THRISSUR/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cultural Kerala is up in arms against an apparent move to politicise the state’s cultural realm. The move by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to carry a logo marking the second anniversary of the LDF government on the cover of 30 books it published has invited sharp criticism from both its own administration and across the social spectrum.
The move has not gone down well with the literary community, including Akademi president and noted poet K Satchidanandan. It also exposed the differences within the autonomous body after its secretary C P Aboobacker came up with a justification.
Expressing his discontent, Satchidanandan said, “Governments may come and go, but books will always be there.” If it was inevitable, the logo could have been included inside the books, instead of being engraved on the cover, he added.
A group of writers, including former office-bearers of the Akademi, including U K Kumaran, P V Krishnan Nair, M R Thampan, Kattoor Narayana Pillai, Ajitha Menon, L V Harikumar, T S Joy, and Vilakkudy Rajendran, issued a statement criticising the action. Poet Anwar Ali asked Satchidanandan to take a public stand against the move. “If he was not consulted on the decision, Satchidanandan should make known his resentment, resign from his position in the Akademi and withdraw the books,” he said.
Former minister Pandalam Sudhakaran asked the Akademi to withdraw the books and penalise the secretary. In a strongly-worded statement, writer Karunakaran slammed the action, terming it an opportunistic literary activity. He also criticised Satchidanandan. “I was surprised that Satchidanandan had no issue with publishing such advertisements. What a failure he is,” Karunakaran said in an FB post.
Aboobackar’s response to Karunakaran’s FB post further muddied the waters. The Akademi secretary posed the question: “Who has an issue with advertisements... as part of the government’s 100-day programme?” Many writers took to social media to lambast the response. In the wake of mounting criticism, Aboobackar came out with an explanation that the books were published as part of the government’s anniversary.
“Different departments have organised various programmes. The Akademi decided to digitalise 500 books and publish another 30 books. The logo printed on the cover of this set of books was aimed to distinguish them,” he said. He, however, conceded that no discussion on carrying the logo was held in the Akademi.