manlion
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After BJP came into power, Hindutva Sangh parivaar has started nibbling at the edges in Tamilnadu, a state where it doesn't have a root. The state govt has been a mute spectator to Hindutva thuggery which is running riot.
The remains of the books at Writer Ma.Mu. Kannan's hut that was torched by arsonists.
Writers’ nightmare in Tamil Nadu - The Hindu
In support of Perumal Murugan | Author of Madhorubhagan (published by Kalachuvadu Pathippagam)
THE ISSUE
In late December 2014, a group of Hindutva outfits began to demand a ban on Madhorubagan, and they sought the arrest of Perumal Murugan. Alleging that the novel, had portrayed the Kailasanathar temple in Tiruchencode and its women devotees “in bad light”, the outfits burnt copies of the book at Tiruchencode.
Over the last many months, since a new, right-wing government, has taken charge at the Centre in India, the demand for banning of books that don’t fit the narratives favourable to certain emboldened groups, are only increasing. The sustained campaign against American scholar Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History (Penguin Books) was a precursor to a surge in demand for book-bans that followed the case.
Now, the situation in Tiruchencode remains tense with calls for a Bandh, black flags being waved, inflammatory flyers being distributed at the temple everyday, meetings of caste organisations being held — all of it to pressurise the authorities to arrest the author and ban the book. Perumal Murugan has been receiving abusive calls and has been made to feel very insecure living in nearby Nammakal town.
While the state- level leaders of the RSS/ BJP have disavowed the cause, the RSS cadre remain active on this issue at the district level. The slogan is that the book is an ‘insult to Hinduism’. But the real bone of contention is likely to be the mating ceremony described in the novel, which is trans-caste, and which therefore indicates an impure caste lineage.
The remains of the books at Writer Ma.Mu. Kannan's hut that was torched by arsonists.
Writers’ nightmare in Tamil Nadu - The Hindu
In support of Perumal Murugan | Author of Madhorubhagan (published by Kalachuvadu Pathippagam)
THE ISSUE
In late December 2014, a group of Hindutva outfits began to demand a ban on Madhorubagan, and they sought the arrest of Perumal Murugan. Alleging that the novel, had portrayed the Kailasanathar temple in Tiruchencode and its women devotees “in bad light”, the outfits burnt copies of the book at Tiruchencode.
Over the last many months, since a new, right-wing government, has taken charge at the Centre in India, the demand for banning of books that don’t fit the narratives favourable to certain emboldened groups, are only increasing. The sustained campaign against American scholar Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History (Penguin Books) was a precursor to a surge in demand for book-bans that followed the case.
Now, the situation in Tiruchencode remains tense with calls for a Bandh, black flags being waved, inflammatory flyers being distributed at the temple everyday, meetings of caste organisations being held — all of it to pressurise the authorities to arrest the author and ban the book. Perumal Murugan has been receiving abusive calls and has been made to feel very insecure living in nearby Nammakal town.
While the state- level leaders of the RSS/ BJP have disavowed the cause, the RSS cadre remain active on this issue at the district level. The slogan is that the book is an ‘insult to Hinduism’. But the real bone of contention is likely to be the mating ceremony described in the novel, which is trans-caste, and which therefore indicates an impure caste lineage.
