Works that do not bring about social changes not ‘literature’, says author cop

Mysuru: Principal of Police Training Institutte. Dharanidevi Malagatti is a celebrated Kannada author to boot. A senior police officer with several books to her name, Dharanidevi on Sunday made a forceful case for literature that would bring about transformations in society. “Any work that does not bring about a social change, words that do not have a social resonance, cannot be considered literature,” Dharanidevi said.
Dharanidevi, who conferred the Mullur Nagaraj Kavya award to Shivamogga writer N Ravikumar, dubbed discussions on the social responsibility of literature ‘absolute cliché’. “Writing reams about the rising Sun, the blooming flowers and the Moon – these cannot be called literature. Only poems, and other literary forms, that contain a message to society can be classified as such. Authors have the responsibility that of cleansing stains of blood on the fabric of society. Writers must not provoke spilling of blood,” she said.
Drawing a comparison between the functions of doctors and writers, Dharanidevi said, “Doctors cure patients; authors, on the other hand, treat societal issues.”
Expanding further on her notion of literature’s functionality, Dharanidevi said, “Literature has always been a vehicle of public opinion. Be it poetry or prose, a groundswell of public opinion has always wrought change, and not just socially; it has helped effect changes in the law of the land. Every law framed has a story to it. Whether it is the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act after a particular incident in 1989, or the infamous Aruna Shanbaug case or the horrific Nirbhaya case, these tragedies helped bring in amendments to the law. Literature has played a critical role in forming public opinion about such incidents.”
Former chairman of the Kannada Books Authority Banjagere Jayaprakash, who participated in the ceremony, lamented the supplanting of Kannada, a language with a history of more than 2,000 years, by English. “At a time when there are no people reading Kannada, how can poetry in our language flourish,” said Jayaprakash, fearing a day when nursery rhymes would replace the National Anthem.
Jayaprakash added that the priorities of the Indian people had altered significantly over the course of time. “Education, hunger and providing decent clothing is no longer something that preoccupies the public. But, this does not mean India is a country free from hunger. But people are focusing more on subjects that are of little import, turning a blind eye to these key issues. Leaders dividing society and communities and raising walls among the people are being praised,” he rued.
Former director of Rangayana Janardhan, popularly called Jenni, was among those who attended the award ceremony.