Criticism of Pinarayi Vijayan or PM Modi? Kerala’s tallest author MT sparks row with remarks against ‘hero worship’

Renowned Malayalam writer andJnanpith Award winner M T Vasudevan Nair’s criticism of “hero worship” of people in power has sparked a debate in Kerala — whether he intended the remarks for Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Nair, an illustrious novelist popularly known as MT, made the remarks at the inauguration of the Kerala Literature Festival, organised by DC Books, in Kozhikode on Thursday in the presence of Vijayan. In his address, he said, “In our political, social and cultural spheres of life, no great leader is ready to admit a mistake. I see the goal here is to conquer the ego consciousness and accept the importance of the subconscious mind. E M S Namboodiripad (who led the first elected Communist government in Kerala in 1957) became a great leader because he believed that the 1957 win was only the beginning of converting a crowd, which voted the party into victory, into a responsible society. Concepts of freedom in a changing society have to be subjected to repeated correction and review. EMS always strived to change that old perception of a few to lead and many to be led. That is why he was not seen anywhere in ceremonial leadership worship.”

MT’s criticism, raised in the presence of the CM, was viewed as a barb against Vijayan. Later, the author came out with a clarification. “I was not criticising anyone. I wanted to speak the truth. If that paved the way for self-criticism for someone, it is fine,” he said.

MT is a cultural phenomenon in Kerala. In over seven decades, he has published nine novels, 19 collections of short stories, over 50 film scripts, directed six films, three travelogues, a play, and numerous collections of essays and memoirs. He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi