Writer Salman Rushdie’s tweet lashing out at Jnanpith-winning Marathi writer Bhalchandra Nemade has reignited the “language politics” debate between English and Indian regional languages.
Responding to the criticism by Nemade that he found little literary merit in Rushdie’s post- Midnight Children work, the Booker winning author had tweeted on Saturday “Grumpy old ……. Just take your prize and say thank you nicely. I doubt you've even read the work you attack.”
On Friday, hours after being chosen for the highest literary honour, Mr. Nemade had criticised the work of Indian-origin English writers like V.S. Naipaul and Mr. Rushdie for “pandering to the West” at a public felicitation organised by Matrubhasha Samwardhan Sabha in Mumbai.
While 76-year-old Nemade, who was chosen for the 2014 Jnanpith award for his contribution to enriching Indian literature, was travelling in Odisha and could not be reached for comment, Rushdie’s tweet evoked angry reactions in Maharashtra.
Nagpur-based writer-playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar, who has been honoured with Sahitya Natak Akademi and Saraswati Samman for his acclaimed plays and other work, said “I felt Rushdie’s response was school-boyish, churlish. One may disagree with Nemade’s views, but using language bordering on indecent is unacceptable.”
Some viewed Nemade’s criticism, and Rushdie’s response as part of the one-upmanship and language politics between Indian origin English writers, and Indian regional language writers. Renowned Sahitya Akademi winning Hindi writer Uday Prakash said
“This is an unfortunate controversy. I admire Rushdie’s work, but I stand with Nemadeji in this.” He said global writers have little idea of the transformations in Indian languages other than English in the post-modern, post-globalisation era.
