Curators and Organizers of the Vidarbha Literary Festival Resign Following 'Right-Wing Threats'

Festival Organizers Resign Amid Right-Wing Concerns, Casting Uncertainty Over Vidarbha Literary Festival.

on Oct 12, 2023

Curators and Organizers of the Vidarbha Literary Festival Resign Following 'Right-Wing Threats' | Frontlist

According to sources close to the festival, activists from right-wing organizations raised concerns about four of the many speakers invited to the event.

The Vidarbha Literary Festival's three curators and organizers have resigned, allegedly after right-wing militants began threatening them and approaching crucial family members. The festival, which began just months before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and is strictly dedicated to nonfiction literature, is set to hold its next edition in February 2024. However, curators Sukhada Chaudhary and Pawan Sarda, as well as organizer Ruta Dharamadhikari, decided to stand down last week.

According to sources close to the festival, activists from right-wing organizations raised concerns about four of the many speakers invited to the event. The objection was raised in response to the festival's invitation of journalists and authors such as Aakar Patel, Josy Joseph, Shruti Ganpataye, and Shivam Shankar Singh. Around 40 speakers were invited to present at the February 2024 edition.

Patel, a strong critic of the Modi regime, has lately published two books about the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. The Silent Coup: A History of India's Deep State, by investigative journalist and author Joseph, delves into the Indian security establishment's anti-Muslim attitude.

Ganpatye, a Mumbai-based journalist, has published Who Will Bell The Cow? : Beef Ban: Decoding its Cultural, Social, and Economic Aspects in India, as well as Singh's The Art Of Conjuring Alternate Realities: How Information Warfare Shapes Culture. Political campaigns and deception are examined in Your World.

According to Chaudhary, the decision was made in response to the withdrawal of some of the festival's main sponsors. Chaudhary stated that the initial complaint was raised against more than four speakers. "We managed to salvage the situation and persuade them (the sponsors)." "However, they refused to be persuaded about the four key speakers at the event," Choudhary stated.

She also stated that right-wing individuals approached the families of key team members. "The pressure was applied from various angles. "When they realised we wouldn't budge if the sponsors pulled out and we tried to raise funds on our own," she explained.

Chaudhary, Sarda, and Dharamadhikari had to choose a choice. Whether to relinquish control of the festival or to step down. "The situation that we found ourselves in, only the latter was possible," Chaudhary said in a statement. According to the curators, this occurred because they could not have run the show without the help of sponsors. "Those who withdrew actually were funding over 60% of the total budget," Chaudhary said.

It was proposed that the festival focus on nonfiction writers. Many writers recognised for their critical take on the current regime were invited to the festival again in 2020. "For example, say Akshaya Mukul was one of the speakers." However, the festival was not as well recognised at the time. It was our first attempt to gather together writers. "And we did it without any resistance," Chaudhary says.

Chaudhary declined to disclose names when asked who had approached them, their families, or the sponsors. "In Nagpur, the commercial and local communities are extremely small. "It took a lot of guts to publicly announce that we were stepping down," she remarked.