Author Arundhati Roy | Photo: PTI
Kochi: Writer and activist Arundhati Roy expressed happiness over the Karnataka Assembly election results, saying she did not sleep the whole night. She was speaking at the Yuvadhara Youth Literature Festival here, organised by DYFI.
She also expressed concern over the threat to India's constitution, and democracy. Roy said that she had spent most of her time in North India but had never seen a land like Kerala. She also praised the state's ability to transcend Hindu-Christian-Muslim distinctions. She expressed her happiness that the party could not win a single seat in the Assembly election in the state. She stated that the BJP would set fire to Kerala if given the chance.
“I was saddened to see Keralites throwing flowers at [PM Narendra] Modi when he arrived here last time. First of all, Christian church [leaders] going and meeting him. How is this even possible? Unless you don’t know what is going on. Do you know what is going on in Manipur? Do you know what is going on in Chhattisgarh? Do you know what is happening in Jharkhand with Christians? Do you know that in the last two years, there have been 300 attacks on Christian churches? How can you even have a conversation with these people? So I was thinking what is this all about. This is like if a lit match asks firewood for a ‘chance’. Kerala will be burned down if you give them a chance,” she said.
Roy criticised the current state of journalism in India, particularly in North India, stating that good journalism is becoming extinct. She noted that major media outlets in India, including in North India, are funded by the BJP. Roy also expressed concern over the BJP's attitude towards intellectuals and warned of the consequences for the future of India's children.
The novelist then discussed her approach to writing novels and the connection between her works and reality. She expressed her commitment to continuing to criticise the government and those in power, stating that she is not interested in competing with them through elections.
She also commented on the controversial ‘The Kerala Story’ movie. Roy noted that she is not against freedom of expression but against spreading fake narratives in the name of a ‘story of 32,000 women’. Everyone knows which is the right location to make a film about gang-rape, killing babies and setting them on fire, she said.
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