Award-winning writer S. Hareesh has withdrawn his novel Meesha (Moustache), which was being serialised in the Mathrubhumi Weekly , following threats from alleged Sangh Parviar outfits.
The novel, about life in Kerala half-a-century ago, had raised the hackles of alleged Sangh Parivar activists, who found portions of a dialogue between two characters in the novel objectionable and had launched a cyberattack against Mr. Hareesh and his family members, threatening them with physical violence.
Exhibition vandalised
On Friday, a group of Bharatiya Janata Party-Hindu Aikya Vedi activists vandalised an exhibition of books on spirituality organised by Mathrubhumi Books at Thripunithura in Kochi, in protest against the novel.
Mr. Hareesh, a clerk at the village office at Neendoor in Kottayam, was not immediately available for comment, but his writer-friends told The Hindu that he was under severe stress following threats to his family.
“s. hareesh withdraws his novel ‘meesha’, literature is being mob lynched, darkest day in kerala’s cultural history, lightless days to follow,” Mathrubhumi Weekly editor-in-charge Kamalram Sajeev tweeted shortly after Mr. Hareesh announced his decision to withdraw his novel.The attacks, reminiscent of the kind faced by Tamil author Perumal Murugan, were based on the dialogues in the second chapter published in the magazine’s issue dated July 15.
The dialogue, the right-wing outfits alleged, were derogatory to the Hindu religion and insulted temple-worshipping Hindu women.
‘Tremendous pressure’
“We have decided to discontinue publication of the novel on a request made by Mr. Hareesh today,” Mr. Sajeev told The Hindu in Kozhikode.
“Mr. Hareesh told me that he was under tremendous emotional pressure from all corners and that his wife, mother, and his deceased father were being publicly vilified.” In view of the cyberattacks, abuses on the phone, and fear of physical violence against his family, Mr. Haressh had wanted to withdraw his novel, Mr. Sajeev said.
Mr. Sajeev said he was about to go to press with the fourth chapter of the novel. Now, the magazine would carry a statement from the novelist on why he was pulling out. Mr. Hareesh did not want to get his novel published in book form either, Mr. Sajeev said.
“He told me that he would publish the novel only when the reading public were tolerant enough to value my work on its literary merits.”
Published - July 21, 2018 11:41 pm IST
