Writers cannot stay neutral in times of intolerance, says Kerala Chief Minister

Writers should not be expected to be neutral in the times of intolerance and attacks on freedom of expression, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. He was speaking after inaugurating the fourth edition of the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF 4), organised by the Kerala Legislative Assembly here on Wednesday. “Currently, there exists a line of thought that writers should not take sides. Is it how it should be? People like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, and Gauri Lankesh, who never wielded any weapon, other than a pen, were murdered. They wrote for the unity of all humans and for secularism. Those who could not tolerate these ideas, shot them down. Books are getting banned and freedom of expression is being trampled upon. In such a situation, should writers be asked to stay neutral? Literature should reflect social realities,” he said.

Expressions of anger against the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores by U.S. forces from Caracas was one of the running themes of the inaugural function, with Mr. Vijayan as well as Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan voicing their protest against the action in their speeches. A cutout of the Venezuelan leader with the words ‘With Venezuela, against empire’ is placed at the entrance to the Assembly complex, where the festival is being held.

“The imperial interventions which put the survival of all independent democratic nations in peril are concerning. This is just the beginning, with the U.S. President already making clear his intentions regarding Cuba and Greenland. Such threats that the world is facing should also be in the thoughts of the community of writers and readers,” said Mr. Vijayan.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan felicitating author N.S. Madhavan at the opening ceremony of Kerala Legislative International Book Festival in the presence of Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan at the Kerala Legislative Assembly building in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN / THE HINDU

Mr. Satheesan said that across the world, there exists a trend of autocratic leaders attempting to silence opposition voices. Social media platforms and Artificial Intelligence tools are also being misused by those in powers to this end.

“Social media handles can be used to whitewash any criminal as well as to destroy the reputation of innocent persons. Under electoral autocracies, free and fair elections have ceased to exist. Writers can resist these tendencies by warning their leaders about these,” he said.

Mr. Vijayan presented the Kerala Legislative Assembly’s award for contributions to literature to writer N.S. Madhavan at the inaugural function. Mr. Madhavan spoke at length about the ways in which legislatures across the world have enriched prose and literature as well as about the many poets and writers who have been part of the Kerala Assembly over the years.

‘Reading, a shared culture’

International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq, the chief guest at the function, said that it is a powerful statement that a legislature is organising a book festival, reminding us that reading strengthens democracy. “A society that reads is a society that can question power and show empathy. In Kerala, reading is not an elite habit. It is a shared culture, with libraries and reading a part of everyday life. Readers are the silent strength of democracy,” she said.

Mr.Vijayan released a book on writer T. Padmanabhan at the function, by handing over a copy to Speaker A.N.Shamseer. Christopher Kalila, Zambian MP and Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Executive Committee, said that it is heartening that a law-making body is going beyond its traditional roles to organise a literary festival. “Most of our teachers in Africa in the 1970s came from Kerala. I remember very clearly the names of my teachers like Mrs. Thomas,” he said.