Wednesday, July 06, 2016

'If you don't like a book, throw it away'

On Tuesday morning, a Madras High Court bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana delivered the verdict on a petition seeking a ban on Tamil writer Perumal Murugan’s controversial book Madhorubagan.

The court has ordered that Perumal Murugan need not withdraw his book. You can read the full judgment here.

Below is the epilogue of the verdict, laying out the reasoning for allowing Perumal Murugan the right to publish and distribute the book.

In M.F. Hussain's case, the judgment began with reference to Pablo Picasso, a renowned artiste, who defined art as “Never being chaste and what is chaste not being art”. Since in the same way writings are vehicles of personal expression, they must be understood and appreciated, even if provocative, keeping in mind our rich cultural heritage. The ancient Indian Art as depicted has encompassed eroticism as part of it. Of the so called folklore referred to by the author here, there is material to show that it was not something unknown – and this is why he has labelled his book as a novel. All writings, unpalatable for one section of the society, cannot be labelled as obscene, vulgar, depraving, prurient and immoral. Full story...

Read also: Perumal Murugan: Indian court drops charges against author


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