Attacks on secularism, dissent and democratic pluralism have become all too frequent in India (“Fighting silence with dignified dissent,” Oct.12). There is a calculated method in this madness. Whether it is the murder of a writer, killing an innocent person for supposedly eating beef, forced cancellation of a Ghulam Ali concert or blackening the face of Sudheendra Kulkarni for a discussion at the book launch by Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, the sinister design of the powers of subversion is all too evident. It can only be fought with the collective voices of sanity. It is in this connection that Shiv Vishvanathan’s call acquires an urgency.
The vast constituency of writers and institutions must break their silence to proclaim and preserve the integrity of their commitment to the civic universe.
Satish C. Aikant,Kulri, Mussoorie
I agree that in returning their awards, Sahgal and Vajpeyi have reminded Mr. Modi of his duties of upholding a citizen’s right to life and of protecting an artist’s right to creativity. It is laudable that other Sahitya Akademi awardees have also returned their awards. The saffronisation of education and cultural organisations was a hidden agenda of the Modi government in the beginning. Now it comes in open with all its terror and the brutal killing of progressive writers and activists. I quote octogenarian freedom fighter Gour Hari Das: “There is unfairness everywhere. What this country needs is a social and cultural revolution.”
B. Prabha,Varkala, Kerala
Had it been just solidarity with the slain writers, it would have been understandable as “awardees” would be seen as a legitimate “associational pressure group” and their act of returning the awards as a legitimate tactics for their legitimate concerns — artistic freedom. But certain writers’ political statements raise doubts over their intentions. Artistic freedom is threatened today, but not due to any direct action of state. It is not clear if the “dissent” is born out of writers’ concerns for India and its pluralism or out of their prejudice against the present government and its ideology.
Shashank Jain,Delhi
