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Naipaul's comments on BJP-SS victory in Maharashtra (fwd)
>From: Niharika@ix.netcom.com (Murthy Tadepalli)
>Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Indian Express, April 2, 1995
* * * * * *
LONDON - The eminent writer, V.S.Naipaul, has offended the high
priests of political correctness yet again. Answering a few questions
after a reading from his books at the Nehru center on Thursday, Sir
Vidia said that the victory of Shiv Sena and BJP in Maharashtra "had to
happen".
"It is a good sign" he said, "it is not a cause of anxiety, I
am not worried".
Describing the phenomenon a "movement", a point he was at pains
to emphasise, Naipaul said that "you must be sympathetic to a movement that
is laying claim to the land. You can not dismiss it as a fascist.
The author of India: A Million Mutinies said that what is
happening in Maharashtra is similar to the "movement from below" in
Bihar.
"All the things that allowed India to be conquered in the past
is now working in a democratic manner", the author said.
in 1993, Naipaul created a minor furore in India when he
described the demolition in Ayodhya as part of a "mighty creative
process". His comments on thursday suggest that he has not revised his
assessment.
He said that he had been criticised for giving undue importance
to the Shiv Sena. After the election results he felt that he had not
erred.
Admitting that his views on India have changed since "An Area
of Darkness" was published in the sixties, Naipaul said that both he as
well as India have changed.
He suggested that his observations in "India: A Wounded Civilization"
on the inability to cope with the pre-Islamic past remained valid. Naipaul's
comments are likely to trigger another furious row.
When asked about this, he told this correspondent: "I am
outside the arena of partisan debate".
