During a video address at the Munich Literature Festival, Arundhati Roy, Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things, delivered a powerful speech expressing solidarity with the Gazan people and the global movement for a ceasefire.
Unfortunately, due to ongoing sedition charges in India related to comments she made in 2010 about Kashmir, Roy was unable to attend the festival in person.
She strongly criticized the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza, as well as the German government’s actions against pro-Palestinian advocacy and the ongoing financial support for the occupation by various countries.
The author emphasized that a political solution is the only way forward.
“Are we going to simply stand by and watch while hospitals are bombed, a million people displaced, and dead children in thousands pulled out from under the rubble?”
Criticizing the world’s inaction and stressing that a military approach won’t resolve the conflict, she further adds,
“The solution cannot be a militaristic one. It can only be a political one in which both Israelis and Palestinians live together or side by side in dignity, with equal rights.”
She called for the world to intervene, end the occupation, and provide Palestinians with a viable homeland.
Roy’s speech took a strong moral stance against violence and advocated for a political resolution that ensures dignity and equal rights for both Israelis and Palestinians.
In 2010, she made a statement at a conference in New Delhi where she expressed that Kashmir, the region in dispute between India and Pakistan, has never been considered an “integral” part of India.
The words were taken out of context and circulated in the nation, labeling Roy as an “anti-national.”
Consequently, she now faces charges related to provocative speech and the promotion of enmity between various groups.
In an opinion by Meena Kandasamy, she expresses that Arundhati Roy disagrees with the beliefs of the BJP and the party is now coming up with the old – more than a decade ago statement – to avoid any kind of challenges that make them weak in upcoming elections.Â
