The knife attack on Salman Rushdie reminds us that the world is becoming a more intolerant place, especially for creative people who push the envelope in their relentless search for universal truths. We try to unpack what it portends for our collective future.
'I often faced two nagging questions. Why have I written a Hindi writer’s life in English and why about his love life? Why not, is how I often counter. Why should Agyeya be left to Hindi alone?'
Hormaz who has written a Fashion Dictionary, feels that the act of writing itself was quite painful. He imagined that it would make more sense to become a tailor or fashion designer, instead.
Lady Justice needs to take off her blindfold and see the injustice all around in her name
Former BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh’s 'Sudhirsukta' challenged and lyrically raged against the overwhelming social dominance of Goa’s influential Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) caste. Wagh belonged to the Bahujan Samaj, a collective of non-Brahmin castes.
Just below the enlightened portals of the Hindi literary world is the darkness of the Hindi public sphere and the Hindi publishing world
The idea that Allah and Prophet Muhammad’s honour needs to be upheld at any cost has firmly made a home in the Muslim mindset
For universal human rights to prevail, religion has to be kept out of public life
What will be the effect of the violent attack on Salman Rushdie globally? How will writers mould themselves in the future? Will the percentage of self-censorship go up?
Feeling offended? Look away. Don’t push your beliefs on the rest of us. In this digital age, truth will out anyway.
Bilkis Bano Case: Not only does the move set a bad precedent, but it will have wide ramifications, feel legal experts including Justice U.D. Salvi who had sentenced the 11 men to life in prison in 2008
When Legends Come Alive: Thousands of oral folk tales among Northeastern tribes carry markers of their history
English-language writers in the Valley feel discouraged to publish their books. Kashmiri-language writers have deep-dived into self-publishing. But everyone is silent on the political situation.
No one dreams of becoming a publisher. One is brought into it. So, what brings a Dalit person to English-language publishing? A first-hand experience of the trials faced by publishers working with Dalit literature
Through trials for obscenity, Saadat Hassan Manto and Ismat Chughtai remained friends for life
A mature civilisation must ensure that writers are not prosecuted or hounded for their words
Why Salman Rushdie deserves to be tried for his book 'The Satanic Verses', rather than us lamenting over his freedom of speech
How the author morphed into a purveyor of socio-political conflict and a catalyst for Muslim radicalisation
Before Salman Rushdie’s 'The Satanic Verses', a 1932 Urdu anthology 'Angarey' had instigated similar angst in India, making the uproar over later banned books pale in comparison considering this was an age innocent of social media.
In the wake of the murders of a slew of writer-activists, Dakshinayan Abhiyaan hopes to offer a platform for others to campaign against intolerance, violence, government apathy, and to instil confidence and fearlessness among artists and writers.
