No Muslim writers have been given a chance to participate in the poet convention, and the Byari language, which Muslims speak in coastal Karnataka, has not been considered.
Afnan Habib | TwoCircles.net
NEW DELHI — The Kannada Sahitya Parishat’s 86th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana (All India Kannada Literature Conference) was inaugurated on Friday in the Haveri district of Karnataka. However, the literary festival has drawn criticism for excluding Muslim authors and litterateurs.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s hometown of Haveri is being prepared for the big event and is hosting the three-day Kannada Literature Conference.
Social media users criticized the “biased approach” in selecting panels and achievements for felicitation, sparking uproar. But the Kannada Sahitya Parishat has continued as is without any modifications.
No Muslim writers have been given a chance to participate in the poet convention, and the Byari language, which Muslims speak in coastal Karnataka, has not been considered. Other dialects like Konkani, Soliga, Tulu, and Kodava were discussed.
On January 8, Kannada activists and like-minded literary critics will hold a one-day parallel literary conference in Bengaluru to protest this “biased approach” towards Muslim writers. The conference will be presided over by renowned Kannada author Bhanu Mushtaq.
Dalit author and former official Moodnakoodu Chinnaswamy will deliver the conference’s opening address. The event will take place in Bengaluru at the Alumni Association’s premises close to K.R. Circle.
The program, which has been named ‘Jana Sahitya Sammelana’ (People’s Literature Convention), will include topics like “Domination and politics of food,” “Attacks on minorities and Dalits,” “Responsibilities of Literature World,” and “Contribution of Christian Missionaries to the Kannada language.”
Afnan Habib is a freelance journalist based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He tweets @afnanhabib_