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January 21, 2017

India: Some Two speakers pull out of Jaipur Literature Festival over inclusion of RSS ideologues

India Today

Two speakers pull out of Jaipur Literature Festival over inclusion of RSS ideologues
M.A. Baby is a prominent member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and a part of the party's polit bureau in Kerala whereas Raghu Karnad happens to be a journalist-cum-author. Both have conveyed their decision to the JLF.

by Dev Ankur Wadhawan
Jaipur, January 19, 2017

Kerala CPI-M leader M.A. Baby and journalist-cum-author Raghu Karnad, who were listed as Speakers at the Jaipur Literature Festival which begins today, have decided to pull out of the 5-day event. This after two senior RSS ideologues -- Manmohan Vaidya and Dattatreya Hosabale -- were included in the list of Speakers at the festival.

M.A. Baby is a prominent member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and a part of the party's polit bureau in Kerala whereas Raghu Karnad happens to be a journalist-cum-author. Both have conveyed their decision to the JLF.

WHO ARE VAIDYA AND DATTATREYA

Manmohan Vaidya is currently the Akhil Bhartiya Prachar Pramukh or the RSS' in-charge for media relations. Dattatreya Hosabale is the sah-sarakaryavah or the Joint General Secretary of the RSS. The session involving Hosabale and Vaidya titled 'Of Saffron and the Sangha: Dattareya Hosabale and Manmohan Vaidya in conversation with Pragya Tiwari' is scheduled for January 20.

Festival producer Sanjoy Roy told India Today, "Well, M.A. Baby sent us a letter quite a while ago, saying that the politburo had asked him to not come to the JLF because we had invited people from other ideological platforms and Raghu had sent us a letter and an email also days ago, saying that he potentially felt he shouldn't be on the same platform where we were giving space to speakers from the Right. I wrote back to Raghu, saying that you have every right to think and feel what you wish to. We believe that this a platform where all sides need to be represented and that's our stand."

The JLF refuted allegations that there had been pressure on the organisers to include people considered to be right of centre in their ideology.

WHAT JLF PRODUCER FEELS

"Unfortunately, I think in some sections of the media, there have been reports that we have been pressured to invite these people. Nothing of this sort. We have been inviting people from across the political spectrum, both from India as well as from abroad to represent what we believe is very important", Roy said.

The Jaipur Literature Festival conveyed that they had invited people from the right ideology in the past as well, including Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, but there had not been such a hue and cry over it back then. "We must hear all perspectives across the ideological divide. And without being able to listen to the other side, I don't understand how people feel that they can even counter a thought or an idea or a stand. How do they do that? It's ignorance and we believe that it's imperative for us to allow our audience and visitors to be able to listen to all sides and then make up their own minds on an issue", Roy stated.