'Maharashtra lit fest should be made secular'

Expressing his displeasure over the use of religious symbols and the controversy it led to, literary meet president Nagnath Kottapalle said the Sahitya Mahamandal should ensure that the meet be made secular.

After Congress leaders turned their backs on the  86th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the organisers invited BJP leader Vinod Tawde to be the chief guest for the fest’s concluding session.

Kottapalle said the mahamandal should ensure that the meet is made a more secular forum for the Marathi-speaking population the world over. He feels that cultural symbols should be studied and the use of religious symbols be avoided on this platform.

Daring Dalit writer Laxman Mane, Kottapalle said, “I will go to Satara, Mane’s native place and dare him to blacken my face. I will tell him that I never ran after politicians to receive a Padmashree.”

Without naming veteran writer Bhalchandra Nemade, he said that enlightening ourselves, and not making statements, can raise the level of our literature. He said that persistent efforts to inculcate values through literature could enrich it and serve public interest.

Moreover, Tawde said that Marathi literature should bring about gender equality to avoid incidents like the Delhi rape case. He said writers should take up the challenges posed by the digital revolution and encompass the new language spoken by youth, which is of Facebook, SMSs and Twitter. “At least the field of literature should be kept away from controversies,” he said.