‘Blatant hypocrisy’: over 100 writers slam JCB’s literary prize

New Delhi: Citing that bulldozers made by British company JCB destroy the lives of the poor and marginalised in India’s ‘bulldozer raj’ as well as in war-torn Palestine, more than one hundred writers, poets and publishers surfaced with an open letter condemning the company over its annual literary award. The literary community accused the company of ‘blatant hypocrisy’, pointing out that it is issuing literary awards celebrating the diversity of Indian writers while "simultaneously remaining complicit in destroying the lives and livelihoods of so many as a form of punishment".

Signed by the likes of poet-critic K Satchidanandan, poet-publisher Asad Zaidi, Adivasi poet Jacinta Kerketta, poet-novelist Meena Kandasamy and Dalit poet-activist Cynthia Stephen, the letter condemned the company, which organises the annual JCB Prize for Literature in India.

The award organisers declined to respond to the open letter when approached for a comment.

The open letter, released days ahead of the announcement of this year's winner of the JCB Prize on November 23, condemned the company for "uprooting of the lives of so many Indians from poorer and marginalised backgrounds - including Muslims, Dalits and others - not to mention its enforcement of occupation in Kashmir and Palestine”.

“As writers, we will not stand for such disingenuous claims of support for the literary community. This prize cannot wash off the blood on JCB's hands. India's up-and-coming writers deserve better," the letter read.

Distinguished international names from Palestine and the Middle East, including Palestinian novelist Isabella Hammad and poet Rafeef Ziadah, Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif, Iraqi poet and novelist Sinan Antoon and Omar Robert Hamilton, novelist and Director of the Palestinian Festival of Literature are the other signatories of the letter.

Irish novelist and screenwriter Ronan Bennett, novelist Andrew O'Hagan and novelist and screenwriter Nikesh Shukla also signed the letter.

“If the JCB Prize is intended to support Indian writing, that means Indian writing is complicit in British racism, Hindu fundamentalism, and Zionist ethnic cleansing. Writers need money to carry out their difficult work, but that cannot be at the cost of mass death and suffering. As John Berger put it while pointing out Booker McConnell's historic roots in slavery, 'Clarity is more important than money'," Indian author Siddhartha Deb said in a separate statement.

Dalit poet Cynthia Stephen condemned the "hypocrisy on the part of the company and those administering the prize".

“How ironic that the term JCB is more popular in India as the machine that has aided the demolition of literally hundreds of thousands of houses of the common citizens of India in certain states of India. To see it associated with a very 'prestigious' (read large) literary prize for Indian literature is surreal. Heavy earthmoving equipment is like a knife. It can be used to build infrastructure for human comfort, but in recent years, has been more used to destroy the lives of the poor and marginalised," Stephen said.

Writer-journalist Zia Us Salam said that the company is trying "to gain legitimacy with the literature prize". “This has nothing to do with the promotion of free speech, diversity and pluralism. As writers, it's critical that we speak up against this flagrant violation of human rights. This letter is a silent protest, which is a small but important beginning," he said.