Controversies, insightful debates mark 3-day Sahitya Sambhrama in Dharwad

DHARWAD: Controversy, entertainment, in-depth discussion on various aspects of literature, art and contemporary socio-cultural issues and interaction among literature lovers marked the seventh edition of Dharwad

Sahitya Sambhrama

which concluded on Sunday at the Golden Jubilee auditorium in Karntaka University here.

While owing to space crunch only about 400 people could participate in the interaction in the auditorium on each day, over two lakh people across the world watched live the proceedings on their computers thanks to website launched by VividLipi.

In the absence of writer Giraddi Govindraj who had spearheaded the previous six editions of Sambhrama and had ensured that the event proved fruitful, the organisers this time had to struggle to maintain the quality of deliberations.

Giraddi who was piqued with tendencies in the literary world to brand writers as either rightists or leftists and was trying to propagate centrist path. He had ensured that the Sambhrama’s schedule allowed space for writers from all hues.

This year's lit fest seemed to deviate from Giraddi's path and provide more space to leftist writers and themes. Baraguru Ramachandrappa who inaugurated the literary festival, novelist Laxman Gayakwad, scholar Shiv Vishwanathan and others made use of the forum to express their strong views in favour of leftist ideology and made known their anti-Modi, anti-Hindutwa stand.

Shiv Vishwanathan went to the extent of accusing the Indian Army Jawans of raping the Pakistani women in the border areas while he conveniently forgot to mention about the Pak sponsored terrorist attacks on India and humiliation of Kashmiri Pandits. His remarks against jawans drew sharp protests from people who demanded legal action against him.

During a session on ‘Whether the political ideology of M K Gandhi can be retained in contemporary politics’ held on the third day,’ politicians and thinkers like YSV Datta from JD(S), BK Chandrashelkar from Congress and Vamanacharya from the Sangha Parivar expressed their valued views.

Former minister BK Chandrashekar said it is extremely difficult to incorporate the ideologies of Gandhi in the present day politics which has transformed itself to money power and caste equations. YSV Datta said that every politician has to introspect whether Gandhi’s philosophy is implementable and if yes, what is refraining them from adopting it. Gandhi's ideology on simplicity should become a value for politicians. Politics has stooped to new low and confined itself for caste. Winning elections has become the order of the day and to be in power, all kinds of tricks are being played by all parties, he rued. A Vamanacharya observed that if there was a continuity in Gandhian principles, the scenario of the country would have changed. But, former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru abruptly ended the ideologies of Gandhi and promoted his own principle, he said.

Ex-servicemen demand apology

A group of ex-servicemen gheraoed president of Dharwad Sahitya Sambhrama Trust Raghavendra Patil and sought an apology from scholar Shiv Vishwanathan, for his derogatory remarks against the Indian Army personnel.

When Raghavendra Patil informed them that the speaker had already left, the protestors insisted that they should be allowed to express their views to the audience. Reading out a memorandum addressed to the deputy commissioner and other authorities, the ex-servicemen strongly condemned Shiv Vishwanathan's remarks and sought legal action against him.

In the afternoon Air Commodore (retired) C S Havaldar addressing the ex-servicemen outside the venue strongly condemned Shiv Vishwanathan’s remarks. “Generalising that all the army men are

rapists

is outragious. Rapes do not take place in border areas alone. They take place in educational institutions, religious institutions universities and many other places. We cannot generalise that all teachers or professors and all religious heads are rapists. If Shiv believes that all those in the army are rapists because there are rape charges against an army man, then he (Shiv) should say that he is also a rapist because, there have been cases of professors raping their students or colleagues" he said.