Speaking at an event hosted by prominent Marathi writers and artistes in Mumbai “to welcome” her, author
Nayantara Sahgal on Tuesday said people should not lose their collective Hindustani identity.
The event was organised in response to the revoking of her invitation to inaugurate the 92nd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
“We are unique in the world that we are enriched by so many cultures, religions. Now they want to squash us into one culture. So it is a dangerous time. We do not want to lose our richness. We do not want to lose anything…all that Islam has brought us, what Christianity has brought us, what Sikhism has brought us. Why should we lose all this? We are not all Hindus but we are all Hindustani. Aur hum yeh Hindustaniyat ko nahi chodengey, chahey kuch bhi ho,” Sahgal said.
These were her first public remarks since the controversy earlier this month following objections raised to her participation at the literature festival held in Yavatmal district.
At the end of her short address at Dadar’s Shivaji Mandir, Sahgal expressed her gratitude at being invited for the meet.
