Amid voices of dissent, stage set for a grand sahitya sammelana in Basavaraj Bommai’s home district

Elaborate arrangements have been made to make Haveri sammelana a spectacle

Kannada Ratha, which traversed the districts of Karnataka before reaching Haveri, the venue of the 86th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, was given a grand welcome on Thursday. | Photo Credit: SANJAY RITTI

Amid voices of dissent and a few exits, the stage is set for the 86th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Haveri, which promises to be a grand affair in the home district of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

While critics are of the opinion that there is more focus on making it a “spectacle” rather than on real issues of language, livelihood, and culture, the organisers defended it saying that it is necessary as it is a “celebration of Kannada”. Among the highlights, Sammelanadhyaksha Doddarange Gowda is going to be ferried to the venue in a grand chariot for which ₹4 lakh has been spent and hundreds of folk troupes will join the cultural procession.

President of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) and former bureaucrat Mahesh Joshi has been saying that it would be a grand spectacle indeed, but also clarified that equal attention has been paid to choosing the subjects for the literary sessions and the resource persons. He has also claimed that representation has been given to “every section and every voice”.

However, some writers, who have alleged that selection has been partisan, excluding women and Muslim writers from key sessions, have withdrawn from participating in the mega literary event as a mark of dissent.

Voices of dissent

Soon after the schedule of various literary sessions was published, H.R. Sujatha, who was supposed to chair one of the poetry meets at the sammealana, announced that she would not participate. In her letter of dissent, she said that she could see “deliberate exclusion of Muslim writers on the panels”. Chand Pasha N.S., who was among the few Muslim writers on the panels, also announced his decision to boycott the event. He said the parishat was discriminating against writers based on religion, caste, and gender that too in Haveri, known as the land of Shishunala Sharif and Kanakadasa. Another poet Ramesh Aroli too has decided to stay away from the sammelana. Amid these developments, an alternative Jana Sahitya Sammelana is being held on January 8 by progressive groups as a mark of dissent.

Meanwhile, those who are participating in the event want the sammelana to provide a stage for discussion on pressing issues faced by the people of Karnataka.