Rationalists object to literary meet venue

Say choice is regrettable as Vivekanand Ashram is hotbed of superstition

September 13, 2017 12:23 am | Updated 12:23 am IST - Pune

Rationalists and litterateurs have raised objection to hosting the 91st All-India Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Vivekanand Ashram in Hiwara in Buldhana district.

The venue, which was finalised in Nagpur last week, was described as a centre of superstitious practices by a section of rationalists and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Mahamandal.

‘Run by godman’

Leading the charge is rationalist Shyam Manav, chief of the Akhil Bharatiya Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (ANS), who said his outfit would hold protests if the venue was not shifted. Mr. Manav said that Shukadas Maharaj, a self-styled godman, had converted the ashram into “a hub of superstitious practices”. He said the godman misguided people and misinterpreted the teachings of Swami Vivekananda to serve his own interests.

Mr. Manav was once associated with the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) founded by the slain rationalist, Dr. Narendra Dabholkar. He parted ways to form the ANS.

Mr. Manav said, “The ANS has opposed the practices of Shukadas Maharaj. The decision of the literary committee to select this place as the venue is regrettable. By its very nature, it is against the ethos of rationalism.”

Dr. Raosaheb Kasbe, noted writer, Ambedkarite intellectual and president of the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, said, “A place which facilitates superstition is antithetical to the spirit of progressive literature. I am strongly opposed to the choice of the venue.”

Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Mahamandal, which is headed by litterateur Shripad Joshi, said the venue was chosen to propagate literary sensibilities in remote areas. Marathi novelist Rajan Khan, in an interview to a vernacular television channel, said, “There is no point in renewing old hostilities or quibbling over the nature of the venue. What transpired between ANS activists and the godman is a matter of the past.”

‘Allegations baseless’

However, Hamid Dabholkar, convener of MANS, said the organisation does not support the ANS’s view that the venue should be shifted. He said, “We do not agree with the ANS’s view that Vivekanand Ashram in Hiwara is a place where superstition is allegedly facilitated. Further, a court directive in the early 2000s [against Mr. Manav] found that the allegations had no substance.”

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