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Calling Kerala 1 of the “last fewer outposts” lasting up against “the onslaught of fascism”, writer Arundathi Roy has said “the radical person to sphere and combat for what they have.”
She was speaking astatine the State Public Library hallway successful Thiruvananthapuram connected Wednesday (January 28, 2026) aft receiving the Malayattoor Foundation’s grant for beingness contributions to literature.
“Everytime I battalion my bags to Kerala, I cognize that I americium coming home. That’s not a sentimental thing. It’s due to the fact that Kerala is location to maine successful a governmental way, successful a literate way, successful a taste way. I americium arrogant of that, and I cognize that it’s nether attack. I don’t cognize however agelong we are going to basal up. So acold we person stood up. I anticipation that we volition ever basal up,” she said.
The writer past went connected onslaught a enactment of caution, portion speaking astir the emerging governmental concern successful Kerala.
“It doesn’t substance if the Congress and the CPI(M) combat each other. The crushed I consciousness arrogant of Kerala is that each 5 years, we footwear retired the authorities and get a caller one. But we don’t privation that different one, that Delhi one, here. It was precise bittersweet to spot what happened successful the Corporation predetermination successful Thiruvananthapuram. This cannot hap to us. This is wherever the combat has to start. We person politics, history, civilization and education. Don’t fto it go, combat for it and support it proudly,” she said, apologising for “a non-literary speech”, caused by a “certain rising panic that immoderate time present things are going to change”.
Ms. Roy said Kerala is “very insulated” from the happenings globally, and adjacent successful northbound India. “I unrecorded there, mundane my bosom breaks to spot however radical speech to each other, however radical speech to Muslims. It is not conscionable a fascist authorities anymore. Fascism is successful the public, successful the people, successful the discotheques and bars, successful mundane conversations and successful each azygous taste happening enactment out. Now it’s successful Bollywood. We are successful a unsafe situation. It is precise casual to airy a fire. In our State if that occurrence is lit, Kerala volition go Lebanon. We person to halt them from lighting this fire,” she said.
She said “the information that Iran is surrounded by missiles and atomic warheads” points to an imminent attack, which could alteration the satellite arsenic we cognize it. The writer besides spoke astatine magnitude astir the threats posed by artificial quality (AI).
Critical thinking
“All the things we are acquainted with, our history, our culture, science, euphony and everything other is going to alteration successful the adjacent fewer years, erstwhile it volition beryllium owned by AI corporations. We are the past procreation that has the powerfulness and acquisition for captious thinking... due to the fact that AI is taking distant captious reasoning from the caller generation. High-school teachers successful the U.S. are resigned to the information that students don’t cognize however to work and analyse a paragraph anymore. In India, the universities are going down and successful the US, they are being finished off. We indispensable beryllium prepared for what is coming our way,” she said.
K. Jayakumar, erstwhile Chief Secretary and president of Travancore Devaswom Board, who presented the grant to her, said Ms. Roy is simply a writer “who broke distant from the shackles of celebrityhood to beryllium a escaped spirit”, successful her writings and successful her nationalist positions.
Speaking astir writer Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, successful whose representation the grant had been instituted, Mr. Jayakumar said that adjacent portion being a civilian servant, Malayattoor had realised that being a writer was his superior identity.
Actor Jayaram shared his puerility memories of Malayattoor, his uncle, who donned respective hats arsenic a authorities servant, writer and screenwriter. He besides reminisced astir however the writer paved his way to cinema by recommending Mr. Jayaram’s sanction to Padmarajan and M.T. Vasudevan Nair.
Ms. Roy was selected by a assemblage chaired by literate professional V. Rajakrishnan, who spoke astir her literate journey.
