The three curators and organisers of the Vidarbha Literary Festival have stepped down, allegedly after right-wing activists began threatening them and approached key family members. The festival, exclusively catering to non-fiction writings and started just months before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, is scheduled to have its next edition in February 2024. But curators Sukhada Chaudhary and Pawan Sarda and organiser Ruta Dharamadhikari collectively decided to step down last week.
Sources privy to the developments at the festival said that activists belonging to right-wing organisations raised objection over four of the many speakers who were invited to the festival. The objection was against inviting journalists and authors like Aakar Patel, Josy Joseph, Shruti Ganpataye and Shivam Shankar Singh to the festival. For the February 2024 edition, around 40 speakers were invited.
11/10/2023