‘Writers’ protest is not manufactured’

The vociferous debates over freedom of expression continued over day two of the Tata Literature Live! Mumbai LitFest at a session titled “No time for silence: Why writers feel the need to speak up”. Eminent writer Nayantara Sahgal, who had recently returned her Sahitya Akademi award to protest the Dadri lynching, and musician T.M. Krishna were engaged in the discussion, with journalist Anuradha Sengupta moderating the session.

The discussion began with a question about whether or not the large scale protests by writers was a “ manufactured revolt “.

Ms Sahgal firmly denied that this was the case, stating, “This is not a manufactured revolt or protest. These writers come from different parts of India, they’re not in touch with each other, and they don’t follow each other’s work. These are individual responses.” Ms Sahgal also said that it wasn’t just writers who were protesting — artistes across the board, including filmmakers and scientists were also expressing their concerns.

Mr Krishna added that the debate in fact had been “framed” by the very people who were saying that the protests to safeguard dissent were a “gimmick”.

“The fight for humanity has become reduced to a Congress versus BJP fight or anti-Modi terms... the way the debate has been framed is very smart and is being done on purpose,” he said.

When a member of the audience said that the very fact that a discussion on freedom of speech was being held at the LitFest was a sign that it existed, Ms Sengupta asked, “Do you want us to wait till we’re in jail before we have this discussion ” Mr Krishna then said that an atmosphere was being created where certain elements that have always existed in society are being told, “We’re in power”. He also addressed criticisms about writers not speaking out during the Emergency by saying, “We cannot compare the Emergency with what’s happening now. No one will stop us from speaking our mind, but people are being killed for their food choices, we cannot ignore that this is happening.”

Ms Sahgal also raised another point during the session — that of the current leaders assigning “Nehru to the trash can”.

“Every leadership makes mistakes, but you build on the foundation, what’s not right you do away with it — but you can’t negate Nehru’s contribution,” Ms Sahgal said, describing it as a “right wing project” to do away with India’s legacy. “Secularism was an ideal of the freedom struggle, it’s always part of who we’ve been — it’s not something being forced on us now,” she added.