Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday came out in support of noted Malayalam author S Hareesh, who was forced to withdraw his latest novel ‘Meesha’ following threats from some Hindutva outfits.
Vijayan said in a Facebook post, “Kerala Government will be with the author in the case of freedom of expression. We will not tolerate the attack on the right and freedom to write.”
Adding that creativity only flourished in a fearless atmosphere, Vijayan said: “Harish, the author of the novel “Meesha” should not be disheartened by controversies. The best possible reply that he can give to controversy makers is to continue writing in a bold and fearless manner.”
On Sunday, state minister for public works G Sudhakaran had also urged the Kerala Sahitya Akademi winner not to discontinue his novel. “I don’t think the author should stop writing owing to the threats. It’s against the morality of an author to stop writing if someone is trying to silence them,” Sudhakaran told the media. “There is no doubt that the government will take strict action after checking facts,” he said.
The Opposition Congress had also backed him, saying the incident had brought shame to the state.
Hareesh withdrew his novel ‘Meesha’ (moustache), which was being serialised in Mathrubhumi weekly for the past three weeks, after his family allegedly received threats from some Hindutva outfits.
Kamalram Sajeev, the editor of the weekly, said the author decided to withdraw because he was stressed over his family being attacked.
The novel is narrated in a Dalit setting and talks about the caste system in Kerala 50 years ago. Those threatening the writer have reportedly taken offence to a conversation between two characters in the novel who allegedly denounce women who go to temples. Sajeev added that the controversial bit had been taken out of context.
Comments
0 comment