BHUBANESWAR: Kerala’s modernity has been sustained by a sanity that goes beyond communal divisiveness and preserved in hands of the common people of the state - the Hindus, Muslims and Christians, who help and respect one another and coexist with cultural harmony, said acclaimed author Paul Zacharia on Sunday.
Delivering the 34th Dr Gopinath Mohanty Memorial Lecture here on ‘Emergence of Modern Mind: The Kerala Experience’, the renowned Malayalam writer said tremendous pressure was at work to demolish the coexistence, considered the heart of Kerala’s modernity and prosperity.
He said the ghosts of the past revived in new form are still trying for dominion with ferocity in Kerala. “However, it is saved in the hands of the common people, at least for now,” Zacharia said.
The writer said Hinduism, Islam and Christianity have all played a major role in the shaping of Kerala. “There has been intense competition among people of these religions, especially after Independence, for political power, economic power, educational opportunities and government jobs. However, they managed not to create enmity and hate among themselves,” Zacharia said and added this spirit of co-existence was the first building block of Kerala’s modernity.
Terming Gopinath Mohanty as an unofficial chronicler of the tribal people of Odisha, Zacharia said the former was an outstanding humanist who held the lives of the tribal people close to his heart all his life both as an author and administrator.
Two translated works of Mohanty, who dominated the Odia literature for over four decades, were unveiled at the event organised by Odisha Sahitya Akademi and Gopinath Mohanty Foundation Trust.
Culture director and Odisha Sahitya Akademi president Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya, Gopinath Mohanty Foundation Trust chairperson Prof Omkar Nath Mohanty and other dignitaries also spoke.