The Autumn of Discontent

It seemed like an innocuous enough idea: bring together the writers and readers in one of India’s most beautiful places to talk about literature. But the Harud Literature Festival, which was supposed to be held in Kashmir later this month — Harud means autumn — has become the subject of a bitter dispute that has played out in the pages of India’s best newspapers, magazines and blogs.

This bitterness arises from one of the most complex and sensitive issues in India: the identity of a disputed region claimed by both India and Pakistan. Some of Kashmir’s most prominent literary voices declined to attend: Basharat Peer, author of an acclaimed memoir of growing up during the insurgency in the 1990s, and Mirza Waheed, a BBC journalist and writer of a novel called The Collaborator, about a young Kashmiri who secretly works with the Indian army.

They and several other writers and activists sent an open letter to the festival’s organizers:

“A literary festival, by definition, is an event that celebrates the free flow of ideas and opinions,” they wrote. “To hold it in a context where some basic fundamental rights are markedly absent, indeed, denied to the population, is to commit a travesty.”

Full report here NYT blogs

A writer is not a jukebox

Like others, I (Basharat Peer) chose not to attend a literary festival that I believe was part of the state's attempt to suggest that all is normal in Kashmir.

A few days back, the Harud Literary Festival, which was due to take place in Srinagar from September 21 to 24, was cancelled amid great controversy. The event was to be held on the campus of Delhi Public School located outside Srinagar, next to the biggest military camp in Kashmir, the Badami Bagh cantonment. Vijay Dhar, who owns the school, was the main sponsor of the Harud festival. A businessman with strong Congress Party connections, he was an adviser to Rajiv Gandhi in the 1980s. Recently, Mr. Dhar was cheerleading the Indian Army's “normalcy drive” in Kashmir by hosting an army-sponsored and organised cricket tournament, the Kashmir Premier League, on the grounds of his school.

Before the Harud was talked about in the press, I had conveyed my apprehensions to the organisers — the novelist and festival producer Namita Gokhale and her partners, Teamwork Productions headed by Sanjoy Roy and Sheuli Sethi — and suggested holding the festival independently, without any political connections. They chose otherwise. It thus became impossible for me, as an independent writer, to be part of such an event. If I had decided to attend the festival, given the obvious political connections of Harud's lead sponsor, then tomorrow I would not be able to say no to an event funded by people connected to other political establishments and ideologies. This was the same reason I stayed away, despite several invitations, from the conferences organised by Ghulam Nabi Fai, the Kashmiri-American lobbyist who turned out to be on the payroll of Pakistan's Inter Services Agency.

Full report here Hindu

Peer escalates Kashmir LitFest row

Celebrated Kashmir writer Basharat Peer has escalated the debate over the canceled Kashmir literary festival with this piece Wednesday in The Hindu.

Celebrated Kashmir writer Basharat Peer has escalated the debate over the canceled Kashmir literary festival with his editorial piece. The festival’s organizers canned the festival last month after Mr. Peer and other writers, journalists and academics wrote an open letter opposing it.

Mr. Peer in his piece in The Hindu elaborated on his reasons for taking such a stance against the festival.

In a way, Mr. Peer’s objections show the intractable nature of the Kashmir problem.

In their open letter, those opposing the festival said it would have helped New Delhi create a fake sense of normalcy in Kashmir, where Indian troops continue to commit human rights abuses and free speech for separatists is curtailed. The signatories said they were worried the government was behind the festival but gave no evidence.

Full report here WSJ blogs

An autumn of silence

Autumn was to have been the season of hope; a time for words and ideas, listening and learning. A time for the Harud (autumn) literature festival which would have made Srinagar join that membership of cities in the region that host litfests - Jaipur, Kovalam, Karachi, Galle and Thimpu.

Kashmir is a long way from Jaipur where the same organisers, Teamwork Films have managed to achieve such iconic status that hardboiled journalists like Tina Brown call it the 'greatest literary show on earth'. It was also at Jaipur this year where the organisers attempted a tentative test-drive with two sessions on Kashmir including one that featured Basharat Peer (Curfewed Night), Mirza Waheed (The Collaborator) and Kashmir-born journalist and author Rahul Pandita.

But Harud was doomed to be an autumn of discontent. Even before the authors could be announced, Facebook went viral with innuendo. Some reports suggested, erroneously, that Salman Rushdie had been invited, leading to the creation of a Facebook page that called for a boycott, hate mail and death threats. Now that the festival is off, the Facebook page has mysteriously disappeared.

That was just one of the problems. Earlier this month, Peer and Waheed wrote an open letter, signed by over 200 other writers, journalists and citizens listing various misgivings. To hold a literature festival in a state where 'basic fundamental rights are markedly absent' would be a travesty, they said. Moreover, the use of the word 'apolitical' by festival adviser Namita Gokhale (to whom I am related) became a red flag. In a state where 'political reality is denied, even criminalised' how could a literature festival be apolitical? The choice of venue, DPS School and Kashmir University, became contentious. And finally, there was apprehension that the festival was part of the 'state's concerted attempt to portray that all is normal in Kashmir'. The organisers said there was no state-funding or patronage, to no avail.

Full report here Hindustan Times

Kashmir litfest finds writers’ criticism hard to take

Kashmir’s much-hyped literary festival has been cancelled. The organisers of ‘Harud: The Autumn Literature Festival’, scheduled for September 24-26 in Srinagar, cited the possibility of violence as the main reason behind this decision. The festival secretariat said they were concerned about the possibility of protests and the “heightened” nature of the debate.

The debate in question was the incisive criticism that the organisers faced from writers, journalists, filmmakers and artists, among others, over the self-styled “apolitical” nature of the festival, apart from it being held in an atmosphere where free speech is stifled.

Full report here Asian Correspondent

Vicious Facebook campaign hijacks J-K litfest

Jammu & Kashmir’s first All-India Literature Festival, scheduled for September, has been put off indefinitely. The decision followed a vicious campaign on Facebook describing the Litfest as ‘Indian propaganda’ and calling upon the people to disrupt the festival by throwing stones.

The organisers’ plans to keep the festival ‘apolitical’ boomeranged, because some elements in the valley saw it as a ‘government agenda’ to tom tom normalcy in the Valley. The political campaign was spearheaded by a couple of Kashmiri writers settled abroad.

Ironically, New York based author Basharat Peer (author of Curfewed Night) and London based Mirza Waheed (author of The Collaborator), both of whom declined to attend the festival on the ground that their writing is political, have received acclaim in various literature festivals including the one in Jaipur.

“It is bizarre; first a national daily claiming to be the ‘masthead of India’ erroneously reported that Salman Rushdie will be attending the festival, then writers like Mirza and Basharat denounced the festival,” exclaimed one of the organisers on Tuesday.

Full report here Tribune 

Harud festival postponed!

The Harud Literature Festival, which was to be held in Srinagar at the end of September, has been postponed due to controversy. Some writers and others opposing the festival felt that the festival was an effort by the "repressive government" to gag the freedom of Kashmiris.

For the record, in none of the other festivals organised by Teamwork, such as the Jaipur Literature Festival or Hay in Thiruvananthapuram, or Bookaroo in Delhi has the government been the chief supporter, though different sections of the government have associated themselves with the festivals.

The organisers of the Harud festival of Literature have issued the following statement:

"It is with great sadness that we announce the postponement of the Harud Literary Festival. Born out of the best intentions to platform work of emerging and established writers in Kashmir, the festival has been hijacked by those who hold extreme views in the name of free speech.

A few people who began the movement to boycott the festival have no qualms in speaking on and about Kashmir across international forums, but have refused to allow other voices, including writers, poets and theatre people from the Valley and across India to enjoy the right to express themselves at the Harud festival.

If those opposing the festival truly believed in free speech, they would have allowed this forum to go ahead and would come and express their dissent at the festival. They could have put to test their claims that the festival would not allow for free speech and expression.

Expression through the arts are at risk across the world and more so in India. Literature is one way to transcend these barriers and provide a platform for inclusive ideas. This unfortunately will be the biggest loss, not just for Srinagar, but for all artists who believe in the right to express themselves.


We wish to reiterate the following:
 1.    The festival had invited approx 30 authors from Jammu and Kashmir and 20 from other parts of India. The festival had neither invited nor was planning to invite Salman Rushdie.
2.     The festival program included sessions on 'The Silenced Voice: Creativity and Dissent', 'Jail Diaries',  'Gulistan: The Forgotten Environment' , 'Lol'ha'rov: Echoes of the Valley' , 'Harud: Songs of the Season' , 'Chronicles of Exile' , apart from other sessions on popular fiction, poetry, theatre etc.
3.      We have received some funding support from corporate sources but we have received no funding from any government source.
4.      The festival was to be hosted at the Delhi Public School, which earlier this summer hosted a literature festival for children that invited authors to come in from other parts of India.


With many authors voicing their concerns about possible violence during the festival due to the heightened nature of the debate, and a call for protest at the venues, we neither have the desire to be responsible for yet more unrest in the valley nor to propagate mindless violence in the name of free speech. We are therefore left with little alternative but to cancel the festival for now.


We hope that when calmer sense prevails, and we are confidently able to provide a sense of security to our speakers and guests, and writers from Kashmir feel the need for a platform to express themselves, we will reenergize the festival. Till then it is a sad day for us, and a victory for a vocal minority who feel that they alone are the doorkeepers to peoples’ minds and hearts."

Controversy brews over Srinagar Lit fest

Harud - The Autumn Literature Festival, to be held in Srinagar Sep 24-26, has stirred a controversy with a section of authors, filmmakers and intelligentsia from the state alleging the festival is an effort by the "repressive government" to gag the freedom of Kashmiris.

The protesters have devoted a Facebook page to criticise the festival, being presented by Teamworks Production, the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival.

They say there is no freedom in Kashmir for people to speak their minds, as the festival claimed.

Promoted as the state's first national literary festival, "Harud- The Autumn Literature Festival" has promised to bring together local, regional and national literature under one platform to allow exchange of ideas and assimilation.

The festival is scheduled to be held on the Kashmir University premises.

In a appeal Saturday, the organisers expressed grief at the malicious campaign to tarnish the spirit of the festival, billed as "apolitical and inclusive".

An open letter this week said: "Holding such a festival would dovetail with the state's concerted attempt to portray that all is normal in Kashmir".

The letter was signed by writers Basharat Peer, Mirza Waheed, journalist Najib Mubaraki, research scholar Insha Malik, filmmaker Sanjay Kak, rights activist Gautam Navlakha, author-activist Anjum Zamrud Habib and academician Nivedita Menon, among others.

Full report here Daijiworld

Statement from the organisers of Harud

Statement from the organisers of Harud – The Autumn Literature Festival

We wish to categorically state that the Harud literature festival is not government sponsored. It has been conceived with the intent of creating a platform for free and open, debate, discussion and dialogue through contemporary narratives, literary fiction, poetry and theatre.

The festival aims at showcasing writing in Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri and English from the region and other parts of India.

False and provocative rumours of Salman Rushdie attending the festival have been circulated Via a dedicated facebook book page without seeking any clarification about the authenticity of this statement. We wish to reiterate that Salman Rushdie was never invited to attend the festival.

We are surprised that some people who profess to stand for free speech have hijacked this sincere effort to create a transparent and inclusive platform for the arts and saddened that a literary initiative should become a point for confrontation.

We seek support for the spirit of the festival which is plural, inclusive and aims to be a platform for free speech and expression.

Winter gloom sets in on Kashmir’s Harud

“Harud or autumn is a beautiful season in Kashmir. It has inspired much excellent prose, poetry and even a film,” said Namita Gokhale, explaining why the literary festival her group will organise in Kashmir this September was called Harud.

“The idea arose from an educationist and arts enthusiasts who wanted to create a platform similar to those that have been created in other festivals. There was also special interest and enthusiasm from some Kashmiri writers who wanted to emulate the spirit of sharing and discourse in the sessions at the Jaipur Literature Festival this year. This was followed by a desire to seek an open and democratic space for poetry, readings and dialogue in Kashmir, as had been happening in other recent literary events in locations as diverse as Karachi, Bhutan, Kerala and, soon, Kathmandu.” Gokhale is also the founder director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, the much successful literary event that’s been held over the last few years in Rajasthan’s Jaipur city to huge international recognition.

But in Kashmir, the Harud somehow seems to have brought a gloom of winter too soon. Some of Kashmir’s major literary figures, though invited, have refused to attend the event. News related to the event spread by sections of the Indian media seems to have spoilt the party before it even began. And statements coming out from the organisers themselves haven’t helped either.

Full report here Dawn