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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s era is proving to be worse than the 1975-77 emergency rule, noted Hindi writer Rajesh Joshi has said.
One of the many writers to return the Sahitya Akademi awards over alleged growing intolerance, Mr Joshi said BJP leaders now have ‘swollen heads’ because they never thought they would get to rule India.
“The environment of intolerance that is being created is dangerous for democracy, and it is the duty of writers and thinkers to stand against it,” he said.
He said the Modi government wanted to control intellectuals through mediocre people.
He described the present situation as worse than the emergency period when political foes were jailed in thousands, individual rights were curbed and press freedom was done away with.
“Even then no killing took place. But in the last two years, three writers have been killed,” the noted writer said.
Mr Joshi, who lives in Bhopal, is a poet, journalist and playwright. He won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2002 for an anthology of poems. He has also won several literary prizes. His poems have been translated into several languages.
The protests by writers were triggered by the murder of Kannada writer M.M. Kalburgi -- and the Sahitya Akademi’s perceived silence. Many writers also cited other murders and the lynching of a Muslim man over rumours that he ate beef to underline that a climate of intolerance appeared to have gripped the country.
Mr Joshi questioned Mr Modi’s earlier silence on these incidents.
“The protest against the killing of three writers has intensified with the support of historians, film-makers and scientists. But the government is not paying heed,” he said.
He said the government needed to understand that “a stubborn attitude does not work... One ultimately pays for it heavily. The government must learn from the Emergency period.”
Modi era worse than emergency: author - The Hindu
One of the many writers to return the Sahitya Akademi awards over alleged growing intolerance, Mr Joshi said BJP leaders now have ‘swollen heads’ because they never thought they would get to rule India.
“The environment of intolerance that is being created is dangerous for democracy, and it is the duty of writers and thinkers to stand against it,” he said.
He said the Modi government wanted to control intellectuals through mediocre people.
He described the present situation as worse than the emergency period when political foes were jailed in thousands, individual rights were curbed and press freedom was done away with.
“Even then no killing took place. But in the last two years, three writers have been killed,” the noted writer said.
Mr Joshi, who lives in Bhopal, is a poet, journalist and playwright. He won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2002 for an anthology of poems. He has also won several literary prizes. His poems have been translated into several languages.
The protests by writers were triggered by the murder of Kannada writer M.M. Kalburgi -- and the Sahitya Akademi’s perceived silence. Many writers also cited other murders and the lynching of a Muslim man over rumours that he ate beef to underline that a climate of intolerance appeared to have gripped the country.
Mr Joshi questioned Mr Modi’s earlier silence on these incidents.
“The protest against the killing of three writers has intensified with the support of historians, film-makers and scientists. But the government is not paying heed,” he said.
He said the government needed to understand that “a stubborn attitude does not work... One ultimately pays for it heavily. The government must learn from the Emergency period.”
Modi era worse than emergency: author - The Hindu
