Noted writer Nayantara Sahgal, who has been protesting against the “rising intolerance” in the country, on Saturday said she is waiting for the day when the culture minister drapes naked statues at Khajuraho with a saree.
“The way things are proceeding now under Hindutva, I am just waiting for the day when the culture minister puts sarees on the naked statues at Khajuraho because they are in a very dramatic sexual postures,” Sahgal said at a session of the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet.
While talking about censorship, the 88-year-old, who has returned her Sahitya Akademi award in protest against “rising intolerance”, said the space for dissent has vanished and dissenters are now being attacked with sticks, stones, black paint and even murder.
“The silence of the government is its answer. Or it is busy defending the Hindutva ideology,” she said adding that censorship by mob has taken over.
“It is the mob which decides what is going to be censored with threats, guns and violence,” Sahgal said.
On the last Lok Sabha elections, she said the polls were fought on the model of development and not Hindutva.
“He (Modi) never said we would turn it into a Hindu nation. This is now the government’s policy. Those who agree with us have the duty to stand up before we are converted into something which we did not wish to have,” the writer said.
She also clarified that she was not taking back the Sahitya Akademi award and questioned the timing of the Akademi’s announcement of a policy not to take back awards.
“I don’t know why this nonsense is being spread that I have taken it back. The Sahitya Akademi rang me today that it is not their policy to keep returned awards and so they are sending back the cheque I sent them,” Sahgal said.
Sahgal who spearheaded the campaign by writers and artistes against the perceived intolerance under the National Democratic Alliance government led by Modi, said the cheque which was sent in October by her, has anyways become invalid now as the Akademi did not encash it.
