National award-winning filmmaker T.P. Priyanandan was attacked on Friday by a person suspected to be a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist. The assailant smeared him with cow dung in what the Kerala police described as a “lone wolf” attack near his house at Valachira in Thrissur.
The attack on the artist drew widespread criticism, notably from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the incident. He said the RSS routinely targeted intellectuals and thinkers who espoused the cause of social justice and secularism. Kerala would not brook such trespasses against intellectual freedom and liberal thought, he said.
When contacted, Mr. Priyanandan said he faced death threat from the BJP for his liberal views on the entry of women to Sabarimala. The BJP had organised protests in his neighbourhood and threatened to kill him if he ventured out of his house. He said the “BJP worker” had waylaid him when he went to buy groceries.
Inspector General of Police, Thrissur Range, M.R. Ajith Kumar, told The Hindu that the police viewed the incident seriously. He has sought more details on the crime and efforts are on to identify the assailant and also the plotters. The police have detained one Sarovar, a native of Thrissur, in connection with the incident.
The attack on Mr. Priyanandan is the latest in a series of assaults by reactionary elements against opinion leaders supportive of the Supreme Court’s decision on September 28 allowing women of all ages to worship at Sabarimala.
Last year, unidentified persons had fire-bombed the ashram of Sandeepananda Giri, a religious commentator and vocal detractor of the Sangh Parivar. Kanaka Durga and Bindu Ammini, two women who entered Sabarimala, faced attacks and death threats and were forced to go underground. So had several others who attempted the trek to the temple but had to turn back in the face of violent opposition from Sangh Parivar activists.
A police officer said Mr. Priyanandan seemed to have earned the ire of the Sangh Parivar for having posted a purportedly disparaging poem about Sabarimala on his FB account. The director had subsequently deleted the poem.
BJP denies role
The BJP has denied any role in the attack. Its spokesperson B. Gopalakrishnan told television journalists that the director could have stage-managed the attack to garner limelight for himself. He said Mr. Priyanandan’s post had hurt religious feelings and the BJP had staged a protest in front of his house. The party had also given a complaint to the police and sought the registration of a case against Mr. Priyanandan.
