Arundathi Roy On Trial

"I had only one way- writing or madness" - Arundathi Roy
The charge-sheet against her go on thus : That she after visiting J&K to get a first-hand information about the human rights violations going on there, women being raped and tortured to death, some thrown into drains, youth mercilessly beaten-up, tortured and done to death, people fearing arrests and torture withdraw into their cocoons, the rampant unemployment among the educated youth , the sense of alienation the Kashmiris experience, leading to a united demand for 'Azadi' (Independence), okay, as an Indian citizen she is free to travel across any State she wants to visit but through her writings, speeches and social activities, allegations are being levelled against her with hurting the sense and sensibilities of the nation which are unpardonable and hence a limit is to be drawn to desist her from crossing it by those at the helm of Government and other political parties irrespective of their ideological affiliations.
She is not a politician, she never cherishes to be one, she is not a govt servant holding a position in the top echelons of power not at all her dreams or intentions, not in any way has she connived with corrupt elements and for that matter not an agent of multinational companies nor an agent of CIA, ISI or KGB, she in the true sense of that keeps a clean image unlike the ones claiming to be Mr. and Mrs Clean - the run off the mill politicians or bureaucrats of today.
She is a writer, writes fearlessly and courageously, never cares what happens next about matters of social importance which she feels like worth writing about, she speaks out frankly, courageously be it in Kashmir or Delhi even abroad. She is always on the go with matters concerning society especially matters related to the ones at the lower strata of society.
Her outspoken nature and her piercing words naturally hurt the establishment, though the VIPs and VVIPs often at the top of their voices claim to be the sons and daughters of a democratic polity and they feel badly bruised and anger rages among them especially the ones ruling our nation other political parties and a section of intellectuals.
The ones who find fault with outspoken writers and speakers often give vent to their fears about our democracy getting threatened. But these elements never talk much or are not enraged, over the real sources which are bent upon ripping apart the very national fabric of the society. See, for instance, a communal outfit like Bajrang Dal and such elements warning of dire consequences to a writer and social activist, if he or she is determined to continue with her "anti-national" actvities. Actually, who, what or which is the real enemy of a nation? A writer with the global stature like Arundathi Roy or fanatic outfits like Bajrang Dal or Sri Ram Sena? An interesting and amusing scenario like plantiff turning respondent and vice-versa. Mrs.Roy's house was ransacked by Mahila Morcha elements, the women wing of Bharatiya Janata Party, allegedly for delivering a speech against violation of human rights in Kashmir, kashmiri's alleged demand for 'Azadi' (independence) and her alleged statement that J&K is not an integral part of India. BJP demanded her imprisonment slapping charges of sedition against the writer with the scathing criticism that she is a traitor.
As psychologist and political analyst, Ashish Nandi wrote in an article published in "Outlook" magazine, nationalism and ultra nationalism gained strength both in Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party as a result of the Middle class grabbing an upperhand for the last two decades i.e, with the introduction of neo-liberal economic reforms. The middle classes according to Mr.Nandi amassed a lot of money but not the democratic values. The patriotic spirit among the middle classes upon crossing barriers nationalist and ultra nationalist sentiments began to reign supreme. Along with it the tolerance among these sections started getting eroded.
A girl child born to a Bengali Father and Keralite Mother brought up in a remote village of Aymanam of Kottayam district of Kerala, getting fed up with a frog like existence from her early days cherished dreams of fleeing her village and at the age of 18 got a train to Mumbai and fell in love with a Goan youth, they lived together for a short period and they got separated soon after, thereafter she spent her days in Delhi slum areas, her duty being cycling down the streets of Delhi carrying craps. While leading the life of a Vagabond, she met Pradeep kishen, a documentary film maker. Later she became his life-partner, and while living with him she took up reading and writing more seriously wrote two scripts, 'Electric Moon' and 'Annie gives it those ones' both of them won national recognition besides penning them she had even acted in both. She continued serious writing, penned articles and got them published in periodicals and in the meantime wrote a fiction, The God of Small Things which was epoch making and won Booker prize for it. There was no looking back since then.
A lady who saw and experienced various facets of life, later evolved into a writer and activist of global stature, she never made any compromises on her views and her fearless, frank and outspoken nature naturally gifted her with well-wishers and equal number of critics, on the verge of personal animosity.
Micro-scopic examination of her speeches and writings by legal experts on one side with prejudiced views, and on the other side a section of media community and social scientists on the hot pursuit of finding fault with her writings. What all wait Arundathi Roy is not even a matter of conjecture.