Malayalam writer C Radhakrishnan resigns from Kendra Sahitya Akademi
Malappuram: Noted Malayalam writer C Radhakrishnan resigned as an eminent member of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi on Monday in protest against this year’s Akademi festival being inaugurated by a Union minister, who, according to him, lacks any known credentials in literature.
In his resignation letter to the Akademi secretary, Radhakrishnan alleged that this was the first time such a thing had happened in the long and illustrious history of the Sahitya Akademi which has consistently upheld the autonomy of the institution against pressures to yield to political clout.
Renowned for his critically acclaimed novels like “Munpe Parakkunna Pakshikal,” “Spandamapinikale Nandi”, and “Theekkadal Kadanju Thirumadhuram”, he stated that all members of the Akademi had protested when a minister of state had participated in the inaugural session of the festival and that subsequently, assurances were given that this would not recur.
Radhakrishnan, however, clarified that he was not against any particular political party and that his protest was against the politicisation of the administration of culture, which erodes the independent stature of the Akademi.
The author confirmed to PTI that he quit the Akademi due to increasing incidents of government interference in its day-to-day functioning.
The move came a few weeks after Union Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal inaugurated the 39th edition of ‘Sahityotsav: The Festival of Letters’, which witnessed the participation of more than thousand authors in over 170 languages.
Radhakrishnan said the two other Akademies have already lost their autonomy and he took this step hoping that the President or the Prime Minister would listen to the voice of writers about the latest trend of political interference in the functioning of the Sahitya Akademi.
In the letter, Radhakrishnan said, “Political bosses are now reported to be smarting even to redraft the constitution of the Akademi! Sorry, I can’t be a silent witness to the funeral of the very last democratically autonomous institution of culture in the nation.” He was honoured by the Akademi with distinguished membership for his literary eminence in December 2022 after an election process.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
