Nisanth has also garnered support from various quarters after being targeted by the college management. “I am very happy that people have responded and supported me. A small opinion of mine has given way to a big debate,” she says. It is perhaps because of this that the college management has decided not to initiate any action against her.
The incidents following the beef festival at the Kerala Varma College have sparked protests across the state. In a show of solidarity, the SFI conducted beef festivals in many other colleges in Kerala. Most of these festivals also turned violent with parties like the ABVP opposing them. The beef festival organised at the CMS College in Kottayam was marked with incidents of violence with students clashing with each other. The festival organised at the SN College in Vatakara, Kozhikode, also saw students getting involved in fights.
The situation became more noticeable when it was reported by mainstream media. More tension followed when noted TV anchor and BJP supporter, Rahul Easwar’s stand on the issue was openly criticised by a group of students. Students shouted slogans against him when he visited the MSM College in Alappuzha to take part in a seminar. They demanded that Easwar should extend his support for beef festivals in the state.
“This is extremism,” says Easwar. “They blocked the gate and shouted slogans against me. Can I not live without supporting a beef festival in a secular country? If someone wants to conduct a festival, let them. Why should I be forced to support it?”
WRITERS PROTEST
The Dadri incident has brought the deeply intolerant values propogated by politicians and right-wing parties to the fore. Though ‘vigilante’ mob violence in the name of protecting the cow is not uncommon in certain belts of north India, the horror of the Dadri lynching has shocked our society forcing many to wake up and make sense of the issue. Besides student protests, many writers and cultural icons from across the country have come out to protest against the incident. Writers from Kerala have also joined the protests with veteran writer Sara Joseph declaring that she would return her Sahitya Akademi award to oppose the ‘growing communalism’ in our society under the current government. Former Akademi secretary and poet K Satchidanandan and noted Malayalam writers such as PK Parakkadavu and KS Ravikumar have also announced their resignation from the Akademi’s general council.
“There has been a gross attack on plurality and secularism in the country,” says Sara Joseph, summing up the situation in the country that led writers like her to return their awards and resign from their posts. “We have been denied all kinds of freedoms in contemporary India, the freedom to write, freedom of speech and freedom to love — all have been snatched. Now, citizens do not even have the freedom to eat the food of their choice.”
adarsh@tehelka.com
