Thrissur: Renowned writer Arundhati Roy said that what’s happening in Manipur is nothing but genocide. "Manipur is witnessing a kind of ethnic cleansing.The centre is complicit., the state is partisan, and the security forces are split. Manipur is  not an isolated case. It is burning down everywhere." She was speaking  at the Thrissur Sahitya Akademi Hall on Sunday after receiving the  Navamalayali cultural prize on Sunday. “The state machinery has failed to a put an end to the crisis in the northeastern state. Rape is being used as a weapon of violence. The situation is such that women are instigating men to rape other women. The police are handing over women to the mob to get raped,” said Arundhati.

The author of ‘The God of Small Things’ said that “Cosmopolitanism is the only answer to fascism. 25 years ago, when I started writing, I had received ‘warnings’. But the situation is now totally different. Your opponents, they don’t just ‘warn’ you; they ‘burn’ you instead,” said the world famous author. 

“Fascism is increasingly talking about localism. While Manipur is burning, PM Modi is tweeting about his dinner, that’s the state of affairs these days,” she mocked.

The author handed over her prize money to a trust which encourages writers and works for social causes. Poet PN Gopikrishnan chaired the event. Dr J Devika had handed over the honours to Arundhati Roy. In her speech, the Booker Prize winner also demanded the immediate release of human rights activist Grow Vasu.