BTW Maria Aurora Couto responded to the article here: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-sahitya-akademi-row-padma-shri-awardee-maria-aurora-couto-responds-to-charges-of-hypocrisy-2138134
Augusto On Sun, Oct 25, 2015 at 2:23 PM, augusto pinto <pinto...@gmail.com> wrote: > I think the point Jason Amita Dale Vishvesh and Kaustubh collective, who I > shall call name JADViK for short, were perceptive in noticing the use of > the word 'Talibanization' where the issue at hand was of 'Hindutva > extremism' It is a valid point and one that the other littérateurs should > have cottoned on to, but whom I forgive because when I read it myself I > hadn't noticed. > > However the central issue that JADViK raises is uncannily like the point/s > that Arnab Goswami most prominently but other TV anchors also make in their > nightly inquisitions. The awardees are questioned not for criticizing the > Sahitya Akademi now but because they have not been critical in other cases > and at other times. > > I think that that to expect so much ideological agreement across the board > is pretty unrealistic. As it is I find the consensus surprising and I said > earlier - when 3 writers get together expect 5 opinions. > > However the good thing about JADViK's comment is that it provides a > counterweight to the Bharatiya Bhasha people who were making threatening > sounds about raising the MOI issue pitch which resulted in Maria Aurora > Couto making a statement about different communities going to get torn > apart. The JADViK statementto this. > Augusto > > On Sun, Oct 25, 2015 at 10:21 AM, augusto pinto <pinto...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> THE HYPOCRISY OF GOA’S PROTESTING AWARDEES >> <http://daleluismenezes.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-hypocrisy-of-goas-protesting.html> >> >> >> By JASON KEITH FERNANDES, DALE LUIS MENEZES, AMITA KANEKAR, VISHVESH >> KANDOLKAR, and KAUSTUBH NAIK >> >> In the context of a number of Sahitya Akademi awardees across India >> returning their respective awards in protest against the growing >> intolerance in India, in Goa around fourteen Sahitya Akademi awardees >> together with Padmashri awardees Maria Aurora Couto and Amitav Ghosh came >> together and issued a joint statement on 15 October, 2015. One would be >> struck by the hypocrisy contained in their press note released were it not >> for the fact that their politics of intolerance is so blatantly displayed >> all over the same note. >> >> In their statement these local notables condemn “the rising trend of >> intolerance in the country which threatens freedom of expression…[and] the >> age-old liberal and all-encompassing philosophical traditions of this >> country.” One would take this concern seriously were it not for the fact >> many of these notables have been complicit not only in acts of intolerance >> themselves, but also physical violence. >> >> For some years now there have been demands from many quarters that >> Konkani literature written in the Roman script also be given governmental >> recognition. But Sahitya Akademi awardees like Pundalik Naik and N. >> Shivdas, who have presided over the Goa Konkani Academy, have not felt it >> necessary to take up this cause and ensure that a Konkani tradition with a >> longer history than that in the Nagari script one is recognised. On the >> contrary, all of these protesting SahityaAkademi awardees and Padmashri >> Couto have watched silently while Roman-scriptKonkani has been officially >> ignored and excluded from all kind of state recognition, including awards >> and grants. >> >> In addition, these persons have maintained a studious silence while their >> associates, such as Uday Bhembre and Nagesh Karmali, have engaged in the >> most vicious hate speech against the Catholic community in the course of >> the Medium of Instruction controversy (that has raged from 2011), when Goan >> parents demanded the right to determine the manner in which their children >> are educated. Where was their concern for the alleged liberal traditions, >> and traditional bonhomie, of Goa then? >> >> To make matters worse, these same notables watched silently when in 2005 >> Naguesh Karmali, a member of this verygroup of protestors, led a violent >> mob in destroying public and private property on the grounds that such >> property was encouraging Portuguese (read as Catholic) culture in Goa.Given >> that Goa has had a long and historical relationship with Portugal, doesn’t >> the violent smashing of manifestations of this relationship amount to an >> act of the very same rabid communalism that these worthies profess to >> protest against? >> >> In light of these inconsistencies, and the equally amusing announcement >> that they will hold on to their awards until the meeting of the executive >> committee of the Sahitya Akademi, it appears that these awardees seem more >> interested on jumping onto the bandwagon of political trendiness, than for >> any desire to stand against the growing intolerance in the country, and >> indeed, Goa itself. >> >> We would like to stress that while it is true that the government of Mr. >> Modi has definitely presided over a rise in intolerance in the country, the >> roots of this intolerance lie deeper in the country’s history. As we have >> already pointed out, a number, if not all, of these Goan awardees are >> complicit in this intolerance. Their complicity is further evident in the >> manner in which they phrase their protest within the language of Hindutva. >> Why, for example, are the recent acts compared to ‘talibanism’, instead of >> calling them Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism? Talibanism is a phenomenon >> situated outside the country, when Hindutva is the problem actually at >> hand, given that Kalbargi, Pansare and Dabholkar lost their lives as a >> result of their opposition to this ideology. Indeed, Hindu nationalism has >> been a problem since before Indian independence. In referencing the >> Taliban, these awardees continue the refusal to recognize Hindu nationalism >> as the single greatest cause of concern in this country since 1947. >> >> In conclusion, we would be more convinced of the genuine concerns of >> these state awardees from Goa if we heard them also protest the exclusion >> of Konkani in the Roman script from legislative recognition, also the >> violent condemnation of the Goans who are simply asking for English as a >> state-supported medium of <https://www.blogger.com/null>instruction for >> their children, and also the lack of implementation of constitutional >> guarantees for education and jobs to historically discriminated-against >> Goan communities. Such protests would go further in establishing norms for >> the respect of fundamental rights, and the establishment of law and order >> in our state and country. >> > >
