SIR slammed by writers at conclusion of sahitya mela

Hubballi: The two-day 12th May Sahitya Mela concluded with the note of continuing struggle against fascist forces and for Dalits, minorities, women, labourers and all other downtrodden communities of the state to remain united.

Veteran novelist Kum Veerabhadrapp flagged off the protest march demanding the cancellation of SIR, from Chennamma Circle to RN Shetty Kalyana Mantap. Writer Sabita Bannadi said that the govt should have removed the names of the deceased from the voter list, but instead they have removed the names of living people. “This amounts to genocide. Making people appear dead even while they are alive—that is what SIR does” she added.



Historian Ashok Shettar said “A constitutional assault has started in India. Through SIR, crores of people are being excluded. Scholar Ramjan Dargah, poet Moodnakudu Chinnaswamy, educationist Sripad Bhat and others participated in the protest march.

Delivering the key note in poetry recital, Urdu poet Nishat Jameela from Hyderabad said that poets must continue writing by constantly questioning themselves about why they should write, and that truth must be revealed through imagination. Sharing her experience of reading the works of many renowned poets, she explained, “Imagination reveals truth. It is not merely fantasy; it is a part of reality.”

Sharing her experience of starting an organisation and working closely with women, she said she has directly witnessed communal conflicts and the oppression of women in Hyderabad, and is now fighting against them. “I am experiencing the pain of women and expressing it through qawwalis. Many women with me are also now voicing their family and social struggles through qawwalis,” she said.

Recalling the resistance she faced in 1997 when she wrote a poem opposing the burqa, she said that while it is difficult to fully represent pain one has not experienced, poetry and cultural translation can serve as tools to express the pain of the voiceless.

Presiding over the session, KY Narayanaswamy remarked that contemporary poetry has depth and subtlety in content and experience, but lacks the language of the present times, which is a major obstacle to the continuity of poetic tradition. Poets including Telugu poet Mercy Margaret from Hyderabad, recited their poems.

Activist Mavalli Shankar stated that the Congress is unable to effectively counter the BJP’s strategy known as SIR. “The previous manoeuvres implemented through SIR are dangerous, and the common people need to understand this. The rebellion literary organisation that emerged in the 1970s to oppose the KASAPA stance, and how the aspirations of the movement have been carried forward by the literary festival for the past 12 years” he added

CPI state secretary K Prakash remarked that the Election Commission claims that SIR has been conducted since 2002 as a routine process. “Despite requests made months ago to clarify the documents requested from voters in 2002, there has been no response yet. The commission continuously undertakes comprehensive voter list revisions and special voter list revisions under the Representation of the People Act. However, this is not SIR, and whether SIR is constitutionally authorised is a matter that needs to be discussed and noted by everyone. The intention behind preparing an entirely new voter list through a different SIR process must be understood in the context of politics. Among the 11 documents requested by the commission, it is challenging for the poor and marginalised to provide them. The upcoming elections in 16 states seem to be a ploy to exclude around 100 million voters through SIR. The govet, which does not accept the Constitution, the republic, secularism, and the fundamental principles of the Constitution, is attempting to implement this,” he said.

Noor Sridhar spoke about the consequences of SIR in Bihar and West Bengal, and stressed that similar repercussions should not occur in other states. He urged the people of Karnataka to be vigilant and raise awareness through anti-SIR protests.