Marathi literary artistes discuss CAA, NRC

Members of the Marathi literary community gather at Azad Maidan for a protest meet against CAA and NRC on Tuesday. Pic/Atul Kamble

In an impromptu gathering against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) at Azad Maidan, Marathi writers, poets, artists and performers discussed the current situation in the country and also spoke about ways they could create awareness through their work.

The participants not only spoke about CAA and NRC, but also read out poems and performed songs they had created and also those by other artistes. More than 150 of them were part of the gathering.

Speaking at the meeting, actor and veteran poet, Kishore Kadam, said, "Considering the number of people attending the event, it pains to see that only a few are well-informed about the topics and understand the consequences of it. Nevertheless, it's good to see that such discussions are happening among literary artists as this is where it should ideally happen." He added that being a poet himself, he couldn't neglect or not enjoy another artist's creation just because he/she belongs to a different community or religion, and the same should not happen in case of citizenship in a secular nation.

Pointing at the current situation in the country, academician and critic, Harishchandra Thorat said, "The youth of India is leading the struggle with a hope of a better tomorrow." Daughter of respected Marathi poet Daya Pawar, Pradnya Pawar, who is a poet and fiction writer herself, said, "The incidents that took place in Jamia Millia University and JNU clearly show how the knowledge centres in the country are being targeted under the government. The only way to save the nation is to come out on the streets."

Chairman of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan of 2017, Laxmikant Deshmukh, said, "Questions are bound to come up regarding what will happen to those people who will be found to be non-citizens under NRC. The government has not provided any clarity about the process and how things will work out."

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