Maharashtra Government, Police
machinery and Shiv Sena have joined hands to intimidate Smt.Pushpa Bhave,
well-known public intellectual, who protested against the decision to give the
name of Bal Thackeray to the stage of upcoming Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya
Sammelan session at Chiplun. In response to her statement rightly opposing
Sahitya Sammelan’s decision, Shiv Sena leaders publicly threatened her and
‘prohibited’ her from going to Konkan region. Aligning themselves shamelessly
with Shiv Sena, police authorities in Chiplun cancelled a symposium which they
had decided to hold on the 8th of January in which Smt.Pushpa Bhave was one of
the panelists invited to speak. Police authorities did this only to avoid
Smt.Bhave speaking at Chiplun. What is more, the police have now specifically
asked Smt.Bhave not to enter Konkan! Sri.Sunil Tatkare, minister in Maharashtra ’s Congress-NCP government, who is the
chairman of Reception Committee of Sahitya Sammelan’s Chiplun session, lent his
support to Shiv Sena by affirming that the decision to give Bal Thackeray’s
name to Sahitya Sammelan’s stage will not be changed! This is just another example
of how government machinery and police under Congress-NCP rule connives with
semi-fascist forces.
Rather than being a forum of
creative discourse, Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, in recent years
has become a seat of narrow-minded controversies involving casteist and
communal right-wing forces on all sides. The Chiplun session also is having its
share of superficial controversies and muscle-flexing. Another worrying feature
is that of Hindutwa forces trying to use Sahitya Sammelan forums to legitimize
their fascistic ideology and historiography. The hall in which last year’s
Sammelan was held in Thane was named after V.D.Savarkar. This year, Bal
Thackeray’s name is being given to the main stage and an eminent intellectual
like Pushpa Bhave is being threatened for opposing that move.
The people of Maharashtra
should not allow this game-plan of Hindutwa forces to succeed. We should not
allow fascist parties to dictate terms in our state’s cultural field and
terrorize our secular intellectuals.
We condemn the tacit support extended by state government to fascist forces bringing in a situation where our state is not being run in a democratic manner as envisaged by the Constitution. We appeal to all progressive forces in Maharashtra to jointly defend constitutional freedoms and secular culture in our state.
(This is a statement issued by
DYFI, Maharashtra State Committee: on January 07, 2012, forwarded to us by Ms Rekha Deshpande)
1 comments:
There is nothing wrong in intimidating such sickulars.
Coming over game-plan of Hindutwa forces , it will suceed for sure. Better you stop opposing.
Jai Shree Ram
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