This is an archive article published on May 20, 2023

Opinion May 20, 1983, Forty Years Ago: Amrita on her poems

The notice served by the SGPC, Amritsar, on Amrita Pritam for writing poems alleged to be offensive to the religious susceptibilities of the Sikhs has left the poetess completely bewildered.

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The five impugned poems were published 13 years ago and have been celebrated as works of great literary merit.

May 20, 2023 06:30 AM IST First published on: May 20, 2023 at 06:30 AM IST

The notice served by the SGPC, Amritsar, on Amrita Pritam for writing poems alleged to be offensive to the religious susceptibilities of the Sikhs has left the poetess completely bewildered. The five impugned poems were published 13 years ago and have been celebrated as works of great literary merit.

Congress (I) attacked

The Pradesh Congress (I) headquarters situated in the heart of the city was set on fire by National Conference workers in Srinagar while hundreds of policemen stood by as mute spectators. Contingents of the Kashmir Armed Police had been given no orders to control the hooligans, who, armed with lathis, ransacked the building and beat up 200 Congress (I) workers trapped inside.

States demand relief

Both the Congress (I) and Opposition-ruled states demanded higher foodgrains allocation from the central pool at the third meeting of the advisory council on the public distribution system. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra focused the Centre’s attention on the severe drought situation and pleaded for immediate relief.

Cannes winners

Shohei Imamura’s the Ballad of Narayama, a heart-wrenching work depicting life in a poor Japanese village in the late 19th Century, won the 36th Cannes festival’s Palme D’or for Japan. Announcement of the award by jury chairman William Styron brought cheers from a crowded press conference. The US novelist also announced that instead of the traditional director’s prize, the jury was awarding a Grand Prix of creative cinema (Grand Prix du Cinema de Creation) to both French director Robert Bresson for L’Argent (money) and Soviet director-in-exile Andrei Tarkovsky for the Italian entry Nostalgia.