Chennai-
Affidavit of S.Balamurugan
I, S. Balamurugan, s/o
agreement
the
officials through their action have indicated their tacit support to the
agitators.
This
raises
key
issues
of
the
role,
obligations
and
January,
2015,
during
the
Pongal
festival,
Thu
groups and driven away with his family from his village,
Kulanthiranpattu in Pudukottai district.
(ii) In 2013, K. Senthil Mallars book `Meendezhum Pandiyar
Varalaru (published in 2012) on rewriting the history of
Pandyas was banned by the TN Government and a case was
filed against him for being anti-national u/s 124A IPC. His
father-in-law was arrested and jailed and the book was
denounced as it could create disharmony amongst certain
castes.
(iii) In 2012, another author, Ma Mu Kannans house was burnt
and he was chased out of his village for a book titled,
Kaana-inaavin Kanini which addressed issues of sexual
perversion and decadence.
(iv) In 2000, HG Rasool, was forced to apologise to the Jamaat
Panchayat as his poetry book Mailanji was considered to
have anti-Islamic views.
(v)In 1992, Bama, (a pen name for a Tamil Dalit woman from a
Roman Catholic family) and her family were attacked by
locals for writing an autobiographical novel, `Karukku about
her village, the people of her community and their lives.
(vi) Apart from books, films too have not been spared attacks
by sectional groups on grounds of the creative works
offending their sentiments. For example, in 2013, the Tamil
film produced by noted actor Kamalhasan, `Viswaroopam,
was
subjected
demanding
its
to
mass
ban.
protests
The
state
by
religious
government
groups
meekly
registered,
negotiations
were
initiated
with
the
privacy
of
the
citizen
under
Art.
19(1)(a)
against
called
the
telephone
tapping
case.
(Peoples Union for Civil Liberties vs Union of India, 1997 (1) SCC
301).
(ii) In `PUCL vs Union of India, 2003 (4) SCC 399, the SC expanded
the right of citizens right to free speech and expression to
include the citizens right to Know about the antecedents of
electoral candidates as an elementary part of the electoral
system underlying republican democracy.
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(iii) In `PUCL vs Union of India, 2013 (10) SCC 1, the SC held that
making provision of the button for `None of the Above or NOTA,
is an essential part of the voters right to show her /his lack of
support to any of the contesting candidates.
It is by way of our contribution to safeguarding this very vital
right that PUCL felt that it is important to approach this Honble Court
through this PIL in the present case.
9. I state that Prof. Perumal Murugan is a prominent Tamil writer
whose work is widely acclaimed for sensitivity to local historical and
cultural practices in Tiruchengode region of Namakkal district, his
discerning and insightful understanding of social relations amongst
different social and caste groupings in the Kongu region and
meticulous research into social, anthropological and literary mores,
language and cultural expressions, sexuality and power relations and
so on. It is given his acclaimed status as one of the foremost writers in
Tamil language that we felt it important to understand why such a
violent protest had erupted over his book, `Madhorubagan, with caste
and religious groups leading the protests. In particular we, like
numerous others, were shocked when we read in the newspapers that
soon after Prof. Perumal Murugan signed an agreement before the
RDO, Namakkal on 12.1.2015, he issued a post in the Facebook page
declaring that Author Perumal Murugan has died. He is no god, so he
is not going to resurrect himself. Nor does he believe in reincarnation.
From now on, Pe. Murugan will survive merely as a teacher, as he has
been. These were strong words which mirrored the intensity of
emotional devastation he seemed to have undergone in the traumatic
weeks since early December, 2014 till the DRO-brokered agreement
dated 12.1.2015.
10.
theatre
in
Tiruchengode.
Although
from
very
humble
He
lives in Namakkal with his wife. They have 2 children, a daughter and
son who are both in college.
13.Prof. Perumal Murugan is a prolific writer in Tamil and has
published in all genres ranging from poetry, short story, essays,
collection of historical works, novels and other forms of writing, as the
following list will show:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
4 poetry collections.
(iv)
8 essay collections.
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(v)
(vi)
Nadu some time before Indias independence. The book chronicles the
life of a couple, Kali and Ponna who though intensely in love with each
other were struggling with the social implications of being childless.
The novel itself is structured around exploring the problem of
barrenness and social and community trauma that childless couples
have to undergo in some communities. It dramatises an earlier existing
custom of consensual union among consenting adults outside of
marriage encouraged during the time of village festivities thereby
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10
The novel was an instant best seller selling more than 500
copies in the 2011 Book Fair. In all Kalachuvadu has brought out 4
editions, selling over 5,000 books. It is still a popular book and has
received rave book reviews and critical acclaim from both scholars as
also litterateurs in different Tamil and English journals, magazines and
newspapers.
17.
11
18.
explained that the novel was fictional using past and extant social
practices. He also explained that the book explores many more facets
of social life and relationship in Tiruchengode, of which sexual practice
was only one dimension. When I enquired why he was at all
responding, Prof. Perumal Murugan explained that being a local person
himself, he felt it was important for him to explain to people the
background to the novel as they, like him hailed from the same place
and required to hear his point of view. During my discussions with him,
Prof. Murugan came through as a gentle, sensitive and caring human
being; and so I could well believe him when he said he initially felt
obliged to explain the work to those who questioned his work.
20.
to him that these were not mere local people upset about some parts
of the book. There was a pattern behind the way they started abusing
and threatening him, for every caller had a similar demand: extend
unconditional apology for hurting the sentiments of local people,
especially women and change the name of Tiruchengode in future
editions. The tone and tenor of the calls also became very threatening
and intimidating. During this time he said he was also accosted on the
streets and in public places by people, posing as locals, who
aggressively demanded he apologise for hurting their sentiments. Very
soon it became apparent that apart from local people, Hindu ideology
groups like RSS, Hindu Munnani and other outfits, including local BJP
party
members,
as
also
caste
based
organisations,
especially
12
21.
over 10,000 small booklets of his book containing the cover pages
(front and back sides) which included his contact number and address,
and specific pages, viz., 84, 85, 86, 87, 115, 117, 118 and 172 in which
select paragraphs / lines were underlined suddenly surfaced. These
booklets were circulated throughout Tiruchengode, especially amongst
women. The booklet did not contain the name of the organisation
which had printed it or who was circulating it. The intention seemed to
ensure that whoever read the booklet containing isolated pages torn
out of their context in the book, would not only get a wrong and
distorted understanding of the work but also become prejudiced
against the author.
22.
circulated. This time too, without any name, but providing contact
numbers for readers to contact. These were 94432-52682; 9578131287; 98427-47547; 94432-59496. The pamphlet highlighted how the
novel brought disrepute and infamy to the local men, women and
society of Tiruchengode amongst neighbouring areas, created feeling
of disgust about them and also affected their livelihoods. The pamphlet
demanded that the Government of TN should prosecute the author
under the most stringent provisions of criminal law and that he should
be dismissed from his post of Professor in the local Namakkal Arts
College for poisoning the minds of students with such filthy ideas and
bad practices.
23.
these pamphlets he and his wife felt very distressed. On one hand they
felt genuinely concerned that so many local people were upset about
the book and could not understand that it was a fictional work; on the
other hand, the viciousness of the personalised attacks unnerved them
both. While they feared for their personal safety, they hesitated to go
to the police lest the issue flare up more and reach a point when there
could be no reconciliation. He said he kept trying to reach out to the
local leaders to explain and reassure them that he meant no
disrespect. But he didnt succeed.
24.
hostility
animosity
engineered
by
vested
groups.
It
was
13
25.
caste and religion based groups had publicly announced their plan to
take a procession in Tiruchengode demanding a ban of the novel
`Madhorubagan and arrest of its author.
26.
by the Morur Kannakula Kongu Naatu Velalar Trust with the Inspector of
Police, Tiruchengode naming (a) Prof. Perumal Murugan and (b) Ms.
Shalini as Editor, Kalachuvadu and demanding action against them
under secs. 295 (A), 501, 502 and 120 (b) IPC. This complaint also
specified certain pages of the book namely Pages 86-87, 116-118, 127
and 172 as the offending pages which were the same pages mentioned
in the pamphlet circulated throughout the town. It is important to point
out here, that Ms. Shalini is not the editor of Kalachuvadu but is only an
employee of the publication.
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No. of Corrns.:
14
29.
very tense and hostile to him, Prof. Perumal Murugan heard about a
plan to organise a bandh on 9.1.2015. Posters and pamphlets had been
circulating
his book was causing so much uproar and felt bad as a bandh would
seriously inconvenience so many common people. So he decided to
appeal directly to the people through a Press statement dated
7.1.2015. In this statement he clearly explained that Madhorubagan is
a work of fiction and Tiruchengode in the novel is not the town it is
today. He also clarified he had no intention of insulting Tiruchengode,
its people, religion or caste and explained that the story is a fictional
creation based on traditions as traced in sources as varied in the
Mahabharatha to folk lore. Expressing his regret at what people were
feeling about the novel, on his own volition, he offered to remove all
references to Tiruchengode in subsequent editions of the novel and
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15
requested
people
not
to
engage
in
any
protest
that
would
16
could not be assured. Left with no option, he left Namakkal with his
family on the same night.
35. Prof. Perumal Murugan reached Chennai on 9 th Jan, 2015 a
very disappointed, dejected and disheartened person. He later learnt
that the bandh had been conducted with the police standing as mute
spectators. It was equally apparent that the police had no intention of
trying to avert the bandh and had not seriously done anything to
implement the rule of law or to bring about any rapprochement
between the local protestors and Prof. Perumal Murugan. In actuality by
their inaction, right from mid-December, 2014 when thousands of
booklets and pamphlets were freely circulated in Tiruchengode, or
even when posters and notices were publicly displayed seeking
support for the bandh,
They
were
also
playing
17
Kalachuvadu in their complaint. This shows that the agitators did not
have knowledge about the Tamil literary field as anyone with even
remote acquaintance with Tamil literary field will know that Mr. Kannan
has been the editor and publisher of Kalachuvadu Publications for over
20 years.
named
because
her
name
finds
mention
in
the
preface
to
Murugan, wanted to settle the matter and get on with his life by
attending the peace talks in Namakkal. Mr. Kannan reportedly declined
to go to Namakkal without proper and formal intimation. He informed
that he received notice of the meeting to be held on 12.1.2015 only on
13.1.2015 and even this was wrongly addressed to Ms. Shalini. This
shows that even the officials did not bother to verify any fact and
blindly followed the dictates of the agitators.
39.
Prof.
Perumal
Murugan
said
he
contacted
Mr.
G.R.
18
19
hate campaign against him and his novel; they had also done very
little to make Perumal Murugan feel secure or to make the exercise a
fair one which protected his freedom as a writer. It was under such
circumstances, he said, seeing no other option, he capitulated and
signed the impugned agreement dated 12.1.2015 even though he
personally felt it was unfair, discriminatory and obtained under duress.
43. Prof. Murugan said that he was so emotionally and
personally traumatised by the entire incident, that after his return
home from the Namakkal Collectorate, he felt that the writer in him
had been forcibly killed. He felt very humiliated for being forced to
seek an apology. As he explained it, deep down he had doubts about
the future of his writing. He felt apprehensive that at any time, anyone
could raise a controversy over any of his books. Since many of them
deal with social, cultural and political realities and relationships, all of
them were potential targets of some bigoted mind or other. At that
moment, he said, he could not see a viable and meaningful future for
himself and his writing. Considering the hostile caste and communally
oriented forces who were arrayed against him, and seeing the full
support of the district administration and police to them, he felt lonely,
atomised, powerless and defenceless. It was in this circumstance of
acute personal distress that on 12.1.2015 itself he wrote the agonising
statement in the Facebook page announcing the Author Perumal
Murugan has died.
44. I submit that Prof. Perumal Murugam was given a copy of the
official summons dated 11.1.2015 issued by the 5 th respondent, DRO,
Namakkal during the Peace Meeting at the Namakkal Collectorate on
12.1.2015. From the summons he came to learn that 5 Hindu religious
and caste groups had given complaints to the 8 th respondent, Inspector
of Tiruchengode Town Police Station, about the novel `Madhorubagan
and himself, and some of them represented groups which participated
in the procession on 26.12.2014, the day the book was burnt. The
organisations and their leaders included: (1) Mr. Pon Govindaraj,
Arulmigu Ardhanareeswarar Kovil Nala Sangam; (2) Mr. Chinnasami,
Hindu
Munnani;
(3)
Mr.
Kandasami,
Morur
Kannankula
Kongu
20
21
22
and
socially
concerned
writer
thereby
violating
his
shall
or
shall
not
receive
or
read
as
consumers
of
23
of
reasonable,
strong
minded
firm
and
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No. of Corrns.:
24
policies
is
not
ground
for
restricting
recognised
the
of
our
importance
While
an
informed
citizenry
is
pre-
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No. of Corrns.:
25
far
from
being
co-extensive.
criminality
An expression of
same cannot be
Khushboo
vs
26
27
GROUNDS
i. The actions of the Respondent officials is unconstitutional, illegal
and has resulted in violation of fundamental right to free speech
and expression guaranteed under Art. 19(1)(a) of the Indian
Constitution.
ii. The actions of the officials have resulted in violation of the
fundamental rights of Prof. Perumal Murugan under Article 19(1)(a)
read with Art. 21 of the Indian Constitution.
Page No.: 2
No. of Corrns.:
28
iii.
maintain law and order in the state and failure to maintain the law
and order situation cannot result in suppressing free speech and
expression.
iv. There has been gross abdication of constitutional obligation to
protect the rights of citizens and enforce rule of law by the district
administration of Namakkal district and the police resulting in
serious harm to a writer like Prof. Perumal Murugan and violation of
his fundamental rights under Art. 19(1)(a) and Art. 21 of the
Constitution.
v. The officials have permitted the protestors in Tiruchengode to
take law into their own hands and to dictate what is to be printed
or published. This is against guaranteed fundamental rights of
writers and authors to write at will about any subject provided they
do not fall foul of the restrictions permissible under Art. 19(2).
vi. The impugned agreement dated 12.01.2015 has to be struck
down as illegal and unconstitutional as it has been obtained under
duress and threat of force by R 3, DRO, Namakkal and other
officials named in this writ petition.
vii. It is legally impermissible for the district administration and the
government authorities to convene `Peace Committee meeting
calling the writer Prof. Perumal Murugan, on the one side and
hostile and unrepentant protestors on the other, to come to an
agreement on curtailing the fundamental rights guaranteed under
Art. 19(1)(a) to the writer. Hence the convening of the `peace
committee on 12.1.2015 itself should be held to be illegal, gross
abuse of power by the DRO and other officials, including the
District Collector and SP.
viii. Till date the police officials of Namakkal District as also local
officials in Tiruchengode town have not taken action to prosecute
those who burnt the books of Prof. Perumal Murugan and indulged
in other unlawful activities on 26.12.2014. Their failure to prevent
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29
30
non-state
or
extra-constitutional
individuals,
groups
and
Administrative
Training
Institutes
and
Judicial
Training
Before Me
Advocate, Chennai
Page No.: 2
No. of Corrns.:
31
Petitioner
Versus
State of TN, rep by
Chief Secy, Govt. Of TN
And others
..
Respondents
Affidavit of S. Balamurugan
32
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