Saffron strikes again. After the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, National Council for Educational Research and Training and the Lalit Kala Akademi, the Right lobby is seeking to oust Left from the prestigious Sahitya Akademi in Monday’s election to the post of its president. The two candidates in the fray are Mahashweta Devi and Gopichand Narang, seen as nominees of the Left and BJP, respectively. If writers holding a grouse against the Left lobby for not getting Akademi awards in the past are saying it’s time for a change, those opposed to the saffron lobby contend that it’s a battle not just for the post of the president but for the soul of the organisation. Most of the voters, around 80 of them, admit that never in the past has there been such rivalry for the post. With outsiders in the picture, it’s a neck-and-neck fight and the atmosphere is vitiated. Namwar Singh, who has long been associated with the Akademi and who is believed to have persuaded Mahashweta Devi to join the contest, calls Narang a candidate of the RSS lobby. He points out that Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi had himself described Narang as ‘‘the pride of Urdu’’ and urges that every attempt should be made to stop the ‘‘politicisation’’ of the Akademi. The saffron lobby even questions Mahashweta Devi’s decision to contest, adding that they had nothing personal against her. Renowned writer Himanshu Joshi says the Jnanpith Awardee is too senior to be in the fray. Chitra Mudgal, another novelist, claims Mahashweta Devi had herself stated at a press conference that she did not want to contest but did so after being asked by Namwar Singh and Ashok Bajpai (also belonging to the Leftist lobby.) ‘‘This indicates that even after being elected, she might work under their pressure,’’ reasons Mudgal. While she too wants a woman to head the Akademi, Mudgal adds, it should not be under the pressure of anyone. Mahashweta Devi is pained by the allegations. ‘‘I never thought elections to the post could turn out to be so political,’’ she told The Indian Express. ‘‘I was surprised to read that BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu had complained to the HRD Minister that the Akademi had been taken over by Marxists.’’ She added that no one had pressured her to contest and asserted she would ‘‘try to ensure that an organisation like the Sahitya Akademi is saved from saffronisation’’. Narang for his part denies he is being propped up by the Sangh Parivar. ‘‘I am a nationalist to the core,’’ he says, ‘‘a socialist committed to secular ideals. I am a Rajiv Gandhi awardee and have served Jamia Milia Islamia for 14 years. Where was the BJP when I fought and won the Akademi’s vice-president post? Why should they back me now?’’ Mudgal voices the main grouse of many against the Left lobby at the Akademi — some name Secretary K. Sachidanandan — that it always selected own people for awards, such as poets Rajesh Joshi, Leela Dhar Chagudi or Arun Kamal. ‘‘What is the harm if there is a change even in the Akademi?’’ Mudgal says. ‘‘We have seen one lobby, let us see the other too.’’ However, others point out that whatever the result, the contest isn’t healthy for the organisation. Pointing out that the Akademi was once headed by the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Zakir Hussain and S. Radhakrishnan, Joshi says: ‘‘Both the groups are to be blamed for lowering its dignity.’’
