Then there were writers like Gauri Lankesh who I never met but would text me on Facebook.

Scholar Anand Teltumbde (who is in jail for the Bhima Koregaon case) would ask me to write essays in my late teens and early 20s. I see all of this taking place in absolute continuity. I’m a voice cultivated by the previous generation of writers. But I can’t pick favourites, it’s like asking a mother to pick a favourite child.Ĭornelia Zetzche, the vice president of German PEN Centre described you as “a fearless fighter for democracy and human rights”. But my choice would be Gypsy Goddess as it addresses the question of land, landlessness, feudalism, oppression, caste, and communism. When I Hit You also resonated with a lot of people, especially the way it deals with both domestic violence and marital rape.

That it would become a cult feminist text is something I had no clue would happen, and so soon. I have watched over the years as it gets on university syllabi and young women come up to me and say they read it there. It came out 12 years ago and was really feminist. But in terms of my poetry, Ms Militancy was a definitive collection. What works of yours stand out to you in hindsight? You’re doing this despite knowing the consequences because you cannot afford to be silent because then there is nothing challenging the dominating narrative. (They wonder:) Is it worth it? What is the cost? Will I have to give up my life? We see that everyday - even as all this is happening - people are speaking out. In a way, (what you say) is subject to something on the spectrum. Everything is a part of a spectrum, and somewhere on the spectrum is also litigation, arrests and political incarceration, trolling and character assassination. The most extreme form of censorship is the assassination of writers. There is also self-censorship people don’t want to get into trouble. There is fear of litigation or some kind of censorship. You are no stranger to persecution and criticism for your works about caste and gender subjugation.Ī lot of dissent is clamped down upon.

I was not aware so the whole thing was a surprise and I didn’t know what the award was. I was just called and told that I had been considered and that I had won. I didn’t know I was running for the award.

Ms Militancy by Meena Kandasamy