Karnataka: Parallel literary meet to protest domination of the Sangh Parivar

The Hindu, 28 Nov 2007

'Sauharda Sahitya Sammelan is not a harmony conference’

Staff Correspondent

Invitation for the December 9 event released in Udupi

Udupi: The invitation of the Sauharda Sahitya Sammelan to be held here on December 9 was released on Tuesday.

Various progressive groups are organising the Sauharda Sahitya Sammelan in protest over “the domination of Sangh Parivar” in the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan to be held in Udupi from December 12 to December 15.

Speaking at the release of the invitation, writer and sammelan reception committee president G. Rajashekhar said that the sammelan was not a “sauharda sammelan” (harmony meet) as was portrayed by president of the Kannada Sahitya Sammelan Chandrashekhar Patil recently but a “sahitya sammelan” (literary meeting). The Sauharda Sahitya Sammelan was being held to protest against the inequalities prevailing in Udupi since a long time, the communal agenda being propagated by some Hindutva groups, and to focus on the real purpose of literature — that of upholding the dignity and freedom of people.

Giving examples, Mr. Rajashekhar said that a member of a Hindutva group was nominated as a councillor of Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) despite the fact that he was involved in atrocities against the members of a community.

This person was later given ticket to fight the elections to the Udupi CMC by the BJP. What was more, this person had won the election.

“All this raises the question whether a person involved in committing atrocity over minorities could be given party ticket. The people of Udupi, the media and other institutions have lost their sense of shame,” he said.

He said that the RSS and the Bajrang Dal were responsible for the increase in communal incidents in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts in the last 15 years.

People belonging to the Sangh Parivar had been chosen to supervise the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan. “These people have nothing to do with literature. They have little or no understanding of literature,” he said.

The increasing communalisation of the coastal districts, the increase in inequalities due to adoption of policies of globalisation would never be discussed in the 74th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan.

All these reasons had made it necessary to hold the Sauharda Sahitya Sammelan.

He made it clear that he had not invited Mr. Chandrashekhar Patil formally to the Sauharda Sahitya Sammelan.

However, Mr. Patil could attend it, Mr. Rajashekhar said.

Another writer K. Phaniraj said that it was the Sangh Parivar which was behind the implementation of the Special Economic Zone in Dakshina Kannada district and the 1,015 MW coal-based Nagarjuna Thermal Power Project at Yellur in Udupi district.

Though the people were not ready to give up their land, the work for the Nagarjuna Power Project was taken up by clamping Section 144 on Yellur and its surrounding villages after the Karnataka Development Front (KDF) Government, of which the BJP was a partner, came into power.

The protests against the Nagarjuna Power Project were crushed by using State power.

Plans were on to dump the garbage of Udupi city in the village of Alevoor despite public protests there. Was it right? Trees near the taluk office in Udupi were felled despite public protests just to favour a mega retail chain.

Such issues were a direct fallout of the neo-liberal and globalisation policies adopted by the Hindutva forces, which required a discussion.

Secretary of the reception committee Dinakar Bengre was present