Arundhati Roy receives PEN Pinter Prize 2024, calls attention to Palestinian struggles
Shares PEN Pinter Prize 2024 with jailed Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah
►Donates prize money to Palestinian children
London: Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy was honoured with the PEN Pinter Prize 2024 during a ceremony at the British Library in London, sharing the accolade with Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah, recognised as the Writer of Courage 2024 by English PEN.
In her acceptance speech, Roy committed to raising awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by Palestinians, expressing solidarity with political prisoners in India. She announced that her share of the prize money would be donated to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. Roy emphasised the importance of Abd el-Fattah’s voice, stating, “We are listening, Alaa. Closely.”
Roy also addressed the harsh realities of oppression, focusing on the violence faced by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. She condemned the ongoing military actions by Israel, which she characterised as genocidal, citing an official death toll of 42,000, with a majority being women and children. She urged for global awareness and action against such atrocities.
Reflecting on historical injustices, Roy criticised past U.S. foreign policy decisions for contributing to the current crisis. She contested the narrative framing the conflict as one of equal aggression, asserting that Israel’s occupation and oppression of Palestinians are the root causes of the violence.
Concluding her speech, Roy challenged the audience to consider the moral implications of inaction and to recognise the humanity of those suffering under occupation. She called for questioning the complicity of their own governments in supporting oppressive regimes, emphasising the urgency of addressing Palestinian rights and the broader implications of state-sponsored violence.
Roy shared her PEN Pinter Prize 2024 with jailed Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah. Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian writer and activist, has been imprisoned in Egypt for over five years for his outspoken defence of freedom of expression. His writings from prison, including social media posts, were compiled in the 2021 book You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. Abd el-Fattah's work has garnered international attention, highlighting the risks faced by those who speak out against oppressive regimes.
According to Abd el-Fattah’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, the activist was initially expected to complete his sentence on 29 September 2024. However, authorities intend to extend his detention until 3 January 2027, effectively negating the time served from September 2019 to January 2022, which was categorised as pretrial detention in case No. 1356 of 2019. Abd el-Fattah was arrested on 28 September 2019 for raising awareness about a fellow prisoner’s death and faced multiple charges, including joining a terrorist group and spreading false information. After two years of pretrial detention, he was sentenced by the Emergency State Security Court to five years in prison.
During the ceremony, Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the Egyptian news website Mada Masr, accepted the award on Abd el-Fattah’s behalf, emphasising his bravery in the pursuit of truth.
In response to her son’s prolonged detention, Laila Soueif, Abd el-Fattah's mother, has initiated a hunger strike, describing the extension of his sentence as a violation of Egyptian law. She stated, “I consider this a kidnapping as well as unlawful detention,” highlighting the grave injustice of her son’s imprisonment. The family has urged the new Labour government in the UK to advocate for Abd el-Fattah’s release. Soueif plans to meet with British Foreign Minister David Lammy on 19 October in London to discuss her son’s situation.
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Kumaraswamy says ‘caste for sake of a chair’ charge against CM Siddaramaiah was serious
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday launched a sharp counterattack on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asserting that his charge that the CM had “dragged caste into the picture for the sake of a chair” was made in all seriousness and not in jest.
Responding to Siddaramaiah’s media statement targeting the JD(S) leadership, Kumaraswamy in a post on X said, “When I said that Siddaramaiah has dragged caste into the picture for the sake of a chair, I did not say it jokingly; I said it seriously."
In his statement, Siddaramaiah had alleged that Kumaraswamy and his father, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, were 'family-centric' and that "in the past, present and future, the top leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) will be members of the Gowda family".
Reacting to this, the MP wrote, “Siddaramaiah, I do not speak in a roundabout manner. I will come straight to the point.”
Taking strong exception to Siddaramaiah’s remarks against his father, Kumaraswamy said, “You are not a champion of social justice but its destroyer. It is shocking that you are pointing fingers at Deve Gowda, who gave you political strength and life. The power you hold today and the attire of a social justice crusader you wear are all gifts of Deve Gowda. You too are a product and beneficiary of his social justice.”
He further contended that had Deve Gowda been guided solely by caste or family considerations, Siddaramaiah would not have risen in politics.
“Had he thought only about his own caste and family back then, you would not have become Finance Minister, nor would you have secured even the chairmanship of a corporation,” he said.
Referring to the Chief Minister’s listing of several Vokkaliga leaders who had left the JD(S), Kumaraswamy said, “Like you, they too enjoyed power and grew in stature because of Deve Gowda’s hard work and sacrifice, and later jumped the fence. As you claim, had Gowda believed that only family mattered, none of those on the list would have become MLAs, Ministers or MPs — including you! What do you say?”
He also objected to Siddaramaiah invoking senior Congress leaders in his defence.
“Do you possess even a mustard seed’s worth of worthiness or morality to utter S M Krishna’s name? The world knows how cruelly you betrayed Krishna, whom you once described before Sonia Gandhi as ‘an unpolished diamond’ and who paved your way into the Congress,” he wrote.
Kumaraswamy rejected the Chief Minister’s claim that the Congress alone had nurtured Vokkaliga leaders. “You say it is the Congress that nurtured Vokkaligas — sheer nonsense… If the Congress alone makes Vokkaligas Chief Ministers, should you not immediately vacate the chair? This is the right time to demonstrate your love for Vokkaligas!” he said.
He also raised questions about Siddaramaiah’s second term as Chief Minister and the reported power tussle between him and his deputy D K Shivakumar.
The JD(S) leader said he welcomed the generosity of the Congress in giving capable leadership to the Vokkaliga community.
He demanded that Siddaramaiah should also need to demonstrate that generosity by vacating the top post, paving the way for a 'Vokkaliga' -- an apparent reference to Shivakumar.
According to Kumaraswamy, before Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister for a second term, there was an agreement between him and Shivakumar and he should now show the generosity to reveal it publicly. "I believe that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, who were witnesses to that agreement between the two of you in Delhi, have now understood the peak of your commitment to social justice and love for Vokkaligas. At least I believe their mental faculties are intact."
In a pointed remark on social justice, Kumaraswamy alleged that it is repulsive that the "destroyer of social justice" keeps speaking repeatedly about social justice.
"Your social justice has no conscience. If it had, Mallikarjun Kharge would have become Chief Minister before you,” the Union Minister said.
Concluding his post, he said if Siddaramaiah was truly a leader of AHINDA (an acronym for minorities, backward castes and Dalits) and a representative of social justice, he would not have dragged in the caste into which he was born at such a sensitive time.
He advised Siddaramaiah not to invoke the names of social reformers in future.
