The maiden edition of the International Literature Festival of Kerala, which saw more than 100 sessions attended by 500-odd writers, critics and social activists from the country and outside, concluded on Saturday.
Addressing the valedictory of the ILFK, Minister of Culture Saji Cherian said the ILFK will be held next year too in a more elaborate manner. The government will give all support for the festival.
“Literature festivals organized in the public sector are rare in the country. But Kerala has already become a model by organising theatre festivals and biennale. There was a shortage of a literature festival, now that too has been fulfilled,” he said.
Platforms such as literature festivals tell us that the survival struggles of human beings have a single language. The State is expressing solidarity with the wounded and marginalized when the politics of religion threaten the very essence of plurality of the country. Such get-togethers and cultural resistances have great relevance in the contemporary Indian conditions, the Minister said.
Kerala Sahitya Akademi president K. Satchitanandan, Irish poet Gabriel Rosenstok, Palestine poet Najwan Darwish and others spoke.
Earlier while addressing a session on ‘Future of Indian Democracy’ at the ILFK, CPI(M) secretary M.V. Govindan Master said that a unity of people, who believe in democracy should be developed in the country.
“We can protect the future of the country, if we could protect the 63 % vote share of people who believe in democracy without getting scattered,” he said.
“Those who don’t have any role in developing the Indian constitution will not have any emotional link or respect towards it. They are trying to destroy the constitutional values,” he said.
A believer never can become a fundamentalist. A fundamentalist can never be a believer. For them belief is a tool for achieving many other goals. Hindu religion was never fanatic. Hindu and Hindutva are different. They are trying to replace Sree Rama with Hindutva,” he said.
India will be destroyed If the religion gets more importance than the country, said former Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran.
“Gandhiji’s Ayodhya was in his heart. He consecrated his Rama in his heart. Today Rama has been used for getting votes. But India’s Rama is the Rama of Gandhiji,” he said.
The governments should speak about the development and welfare of the people. They try to campaign about religion, when they don’t have anything to project as development, Indian Union Muslim League secretary P.M.A. Salam said.
