Cultural leaders condemn political violence


A state-level cultural gathering in protest against the political violence in the state was held at the Kerala Sahithya Akademi, here, on Saturday.


Leaders from the socio-cultural sphere, who took part in the gathering, urged the political parties in the state to be more democratic and civilised in their functioning.


The gathering, moderated by veteran journalist and human rights activist B R P Bhaskar and led by social activist and writer K Venu, discussed a plethora of subjects related to the murder politics and its legitimacy in civilised society.


The main focus in the speeches was the cultural shock in the wake of the murder of  T P Chandrasekharan. While condemning the attack, writer Zacharia said the murder of Chandrasekharan has once again revealed the barbaric mindset of the CPM.



 Emphasising that he was not with people who favoured cruelty and political violence, Zacharia said non-violence should be the response to even the most pressing challenges.Writer Sarah Joseph said that time is up for the advocates of violence to have an introspection. No civilised and democratic society can accept these type of barbaric killings on any account. She added that one cannot justify the suffocating silence of renowned writers on the killings. A handout circulated in the venue as part of the gathering suggested the installation of webcams at party meeting venues and making the proceedings available online.


While the draft said it does not expect a sea change overnight, it emphasised all organisations to pick up the cue. M G S Narayanan, who took part in the discussion, said it is a fact that modern day politics wields the propensity to promote ethnocentrism and violence. The core of politics should be self-criticism but not violence, he said.


Dr M Gangadharan, C R Parameswaran, M N Karassery, K P Sudheera, Asha Menon and K Venu also took part in the discussion.

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