Arundhati’s visit to city called off
Arundhati’s visit to city called off
The controversial author's talk in the city on Sunday was cancelled to avoid backlash from various communities and right wing activist
Those hoping to hear acclaimed author Arundhati Roy speak, were in for a big disappointment. Fearing "backlash from right wing activists and caste-based groups," the organisers decided to call off the event featuring the controversial author at the nth hour on Sunday.
At the event titled 'The Half Life of Caste', the Man Booker prize winner was supposed to speak on the annotated critical edition of Dr BR Ambedkar's book, Annihilation of Caste, for which she has written the introduction. "We were informed by the publishing house that the event was to be called off on Sunday and Arundhati won't be coming to town," informs Subbareddy, manager of Lamakaan, the cultural space hosting the event.
"There have been some difficulties in the distribution of the book and it is not yet available, especially in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, etc. Meanwhile, acrimonious debates have been taking place without many people getting a chance to read it. The launch is therefore postponed till such a time as the book is widely available, and a more informed conversation can take place," read the statement issued by the publishing house.
"History is a tricky subject and people tend to jump to conclusions. Since the topic of the talk was sensitive, backlash from right wing activists and other communities was feared. Keeping this in mind, the event was called off. Not many people read Wendy Doniger's book. Yet, a major brouhaha was made about it which ultimately led to the publishing house pulping the copies. The publishers didn't want it to face the same fate as they are anyway finding it difficult to distribute it in the city," explains Subbareddy.
Meanwhile, those excited to attend the talk by Arundhati, were a disappointed lot. "Not often do acclaimed authors like Arundhati Roy visit the city. But our city has proved to be intolerant in the past few instances, so I understand the need to cancel the event," said G Krish, who was scheduled to attend the event.
Those hoping to hear acclaimed author Arundhati Roy speak, were in for a big disappointment. Fearing "backlash from right wing activists and caste-based groups," the organisers decided to call off the event featuring the controversial author at the nth hour on Sunday.
At the event titled 'The Half Life of Caste', the Man Booker prize winner was supposed to speak on the annotated critical edition of Dr BR Ambedkar's book, Annihilation of Caste, for which she has written the introduction. "We were informed by the publishing house that the event was to be called off on Sunday and Arundhati won't be coming to town," informs Subbareddy, manager of Lamakaan, the cultural space hosting the event.
"There have been some difficulties in the distribution of the book and it is not yet available, especially in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, etc. Meanwhile, acrimonious debates have been taking place without many people getting a chance to read it. The launch is therefore postponed till such a time as the book is widely available, and a more informed conversation can take place," read the statement issued by the publishing house.
"History is a tricky subject and people tend to jump to conclusions. Since the topic of the talk was sensitive, backlash from right wing activists and other communities was feared. Keeping this in mind, the event was called off. Not many people read Wendy Doniger's book. Yet, a major brouhaha was made about it which ultimately led to the publishing house pulping the copies. The publishers didn't want it to face the same fate as they are anyway finding it difficult to distribute it in the city," explains Subbareddy.
Meanwhile, those excited to attend the talk by Arundhati, were a disappointed lot. "Not often do acclaimed authors like Arundhati Roy visit the city. But our city has proved to be intolerant in the past few instances, so I understand the need to cancel the event," said G Krish, who was scheduled to attend the event.