Intolerance Row: Director Vikram Sampath withdraws participation from Bangalore Lit Fest

The intolerance debate hit the Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF) after Kannada writer TK Dayanand and poet Arif Raja boycotted the festival this year. They were against the comments made by author Vikram Sampath, director of the festival, on writers returning their awards to protest intolerance.

Sampath had stated that he was against writers returning the awards and said that it was politically motivated. His remarks didn't do down well with Dayanand and Raja who decided to boycott the festival. Sampath had urged the writers to reconsider their decision in a statement on November 27 but to no avail.

Now, Sampath has taken a decision to step away from the upcoming edition of the festival altogether. He explained his decision to on his Facebook page saying, "In the interest of the organisation that I founded and nurtured, which is now being linked to my personal views and targeted, I have taken the painful decision of stepping away from all responsibility of organising the Festival. Since the protesting writers had a problem with my presence and involvement with the festival rather than the festival’s nature and character - I am sure they would not have agreed to participate in the first place if it was the latter, I am hopeful that my withdrawing of involvement will now make them more comfortable with participating. The festival and the ideals it has stood for are far greater than me or any individual – it would be a shame if because of me, differing views go unheard."

Also read: Kannada writers withdraw from Bangalore Literature Festival, question political leanings of director