KOCHI: TJ Joseph, a former professor at Thodupuzha Newman College, will never forget, July 4, 2010, the day when his life turned upside down. A group of fundamentalists chopped off his right palm over a question he had framed for a BCom internal exam. His wife who witnessed the incident plunged into depression and died by suicide. Church ostracised him.
A decade later, he published his memoir, Attupokatha Ormakal, in which he shared his trauma and hope for a world order. Its English translation ‘A Thousand Cuts; An Innocent Question and Deadly Answers’ was out last year.
“I dedicate the award to all those who supported me during the dark days when people who I had relied on ditched me. It was they who gave me the mental strength and financial support to survive. I remember the emotional support shared by writers O N V Kurup, Anand, M K Sanu, M Leelavathi and Justice V R Krishna Iyer. I’ve tried to convey how the common man stands helpless in modern India where politics and religion intervene and destroy our lives,” he said.