Speakers at a protest gathering organised by the District Congress Committee (DCC) here on Friday to express solidarity with writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair and film-maker Kamal raised serious concerns over the emerging right-wing intolerance in the State.
Former diplomat T.P. Sreenivasan, who opened the event ‘Thamasoma Jyothirgamaya’, said he was afraid to speak about the issues in the State and in India. “I had a bitter experience once. I was slapped for airing the need to reform the education sector,” the former vice chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council recalled the incident in which he was attacked by an SFI activist at the venue of the Global Education Meet last year.
He said the world was at a crossroads with the emergence of right-wing politics. “Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections and Briton’s exit from the European Union were the offshoots of the phenomenon. Though it was mostly a European phenomenon, many observers had traced the origins of this trend to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in India,” he said.
Stating that democracy itself was losing sheen because elected representatives were turning into dictators, he said equating majoritarianism with democracy was dangerous. “Worldwide, people are nervously waiting for president-elect Trump’s new policies. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stopped his foreign tours,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, writer M. Mukundan said a person could not become a global leader by banning ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes.
“Majority in Bihar have not seen these notes. Instead of striving for digitalisation and mobile banking, the government should provide food and shelter to people. The Communists and the Congress should join hands to combat the fascists forces,” he said.
Lyricist Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri said Kamal was targeted after he referred to the Prime Minister as a cannibal while commenting on an issue connected with actor Suresh Gopi. “That was the beginning of the issue. Kamal should not have spoken in his capacity against a Prime Minister. Perhaps the issue can be settled if he withdraws that. But I cannot ask him to do so,” he said.
Writer P.K. Parakkadavu said right-wingers were posing as guardians of nationalism and patriotism and hoped that a stronger force would emerge to halt the current trend of intolerance.
Those who spoke included M.G.S. Narayanan, Deepa Nishanth, Prathapan Thayat, Shatrughan and DCC president T. Siddique.
