Tamil writer speaking on CAA cut short at book fair

Chennai: A section of litterateurs and some in the audience have accused the organisers of the Chennai Book Fair of asking writer Arumugam Tamilan to end his speech on Wednesday night for making references to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The organisers, Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI), denied the charge and said he was cut short because he had exceeded the time limit.

BAPASI president R S Shanmugham said the police had given permission to keep the fair open only till 9 pm and Tamilan was still speaking around 9.05-9.10 pm. So he was asked to wrap up.

But this didn’t cut ice with critics. “I don’t know whether the organisers have prepared any list on what is to be spoken. The idea is to suppress those who question the establishment. This is a dangerous trend,” said Tamil poet Manushyaputhiran.

Book fairs are open platforms where all ideas are discussed without any censorship, he said. “If the organisers don’t want such talks, then they should prepare a list of what they want immediately. Otherwise, they should come up with an explanation for their misdeeds like why these people are prevented while expressing their ideas in the open. If we can’t talk about CAA and NRC, then we can’t talk about demonetization as well,” he said.

Filmmaker Amshan Kumar said such restrictions and interferences are unfair, particularly when it comes to a book fair where ideas are expressed freely. “It’s happening quite often, and I consider this a very dangerous one. Writers are meant to speak about the issues around them. They should never be stopped. What happened at the book fair was ridiculous,” said Amshan Kumar.

Young Tamil poet Sukritharani said such attacks are against the secular fabric of society. “I was not there when this incident took place. It’s unfortunate. I heard about it later and it’s unfortunate,” she said.