His plight is representative of the intolerance plaguing society, Tamil writer Perumal Murugan has said.
He was delivering a talk on ‘Writing against social injustice’ organised by the Ayyappa Panikker Foundation here on Saturday.
Mr. Murugan said he never intended to be in the eye of a storm, and liked his privacy. He belonged to the farming community whose members liked peace. “I tend to stay away from controversy. Even though my life and circumstances have changed, my mental make-up has not been affected.”
The writer said his interest lay in writing, not in discussions. “Writing is a continuous criticism of the values in society. It deals with curbs imposed on freedom in the name of values, and dispels the darkness in society,” he said.
The writer said 10 months after the Madras High Court granted him relief in the ‘Madhorubhagan’ case, he had got a chance to express his thanks to people in Kerala by taking part in the function organised by the foundation.
Mr. Murugan said Ayyappa Panikker had deep ties with Tamil literature. “‘Thina’ philosophy which he had done extensive study on interests me too. I have used it in modern literature studies,” he said.
A changed writer
Later, answering questions, he said as a writer after completing a work, he was not the same person as before. However, in the wake of recent experiences, he could not and did not wish to be the Perumal Murugan of old.
He said cowardice was a form of protest just as silence was. Old notions of valour and cowardice could not applied to these times. Their meanings changed, and accordingly so did he.
Asked if he could continue to be a true writer at a time when writers were liable to various influences, he said he was not the sort of person to fall prey to inducements. He also said it was possible for writers to pass on the message of freedom and secularism to the next generation to defeat fascist forces.
