Social Worker Files Complaint against Arundhati Roy over Essay on Maoists

Following butchering of 76 security personnel in Dantewada, a social worker in Chhattisgarh has filed a complaint with the against eminent writer Arundhati Roy, alleging that her recently published 32 page essay ‘Walking with the comrades’ has ‘glorified’ the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and sought to justify its activities, said media reports.

Vishwajit Mitra lodged the complaint at the Telibanda police station in Raipur, saying that the contents and the photographs of the essay published in the March 29 issue of a weekly news magazine could come under the purview of an offence under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act-2005, said reports.

Besides, he sent complaints to the State Governor Shekhar Dutt, Chief Minister Raman Singh and Director General of Police Vishwaranjan, demanding legal action should be initiated against Roy, a Booker Prize winner.

Police confirmed receiving the complaint against the writer, saying, “We are examining it to find out whether any offence has been committed.”

However, they refused to elaborate, reports said.

Mitra told an English daily that Roy’s essay not only sought to ‘glorify’ the Maoists but also denigrated the country’s established system, including the judiciary, said reports.

“Referring to a Maoist ‘Jan adalat’, she says in her essay that “in most jan adalats, at least the collective is physically present to make a decision. It’s not made by judges who’ve lost touch with ordinary life,” Mitra was quoted as saying, alleging that the writer also sought to justify Maoist other activities.

“Let the police investigate into my complaint and take a position. I am also keeping my options open to move the appropriate court to initiate legal action against the writer,” he was quoted as saying.

Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act-2005, which is in force in Chhattisgarh, is alleged to be a draconian law that empowers the police to detain anyone in jail for a longer period.

Human Rights activist Dr Binayak Sen was in jail for nearly two years after his arrest on the charges of having links with the Maoists. He was released after the Supreme Court granted him bail. The case is still progressing in the trial court.

(Based on internet reports)