Palakkad: Writer Paul Zacharia statement that Malayalam's celebrated writer OV Vijayan maintained a soft Hindutva stance has stirred up a storm.

Zacharia, speaking at a function organised to mark the birth anniversary of Vijayan at Thasrak recently, said the author of 'The Legend of Khasak' should not have accepted an award given to him by an entity associated with the RSS.

As Vijayan's sister OV Usha countered the statement and poet V Madhusoodanan Nair got up in her support, the event turned out to be an open forum on communalism.

Usha said Hindutva was the lingo of the sub-continent and Vijayan was never communal. Moreover, he had married a Christian woman and had happily accepted the baptism of his son.

Vijayan had said that he used to get a special energy when he visited Karunakara guru but people shouldn't try to find communalism in that. Madhusoodanan Nair, who backed Usha, said Vijayan accepted the award because it was given in recognition of Vijayan's ideas. Critic Asha Menon also endorsed this view.

Zacharia then clarified that he had never said Vijayan was communal and what he meant was that since Vijayan was 'weak at heart' he couldn't say no and accepted the award. But if a communal organisation gives him an award carrying even Rs 1 lakh, he won't accept it, said Zacharia.

"It was Vijayan who instilled the lessons of democracy, secularism and freedom in me. It was Vijayan who uncovered the nincompoops who were ruling us when he was in Delhi. But somewhere he faltered," Zacharia said. Pradeep Panangad presided over the event.

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