There was widespread outrage across Kerala and on social media after a woman writer who had translated APJ Abdul Kalam's last book was denied a seat on the dais at the book release function because a Hindu sect prohibits its swamis, one of whom was a guest at the event, to sit next to women.
The release of the Malayalam translation of the former president's book 'Transcendence: My Spiritual Experience with Pramukh Swamiji' was scheduled at the Sahitya Akademi hall in Thrissur on Saturday but was finally cancelled after protesters stormed the venue. The book has been translated into Malayalam by Sreedevi S Kartha under the title 'Kalaatheetham' and has been published by Current Books.
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Eminent Malayalam writer MT Vasudevan Nair was supposed to release the book by handing over a copy to Swami Brahmaviharidasji of Swaminarayan Ashram. The book, co-authored by Arun Tiwari, deals with the spiritual explorations of Kalam with Guru Pramukh Swamiji, the current head of the ashram.
Kartha alleged that the publishers did not allow her on the dais at the express request of ashram officials who informed them that Swami Brahmavihariji does not sit close to women. "I thought the publisher would tell the ashram authorities that they cannot condone such an anti-woman attitude. Current Books, which has inherited the legacy of a reformer like Joseph Mundassery, should have told the swami not to come. Instead, they decided to keep me away from the function. I feel this is an insult to the community of writers as a whole," she said.
The release of the Malayalam translation of the former president's book 'Transcendence: My Spiritual Experience with Pramukh Swamiji' was scheduled at the Sahitya Akademi hall in Thrissur on Saturday but was finally cancelled after protesters stormed the venue. The book has been translated into Malayalam by Sreedevi S Kartha under the title 'Kalaatheetham' and has been published by Current Books.
Eminent Malayalam writer MT Vasudevan Nair was supposed to release the book by handing over a copy to Swami Brahmaviharidasji of Swaminarayan Ashram. The book, co-authored by Arun Tiwari, deals with the spiritual explorations of Kalam with Guru Pramukh Swamiji, the current head of the ashram.
Kartha alleged that the publishers did not allow her on the dais at the express request of ashram officials who informed them that Swami Brahmavihariji does not sit close to women. "I thought the publisher would tell the ashram authorities that they cannot condone such an anti-woman attitude. Current Books, which has inherited the legacy of a reformer like Joseph Mundassery, should have told the swami not to come. Instead, they decided to keep me away from the function. I feel this is an insult to the community of writers as a whole," she said.