More flak for V-C Rai,remark ‘cheap’

Noting that such unity of purpose has never been witnessed in the divided house of Hindi literature,Vajpeyi urged all writers to boycott the Kalia-Rai duo and withdraw their works from Jnanpith. Protests are also being held outside Jnanpith’s Delhi office. Even sworn enemies — Progressives and Kalavadi writers — are chalking out a joint plan of action. The outburst is the culmination of the anger of several generations against powerful patriarchs controlling literary institutions.

As skeletons tumble out of the Rai-Kalia closet,murky deals the duo forged as the head of MGIHU and Jnanpith have also surfaced.

Interestingly,Rakesh Mishra,the interviewer who has now been accused by Rai of inserting the word “chhinal”,is a faculty in department of Women’s Studies at MGIHU. “Kitni Naavon Men Kitni Baar is the Jnanpith award winning poetry collection of legendry poet Ajneya. Rai’s paraphrasing it as Kitne Bistaron Men Kitni Baar to derogate women’s writing is the worst offence against literature,” said Vajpeyi. “These patriarchs first condemn our works as ‘ghost writing’,and when we succeed,defame us by such taunts,” said Singrauli-based writer Kavita.

The protest that began after The Sunday Express published Rai’s remarks grew manifold when Jnanpith sacked him from its panel,but his ‘apology’ was accepted by the HRD Ministry.