A collective of writers, publishers and historians wrote to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin calling for the release of political commentator and publisher Badri Seshadri, who was arrested a few days ago.
In a YouTube video, Mr. Seshadri had made comments that were critical of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), and the Supreme Court, over its hearing of a case on the Manipur violence.
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The letter stated that they wished to draw the attention of the Chief Minister to the crucial question of freedom of expression.
“There is no doubt that Badri Seshadri’s outburst deserves unequivocal condemnation. However, we strongly believe that arrest is an extreme reaction to such an infringement and goes against the spirit of the constitutional assurance of freedom of expression,” the letter read.
Writers Ambai, Paul Zacharia, Perumal Murugan, musician and author T.M. Krishna, historian A.R. Venkatachalapathy, subaltern historian Stalin Rajangam, professor Rajan Krishnan and publisher Kannan Sundaram were the signatories of the letter.
Stating that the Government of Tamil Nadu was following the Dravidian Model of Governance which is inspired by the ideals of Periyar, Anna and Karunanidhi and was strongly committed to freedom of expression, the collective said that they expected the Tamil Nadu Government which differs vastly from other State Governments of the Indian union, to be an exemplary model in this matter.
“Periyar strongly urged the people to ‘not heed meaningless words, consider everything rationally, and act in a manner in conformity with reason.’ Periyar not only advocated the right to expression but also the right to hear every point of view. Periyar trusted in the rationality of people and their ability to discriminate right from wrong,” they said.
Calling for his release at the earliest, they also encouraged the refutation of his unacceptable views on various forums.
