The writer is absolutely right in saying that the aesthetic or moral worth of a literary work cannot be a sound basis for protecting literature against vigilantism or official bans (“The fault in our speech”, July 7) While the Madras High Court judgment did well to not only completely dismiss the criminal complaints against Perumal Murugan but also invalidate an extra-legal, if not illegal, ‘settlement’ overseen by the government administration, it commits the dangerous error of hinting that literature needs to justify itself. On the other hand, our polity has continued to neglect its constitutional responsibility towards building a mature nation whose citizenry acts and reacts with reason instead of breaking peace and law due to ‘hurt sentiments’. Our academic institutions should have taken the lead in developing a scientific temper and rational outlook among students. Unfortunately, the growing and misplaced emphasis on incorporating religion and religious texts under the guise of ‘moral education’ in our schools is only going to exacerbate the phenomenon of an intolerance to a secular criticism of articles of faith. While the law will always be needed to address assaults on the freedom of speech, we need secular education to create a cultural milieu where attacks on writers are prevented in the first place.
Firoz Ahmad,
New Delhi
In the case of Perumal Murugan,the demand for banning his novel came four years after its publication in Tamil. This reminds me of the tricky situation and protest R.K Narayan faced with The Guide . It was an instant hit when it was published but hit a road bump with its film version. The producers faced public ire for depicting the heroine as an “independent and forward looking” woman.
Even poet and novelist Kamala Das was a victim of cultural vigilantism for her autobiography, My Story , even though many of us could identify with her literary liberty in telling us that this was the story of many if not all helpless young girls. When will we understand that literature is a criticism of life?
M. Somasekhar Prasad,
Badvel, Andhra Pradesh
