdered on August 20, 2013.

Papilio Buddha,  a 2013 Indian feature film written and directed by Jayan K. Cherian focusing on the atrocities committed against Dalits, women and the environment was denied censor certification by the

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and denied  screening at the 17th IFFK for visuals and dialogues denigrating iconic leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi.

Taslima Nasreen,   a Bangladeshi author and former physician,  who  lived in exile in India since 1994 on account of threat calls, was forced to flee  India  after death threats by Islamic radicals in 2008.

M.F. Husain,  a modern Indian painter of international acclaim, died aged 95, on  June  9, 2011  in exile in London  after fleeing the country on being charged with “hurting the sentiments of the people” because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.

Salman Rushdie, British Indian writer’s  novel Satanic Verses was banned in India after he got death threats, including a fatwa calling for his assassination issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Rushdie was due to appear at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2012, but cancelled his  appearance  and a further tour of India at the time citing a possible threat to his life.

Playwright P.M. Antony’s play Christuvinte Aaram Thirumurivu based on Nikos Kazantzakis’s The Last Temptation of Christ   was banned in Kerala in 1986 following protests from the Church.