Kannur: Most of the leaders who came to power after the colonial rule in the country treat the people like they are feudal or tribal leaders, said writer Zacharia. While speaking on the topic of “The Journey of Malayali” at the Kannur Literary Festival organised by Kannur Jawahar Library. 

“In no other democratic country, people would be forced to bow down before the political bigwigs and rulers like what we see in India. This shows the pathetic fall of democracy in the country.  It is the internal feudalism that causes this. Even in front of government officials, people have to bow down. In democratic countries other than India, there are no such demonstrations of power. Equality is genuinely upheld. Some ministers have told me that when  leaders go to events without police escorts, people feel disappointed”, he said.

“This is both a hereditary issue and a peculiar Indian disease.  Neither Gandhi nor Nehru cultivated a mindset of dominance and submission. People had a reverence for them”, said Zacharia.

On the first day of the Kannur Jawahar Library Literary Fest, there was a discussion on 'The Journey of the Malayali' with Zacharia and Dr. Ajay Kumar Kodoth participating.

“Although American democracy is controlled by the dominance of capital, there is no authoritarian rule over the people by the rulers. If national leaders walk through American cities or London, no one cares to acknowledge them. In India, however, those in power show an arrogance of being the masters of the people. Politics is not about affiliation with political parties but about nation-building. The ability to restrain politicians is the power of citizens. Only a small section of the youth are the pawns of political parties. The rest of the youth are not slaves to parties. That is my hope. However, they are leaving the country”, Zacharia pointed out.

“Fundamentally, Malayalis are travelers. The curiosity of the Malayali about matters unrelated to him is what drives him to travel. One of the most important links in the Malayali renaissance is S.K. Pottekkat's travelogue. He opened the doors to the world. Video-based travelogues will not affect printed literature”, said Zacharia. Dr. Ajay Kumar Kodoth was the moderator.

The literary festival was inaugurated by Zacharia, with Sadanand Menon delivering the keynote address. Writers C.V. Balakrishnan, Shahina K. Rafeeq, M. Rathnakumar and V.P. Kishore spoke.

P.N. Gopikrishnan gave a talk on the topic 'Contemporary Political Issues.' Dr. E. Unnikrishnan and M. Suchitra participated in the environmental discussion. Vinod Payyad moderated. The folklore discussion featured Dr. Govindavarma Raja, Dr. Y.V. Kannan, V.K. Anil Kumar and Dr. P.K. Bhagyalakshmi.