Writers should bury their differences and join the Left in fighting fascist forces, writer M. Mukundan has said.
He was speaking at a discussion on ‘Apprehensions of a dark age,’ organised by the Kerala Secretariat Employees Association here on Saturday to coincide with the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi and the birthday of Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula, who committed suicide at the Hyderabad University recently.
“We are living through turbulent times. It’s a time in which we should fight and protest. But unlike in the older days, we don’t have great leaders to lead us the way in overcoming this turbulence. But still, as long as the Left is present in Kerala, we have not much to worry,” said Mr. Mukundan.
He said that a space for questioning and debate, which previously never existed within the Left movement, had evolved in recent times.
“In my opinion, it’s a good thing that the differences between V.S. Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan are out in the open, as it points at a more democratised space within the party. It provides an opportunity for self-correction. Such a party is better than a monolithic organisation,” he said.
On Rohit Vemula’s death, he said that though India attained independence from colonialism, it still was under upper caste tyranny.
On AAP
Mr. Mukundan said that movements like Aam Aadmi Party did not have relevance in Kerala due to the presence of the Left.He said that writers could stand up against the onslaught of fascism by uniting with other writers.
“Writers are very sensitive and they cannot stand up for something on their own like politicians do. But, by uniting with other writers, they attain huge strength. It is my wish that all the writers come to the Left. It is the need of the hour,” he said.
Literary critic K.S. Ravikumar who had resigned as the member of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi in protest against the Akademi’s alleged silence over the murders of M.M. Kalburgi and others, said that the episodes of intolerance were being used as a smokescreen by the government to sell off the country’s land and resources.
