<p>Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, under attack from right-wing elements for his novel Madhorubagan, on Saturday found support in neighbouring Kerala with writers, activists, musicians and film makers at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) reading allowed from the English translation of his book.<br /><br /><br /></p>.<p>Eminent writer N S Madhavan, who led the reading of the novel’s English version “One Part Woman” during the biennial international contemporary art event, questioned the non-committal stance taken by AIADMK and DMK, the two major political outfits in Tamil nadu, on the hate campaign against Murugan. <br /><br /><br />“Creative people feel obliged to exile themselves in such situations; we should stand together to prevent this,” he said referring to Murugan’s decision to give up writing and withdraw his books from stores in the face of protests against Madhorubagan.<br />All of them joined the audience in reading aloud excerpts of the novel that had over the past week hit headlines over protests against its alleged denigration of Hindu deities. <br /><br /><br />Writer Simon Britto said these are times when in sovereign, secular India, writers had their “necks on the line” and “assassins” were waiting at the tip of their pens.<br />Riyas Komu, director of programmes – KMB ’14, said it was the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s “responsibility” to address pertinent topical issues and the event’s promoters would try to protect the “autonomy of the artiste”.<br /></p>
<p>Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, under attack from right-wing elements for his novel Madhorubagan, on Saturday found support in neighbouring Kerala with writers, activists, musicians and film makers at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) reading allowed from the English translation of his book.<br /><br /><br /></p>.<p>Eminent writer N S Madhavan, who led the reading of the novel’s English version “One Part Woman” during the biennial international contemporary art event, questioned the non-committal stance taken by AIADMK and DMK, the two major political outfits in Tamil nadu, on the hate campaign against Murugan. <br /><br /><br />“Creative people feel obliged to exile themselves in such situations; we should stand together to prevent this,” he said referring to Murugan’s decision to give up writing and withdraw his books from stores in the face of protests against Madhorubagan.<br />All of them joined the audience in reading aloud excerpts of the novel that had over the past week hit headlines over protests against its alleged denigration of Hindu deities. <br /><br /><br />Writer Simon Britto said these are times when in sovereign, secular India, writers had their “necks on the line” and “assassins” were waiting at the tip of their pens.<br />Riyas Komu, director of programmes – KMB ’14, said it was the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s “responsibility” to address pertinent topical issues and the event’s promoters would try to protect the “autonomy of the artiste”.<br /></p>