It is against creative freedom to sue Viduthalai Sigappi for expressing concern about Sewerage deaths a religious issue.
- Director Pa. Ranjith
Last April 30th, at a literary event organized by Neelam Cultural Centre, poet Viduthalai Sigappi alias Vigneswaran recited a poem titled ‘Malakkuzhi Maranam (Sewerage Death)’. The poem is an expression of concern over the constant number of such deaths across the country. The meaning of the poem was to point out the social condition that disappears despite such deaths, so that instead of ordinary people, those who are in the position of God would at least get attention if they do such work and embrace death. That is the author’s creative freedom. Otherwise, it is not the intention of the poem to write or speak in a deliberate disparagement of any belief. While that is the case, a case has been filed against Vduthalai Sigappi alias Vigneswaran in five sections at the E 4 Abhramapuram Police Station as a result of some groups on the internet for the last four days spreading the lie that ‘a person belonging to a different religion is insulting Hinduism’. Making the creative freedom of the individual a religious issue must be opposed by every lover of democracy. For the past three days, the Liberation Tigers have been personally threatened by these groups; Due to the pressure exerted by these groups, for the last three days the parents in the village of Vimithu Chikappi have been interrogated by the police. The action of the police and the Tamil Nadu government in registering a case against creative freedom without understanding or wanting to understand the essence of a work is reprehensible.
The theme of this poem is about sewerage death, which should really be the theme. Neelam Cultural Center strongly condemns the move to divert it and turn it into a religious issue.
Director Pa. Ranjith
Founder of Neelam Cultural Centre