Defend Perumal Murugan, Defend Freedom Of Speech, #DefendIndianConstitution
By Countercurrents.org
31 January, 2015
Countercurrents.org
In January this year Tamil Nadu and the rest of the country was shocked by the silencing of Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan by a cabal of caste and communal forces. A month before, in December 2014, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh burnt copies of his novel in Tiruchengode. They claimed to be offended by the sexual permissiveness described in the book, which is set around 100 years ago at the time of an annual festival in Tiruchengode.
Forced to attend ‘peace talks’ with the caste organisations by the local administration Perumal Murugan announced he would give up writing altogether and also withdraw all his novels from sale to the public. It is clear that state agencies and officials, instead of offering protection to the author, violated his Constitutional right to freedom of speech by acting on behalf of the mobs threatening violent action against him.
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