KOZHIKODE: In a response to Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, writer K Satchidanandan on Sunday said it was not necessary that writers respond to every matter in the state. Satheesan had recently said writers should respond to the current political issues in the state.
“I will respond to what I think is right,” he told reporters after inaugurating a one-day workshop on women in the literature field, organised by Kerala Sahitya Akademi in association with Darsanam Samskarika Vedi, at Gender Park in Kozhikode.
Satchidanandan, who is also president of the akademi, said he had friends in all political parties but was not a member of any of them. However, he condemned the alleged police atrocities in the state and said slapping UAPA charges on people and making unnecessary arrests were not right. Satchidanandan also defended the chief minister saying he had not ordered to block people wearing black masks and clothes. “The restrictions were more likely the brainchild of a police officer,” he said.
At the seminar, Satchidanandan said it was unfortunate that woman writers had to present their experiences in the language created by men. “We need to change the perception that women should limit themselves to private spaces. The main task of woman writers and critics is to interpret things in a new way, taking into account the Indian reality,” he said.
Akademi secretary C P Aboobacker presided over the function. Writer Lathalakshmi, R Rajasree, Roshni Swapna and actor Sajitha Madathil spoke.