Four men assaulted a young Muslim writer in Kerala on Sunday night for allegedly insulting God in the title of his new collection of short stories. P Jimshar, 26, whose collection of short stories — “Padachonte Chithra pradarshanam” (The Painting Exhibition by the Creator) — is slated for release on August 5. In Malayalam, the word Padachon means (Creator), a colloquial term generally used by Muslim community.
According to Jimshar, he was waiting for a bus when a man came up to him asked, ‘Will you write derisively about Padachon?’ Then he was kicked in the chest. Three others also joined him and attacked him. Locals took him to hospital. He said Padachonte Chithra Pradarshanam has nothing to do with God, and that the title is one of the nine stories in the book. Police said for now they are treating it as a case of assault.
Jimshar had recently put the cover page of the book as the display picture of his WhatsApp account. Since then he had been receiving threat messages and calls.
There was uproar in social media against the attack. Many prominent people came forward to condemn the attack. CPI (M) politubureau member M.A Baby said it’s a blot on Kerala’s culture. In a facebook post he said Popular Front is behind the attack.