Ashok Vajpeyi, Amol Palekar raise concern over intolerance

Actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar and noted Hindi poet Ashok Vajpeyi inaugurate the Kolkata Literature Festival 2016 at the Kolkata International Book Fair on Thursday. — PTI

Eminent poet Ashok Vajpeyi on Thursday claimed that intolerance was a “huge crisis” in the country and its diversity was at state. Actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar too raised his voice against intolerance. Mr Vajpeyi was in the city to participate in the inaugural session on “Intolerance in tolerant India” at the 3rd Kolkata Literature Festival.

Expressing his anger over the suicide of dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula at Hyderabad University, the poet said, “Vemula’s suicide establishes the fact that places where knowledge must be free, where knowledge must be made available through debate dialogue and dissent, there is such discrimination. Instead of addressing that, we have ministers who are digging out stupid details to tell us that Rohith was not a dalit.”

He added, “It is not just a mere question of having debate, dissent and diversity of the country at stake, rather it is a huge crisis. There cannot be a democracy in which dissent, debate or dialogue is undermined, or minority —not only of religion but of viewpoints — is under attack and termed as anti-national.”

Mr Vajpeyi was among the first to return his Sahitya Akademi Award to protest against intolerance. He, however, expressed his disappointment after witnessing “character assassination” of all the personalities, who had returned their awards, by protesters at social media. “When we did what we did, it was to bring the issue to the people at large because it is the people who will decide what kind of India they want. On the social media, there has been character assassination of all of us, as if we are people with dubious characters and dubious credentials,” he lamented.

Actor-filmmaker Amol Palekar said, “We have stopped being receptive to any other point of view other than mine. Just because you do not agree with me I have no right to shut you up and say you are wrong. I have always condemned shutting up of voices.”

If the artists return their awards, then why are we getting so hyper and upset As far as freedom of expression goes, everyone must have that freedom.”

“We never said the country was intolerant; rather forces of intolerance are being given certain attention. India as a country and the people at large have been tolerant. It is being made out as if we are addressing the government, but we are not,” he said.