Mumbai: Celebrating the birth anniversary of slain journalist Gauri Lankesh, the Sahitya Akademi award-winner Nayantara Sahgal on Tuesday, warned society was being forced to turn into a Hindu rashtra. “We are being forced to turn into a Hindu rashtra by the current dispensation,” Sahgal said.
Sahgal was talking at ‘Chala Ekatra Yeu’, a call to come together to fight voices suppressing freedom of speech and expression, at Shivaji Mandir, a cultural centre at Dadar. She warned that the government’s selective approach threatened to tear apart the social fabric. “Nowadays, people are getting killed and arrested because they are Muslims.
India is a multi-cultural society and we do not want to lose the gift that other religions have given,” said Sahgal. “Keeping quiet during such dangerous times is harmful for society”, she cautioned. She said she felt let down by the film industry for not supporting voices against the suppression of freedom of expression.
“The film industry has not spoken against the suppression of azaadi (freedom). That is one of my greatest sorrows,” said Sahgal. Giving the example of the British era, when India faced strict censorship, Sahgal said, “Films were made with covert ideas and words expressing azaadi (freedom). However, recently, I was shocked to see no one supporting one of their own, Naseeruddin Shah, when he cautioned about the rising intolerance in our society.”
The event was organised by a group of Marathi writers, filmmakers and thinkers seeking a perspective on the current regime, Jayant Pawar, Amol Palekar, Yashodhan Patil, Sandhya Nare Pawar, Sandhya Gokhale, Avinash Kadam, Dr Vivek Kurde and Ganesh Vispute.
Earlier this month, she had been called to address the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. However, due to a threat issued by a local functionary of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party, the organiser withdrew their invitation. This caused a huge furore and party chief Raj Thackeray had to issue an apology.
