THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking on “right-wing Hindutva activists”, CPM politburo member M A Baby on Sunday said they were killing people in the name of religion. Baby was speaking at the protest meet organised by the Federation of Film Societies of India - Kerala to express solidarity with novelist S Hareesh who was threatened for having ‘objectionable contents’ in his novel ‘Meesha’. The other day, the novelist was forced to withdraw the novel serialised in the Mathrubhumi weekly following threats from Sangh Parivar outfits.
Baby said Sangh Parivar criminals used filthy language and threatening messages to silence creative freedom.
“Our state has a great tradition of protecting freedom of expression. But incidents which have taken place in the past few years are a serious matter of concern. Our right to express our creativity is in the hands of illiterate and semi-literate right-wing protesters. I happened to read the so-called ‘objectionable’ lines in the novel. I didn’t find anything objectionable,” Baby said.
He pointed out a few major creative works of literary giants, including M T Vasudevan Nair, which could have triggered intolerance had they been written in the present social and political circumstances. “In MT’s famed film ‘Nirmalyam’, the lead character donned by P J Antony spat blood on a temple deity. Imagine the consequences if the film releases now. Hence, we have to defend our freedom of expression,” he said.
Kavitha Lankesh expresses solidarity with Hareesh
Veteran documentary filmmaker Kavitha Lankesh, the younger sister of slain journalist Gouri Lankesh, echoed the opinion of Shashi Tharoor MP that India will become the homeland of “Hindu Talibanism”.
“The level of intolerance has gone up in the past few years which led to the killing of many creative artists, including my sister. Many people including Gireesh Karnad and Prakash Raj also figured in the hit-list of the right-wing group. When my father, P Lankesh, wrote many journals, no one opposed it. But the present circumstances differ. Hence, I express my solidarity with Hareesh,” Kavitha said. Documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan urged Hareesh not to stop writing due to the threats made by the right-wing group.
VS call to defeat hate politics
CPM veteran and Administrative Reforms Commission chairman V S Achuthanandan has urged progressive and democratic forces to join the efforts to fight the politics of hatred. He called upon writer S Hareesh to have a rethink on his decision to withdraw the novel ‘Meesha’. The writer and the magazine(‘Mathrubhumi Weekly’) should be ready to publish the remaining parts. “If they succumb to Sangh Parivar threat, it will lead to the revival of some anti-social ideas which were once defeated,” VS said.
A blot on Kerala society: Chennithala
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala termed the move to pull out Harish’s novel ‘Meesha’ an insult to the enlightened Kerala society. The Sangh Parivar will never shy away from silencing those who write against them and even try to eliminate such persons. “It is disturbing to find such forces gaining ground in Kerala. Those who are trying to finish off a person for his writing is leading the state into darkness,” he said.