English PEN :London Book Fair

The English PEN announces a fascinating programme of events at the English PEN Literary Cafe at this year's London Book Fair, 20th-22nd April at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre.

Thanks to the generous support of HW Fisher & Company and Reed Exhibitions, English PEN will once again be at the heart of this world-class event, hosting author talks in the Café and offering free consultations with specialist authors’ accountants, Barry Kernon and Andrew Subramaniam – see below for more details.



Authors speaking at the Cafe will include William Boyd, Amit Chaudhuri, William Dalrymple, Umberto Eco, Ramachandra Guha, Girish Karnad, Prue Leith, Azar Nafisi, Anita Nair, Andrew O'Hagan, James Patterson, Meg Rosoff and Sarah Waters. The Cafe will also be the venue for major literary events such as the announcement of the Orange Prize shortlist and the presentation of the Hessell-Tiltman Award for History and the Academia Rossica Translation Prize.

Full listings of events at the English PEN Literary Café.




English PEN literary cafe in partnership with the British Council
LBF 2009 will host a Literary Café on the show floor that is sponsored by English PEN. The cafe plays host to a series of author interviews where authors talk about their latest book.
Authors will sign copies of their books in the Foyles Bookshop, part of the Literary Cafe.


English PEN is the founding centre of the worldwide writers' association, working to promote literature as a means of international understanding and intercultural dialogue. Supported by authors, publishers, booksellers and others engaged in the literary business, English PEN runs a year-round programme of campaigns, events, publications and projects to ensure that the value of literature is widely recognised, and that writers enjoy full creative freedom to explore the world around them. To find out more about English PEN, and to see how you can get more involved, visit www.englishpen.org or contact Jonathan Heawood, Director, on jonathan@englishpen.org .

Literary Cafe 2009 Schedule
Monday, 20th April 2009
Time: Title: Additional information:
8.30am-9.30am The Author Breakfast organised by the Booksellers Association
By invitation only

10.00am-10.30am Author of the day - James Patterson
Interviewed by Jonathan Heawood, Director, English PEN

11.00am-11.30am Andrew O'Hagan
Interviewed by Lisa Appignanesi
1.00pm-1.30pm Girish Karnad & UR Ananthamurthy Interviewed by Maya Jaggi (TBC)
2.00p.m.- 2.30p.m. Azar Nafisi
Interviewed by Lisa Appignanesi
3.00pm-3.30pm K Satchidanandan & Amit Chaudhuri Interviewed by Boyd Tonkin (TBC)
4.30pm-5.30pm Silver PEN Publishing Partners reception


Tuesday, 21st April 2009
Time: Title: Additional information:
09.00am-11.00am Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 Shortlist Breakfast
Join Fi Glover, chair of the 2009 judging panel, as she announces the shortlist for this year’s Orange Prize for Fiction.
The Orange Prize for Fiction is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman, celebrating excellence, innovation and accessibility and the best of outstanding international fiction in women’s writing. Click here to register for this event
This form is to register for the Orange Prize and will also grant you access to the London Book Fair.
11.00a.m.-11.30a.m. Umberto Eco interview and book signing Interviewed by Jonathan Heawood, Director, English PEN
11.30a.m.-12.00p.m. Tarun Tejpal Interviewed by Claire Fox
1.30pm-2.00pm Lydia Cacho
Interviewed by Jo Glanville
2.30pm-3.00pm Sarah Waters
Interviewed by Lennie Goodings
3.30pm-4.00pm William Boyd
Interviewed by Danuta Kean
4.00pm-5.00pm TBC
Wednesday, 22nd April 2009
Time: Title Additional information
9.30am-10.30am The Rossica Translation Prize:
This prize is the only in the world for literary translation from Russian into English. It is awarded by Academia Rossica, our Committee include Boyd Tonkin (The independent), Susie Nicklin (British Council), Christopher MacLehose, Amanda Hopkinson (British Centre for Literary Translation) amongst others.
11.00am-11.30am Meg Rosoff
Interviewed by Danuta Kean
12.00pm-12.30pm Author of the day - Prue Leith Interviewed by Jonathan Heawood, Director, English PEN
1.00pm-1.30pm Anita Nair & Javed Akhtar Interviewed by Pablo Mukherjee
2.30pm-3.00pm Ramachandra Guha Interviewed by Patrick French
3.00pm-3.30pm William Dalrymple
Interviewed by Ravi Mirchandani (TBC)


Contact the official PR Agents for The London Book Fair:
Midas Public Relations Limited
7-8 Kendrick Mews
London
SW7 3HG


Contact: Midas Public Relations on:
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7584 7474
Fax: +44 (0)20 7584 7123

www.midaspr.co.uk


Market Focus- Indian Exhibitors




Exhibitor Name Stand Number Info

Abhinav Publications T520

Aegean Offset Printers W524


Ajanta Offset & Packagings Ltd X270

Ananda Publishers Private Limited U540


Aptara V535

Association of Publishers in India U475


Bafna Exports V460


Bhavana Books & Prints T470


Bibliophile South Asia U450


BJain Publishers Pvt. Ltd D625

BPB Publications T460


Brijbasi Art Press Ltd D405


Cambridge University Press India Pvt. Ltd. U475

CAPEXIL U450, V480


CBS Publishers N510


Chowdhry Export House V454


D C Books V485


D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd U510


Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd U535

Eastern Book Company U480

Elsevier A Division of Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. U475

Full Circle Publishing & Hind Pocket Books U450

Galgotias A670


GBS Publishers & Distributors (India) U490


Globex Medicons U450

Gobind Sadan Publications U450


Goodword Books Pvt.Ltd U547


Gopsons Papers Ltd. Q704


Har - Anand Publications Pvt Ltd U545


Hemkunt Press V465

Heritage Impex Worldwide V475


IK International Publishing House Pvt Ltd T500

India Book House Publishing F430


India Trade Promotion Organisation V535

IndiaNIC Infotech Limited Y582

Jayant Printery X507


Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd O480


JJ Offset Printers U460

Kalyani Navyug Media Pvt Ltd U525


Laserwords Private Limited V535

Laxmi Publications (P) Ltd V505


Macmillan India Ltd. U475

Mandira U450


Manipal Press Limited W507

Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd. V495

McGraw-Hill Education (India) Pvt ltd U475

Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (P) Ltd U495, U455


Multivista Global Limited T540

National Book Trust, India V482

Navayana Publishing U450, H110

Neelkamal Publications Pvt Ltd W467

New Central Book Agency (P) Ltd. U492

Niyogi Books T510


Nutech Photolithographers W483


Om Books International H205


Outsource Publishing U530


Oxford University Press India U475

Paras Offset Pvt. Ltd V450

Pearson Education (A division of Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd.) U475


Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. U475

Prints India V455


Pustak Mahal W477


Rakesh Press K610


Ratna Sagar P.Ltd T492


Red Ink Literary Agency / representations 19o

Replika Press Pvt Ltd U565

Repro India Ltd V655


Research Press U475


Roli Books K700

Rupa & Co T530

SABDA U470


Sahaja Exports International U450

Sahitya Academy T480


Saraswati Printers W457

Springer (India) Private Limited U475

Star Publishers Distributors U497

Sterling Publishers P Ltd C410


TARU - Books & Journals U450


Thomson Press (India) Ltd S555

Thymus Solutions Ltd W479


Total IT Solutions Pvt.Ltd W489


Tulika Publishers V535


UBS Publishers' Distributors Pvt. Ltd U542

Vadehra Art Gallery K610


Veeswa Exports U515

Wisdom Tree U505


WITS Interactive Pvt.Ltd U500


Xact Studio International A564

Zubaan



Tickets to London Book Fair are £25 in advance, or £40 on the door. A limited number of complimentary tickets for LBF are available for English PEN members, who are also invited to a free consultation with leading authors' accountants, Barry Kernon and Andrew Subramaniam of HW Fisher, who specialise in advising authors on tax matters.

To reserve your complimentary ticket to LBF and make your appointment for a free consultation with Barry or Andrew, please contact Amy Oliver on 020 7713 0023, or email amy@englishpen.org .

Barry Kernon acts for a great many authors, journalists and others in the media world, and is an acknowledged expert in the tax treatment of individuals in the creative industries. Barry has been in private practice since 1972, and joined HW Fisher & Company in 2002. He is Honorary Treasurer of both English PEN and the Society of Authors, and is a Trustee of the Poetry Society.

Andrew Subramaniam specialises in advising authors, journalists and musicians. He joined H W Fisher & Company as an audit trainee in 1991. Since qualifying as a chartered accountant he has been promoted rapidly and became a partner in May 2006.

The English PEN Literary Café is at the London Book Fair, Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, London SW5 9TA

Dates: Monday 20th – Wednesday 22nd April 2009
How to Book: visit www.englishpen.org or www.londonbookfair.co.uk /.

Earlier the news about London Book Fair was posted at http://penreporter.blogspot.com/2009/03/london-british-council-indian-authors.html

Artist ,Singer, Writer : News

Artist Alert : November 2008
London: inaugural freedom of expression arts prize awarded
Zimbabwean playwright Mhlanga has won the inaugural freedom of expression art prize and $50,000 for his repeated challenge of the Mugabe regime through political satire.
The judges also awarded the art prize for an imprisoned artist to Burmese comedian, producer, director, writer and actor Zarganar (the tweezers). Zarganar was sentenced in November 2008 to 45 years imprisonment for “creating disaffection towards state and government” by collecting donations for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, and a further 14 years for other offences under various parts of the criminal code.The youth art prize went to City of Rhyme, a 14 strong hip-hop group from northern Brazil, whose lyrics condemn violence.

The ArtVenture Freedom to Create prize was launched in early 2008 by philanthropist organisation ArtVenture in partnership with ARTICLE 19. The prize received 930 nominations from 86 countries.





China: Guns ‘N’ Roses new album banned
Guns ’N‘ Roses first album for 17 years Chinese Democracy has been banned from importation into China. The state-owned China National Publications Import and Export Group has warned shops not to import the album, which includes tracks with names such as “Helpless Chinese under an iron fist”. The album has also automatically been censored from Chinese search engines and the album’s official website www.chinesedemocracy.com has also been blocked by the government.
Kuwait: concert ends for kiss and a hug
The Kuwaiti department for monitoring public entertainment ended a concert by an Egyptian singer when a female fan jumped onto the stage, hugged the male singer and gave him a kiss. According to the department head Qanas al-Adwani the fan’s behaviour at the concert “defied the conservative traditions” of Kuwait and were in disregard for the strict public entertainment licences that concerts must obtain.Concerts in Kuwait are permitted by the government provided that the crowd is monitored in order to enforce a strict code that bans standing up and dancing.
Turkey: singer acquitted of criticising military
The singer Bulent Ersoy has been acquitted of charges of criticising the Turkish military after reportedly saying on television that she would not want her own children to join an army that is battling Kurdish rebels. Turkey partially amended a notorious law in 2008 that banned the criticism of “Turkishness”, in order to join the European Union.
Egypt: film not “Egyptian” enough
Despite winning the Golden Tauro award for best film at the 54th Taormina Film Festival in Italy, Ibrahim El Batout’s second documentary Ein Shams (Eye of the Sun) has been banned from screening in Egypt for the crime of not being “Egyptian”. The film follows a taxi driver and starts in war torn Iraq before moving focus to the run down and crowded Ein Shams suburb of Cairo.
Burma: guitarist gets six years imprisonment
46 year old Burmese musician Win Maw received a six year sentence for “sending false news abroad”. Win Maw’s trial took place in a closed court in the notorious Insein prison and was part of a number of similar secretive trials carried out by the Burmese military government in the run up to elections in 2010. See ARTICLE 19’s recent statement for more details: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/burma-free-speech-crackdown-accelerates.pdf
Jordan: poet’s life threatened for apostasy
The Jordanian poet Islam Samhan’s life has been placed in danger after being accused of apostasy by the Jordanian Mufti and Muslim Brotherhood for his first poem “Elegant as a Shadow”. Following the accusations the Jordanian public prosecutor also ordered Samhan to be imprisoned for 15 days whilst an investigation of the claim of apostasy was underway.

Tibet: 81 year old painter jailed for printing “prohibited material”
Descended from a family with a long history of printing and publishing Buddhist texts, master printer Paljor Norbu received a seven year sentence from the Chinese government for printing “prohibited material”. The exact nature of the “prohibited material” has not been confirmed although it is most likely to be Tibetan flags. The judicial authorities at first refused to acknowledge his and many others’ arrests in the aftermath of the Tibetan uprising before the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, although after the trial a letter confirming the sentencing was delivered to Norbu’s family.
Saudi Arabia: internationally acclaimed poet beaten up
Poet Roshdi Algadir was snatched from his work place in Al-Dammam city and assaulted for three hours before being forced to sign an agreement to never write a blog on the internet again. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information asserted that the reason behind the attack was the publication of a poem on Algadir’s blog at http://roshdi.maktoobblog.com that was deemed to be heretical by extremist religious groups.
Malaysia: books banned for undermining the people’s faith
Malaysia’s Home Ministry censorship board has banned two books stating that they give a “misleading view of the religion” of Islam. The books were the English language “Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism” and the Malay language “Strange but True in Prayers”. Publishers Sisters in Islam criticised the ban explaining that the books were academic works that examined the impact of extremism on women’s lives, and that they had not received a single complaint despite the book having been distributed since 2005.
Lebanon: photos removed from exhibition
Lebanese photographer and filmmaker Jocelyne Saab has been censored in Beirut when government officials removed several photos considered to be too controversial to be shown in Lebanon. The exhibition named “Sense and Sensibility” contained photos of Barbie dolls including the controversially titled “American-Israeli playground” showing Christ on a crucifix surrounded by photos of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and naked Barbie dolls in the background.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
• For more information: please contact Oliver Spencer, oliver@article19.org, +44 20 7278 9292 ARTICLE 19, 6-8 Amwell Street, London EC1R 1UQ
Tel: (+44) 20 7278 9292 / Fax: (+44) 20 7278 7660
Web: www.article19.org / Email: info@article19.org

Joke:
‘The American president, the Chinese president and Burma’s leader go to visit God. George Bush asks God, “When will the U.S. become the most respected nation in the world?” God replies, “Not in your lifetime,” driving Bush to tears. Then Hu Jintao asks “When will China become the richest nation in the world?” Same answer from God and tears from the Chinese president. Finally, Burma’s ruler asks “When will Burma have enough water and electricity?” This time, God bursts into tears and says, “Not in my lifetime!”’ Zarganar, Burma

Literary gathering at Bangla Academy

Double click the card doc to know detail.

A literay gathering at Paschimbanga bangla academy, Jibananda Sabhaghar. On 6th January, 5 o clock in the afternoon, all are welcome. All India PEN , West Bengal . India
http://penwestbengal.blogspot.com/2008/12/all-india-pen-center-west-bengal-appeal.html
Posted by Albert Ashok

China: Internet writer and activist detained

China: Internet writer and activist detained
Published: December 2, 2008

English PEN is seriously concerned about the detention of Guo Quan, Internet writer and activist, who has reportedly been held on charges of 'inciting subversion' since 13 November 2008.

According to our information, Guo Quan was arrested at his home in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, on 13 November 2008. His wife reports that he has been charged with 'inciting subversion of state power', a charge commonly used to suppress dissent. It is feared that he may be detained for the views expressed on his web blog, in which he allegedly called for democracy and criticized the Nanjing government for its decision to build a chemical plant in the city. Others suspect that the charges could be linked to his role in organizing a new political party, the China Xinmin Party, in December 2007.

At the time of his arrest, the police confiscated Guo Quan's articles and his computer. It is believed that Guo Quan is currently held at Nanjing City Public Security Bureau.

Guo Quan has been previously arrested by the Chinese authorities. For example, in May 2008 he spent ten days in prison for 'violating of public order'. He is a professor at Nanjing University, however, due to his political activities he has been banned from teaching.

Please send appeals:

- Expressing serious concern at the arrest of Internet writer and activist Guo Quan;- Calling for his immediate and unconditional release if held in violation of his right to freedom of expression, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
Appeals to:
His Excellency Hu JintaoPresident of the People's Republic of ChinaState CouncilBeijing 100032P.R. China

CC. Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Party CommitteeZhang QingliZhonggong Xizang Zizhiqu WeiyuanhuiLhasashi, Xizang ZizhiquPeople's Republic of China

Please note that there are no fax numbers for the Chinese authorities. As such, we recommend that you copy your appeal to the Chinese embassy in the UK asking them to forward it and welcoming any comments:

Her Excellency Mrs. Fu YingEmbassy of the People's Republic of China49 - 51 Portland PlaceLondon W1B 1JL

http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/chinainternetwriterandactivistdetained/

All India PEN center, West Bengal : an appeal to all citizens of India

http://penreporter.blogspot.com/2008/12/india-expression-of-our-anger-and.html
( double click the photo doc. for enlarged size)

Today, West Bengal Indian PEN center has expressed an appeal to all Indian citizen in presence of all its members and other organisations ( see photocopy above and the word form below)

It is an expression of our anger and an appeal for maintaining peace, harmony and Indian integrity in face of terrorists' attack in Indian soil on 26 th Nov.08
" We condemn the indiscriminate violence that hit Mumbai, India, through a series of ugly and odious terrorists act.
We stand in solidarity with the families of unsung heroes, brave soldiers and security forces of India, who were courageously heading to protect Indians and foreign hostages in recent terrorists attack, in Mumbai.

We appeal to all INDIANS to stay calm,united and foil the evil designs of the terrorists whose main objectives are to spread violence, disintegration and hatred.

We urge the political parties not to exploit these terrorist acts for political purposes.We are alarmed over the sophistication and military level planning seen in these coordinated attacks and on the failure of the intelligence agencies in preventing such a huge and widespread attack.

We demand that the federal and state governments bring the perpetrators of these actions to justice swiftly."

The signatories include: ( writers, artists and prominent personalities)

Signs are collected from all over west bengal.

Co ordinators : Sahitya Setu and Rainbow Artists and Writers Foundation

the part below Added On 18th dec 08

About 500 Intellectuals from different communities like religious, social and political: Writer ( mostly Editor, Poets , Novelists and Essayist) Film Maker, Singer, University Professors , Stage Actor have signed on this appeal of/to solidarity . Its a great bond of Brotherhood in face of abominable, heinous terrorists conspiracy and attacks. We are ready to weed out any fanaticism, communalism and conspiracy to save the lives and integrity of Indian Soil.

A few names signed mentioned below:

■■ Sunil Gangopadhya, President PEN West Bengal, Poet, Novelist ■■ Dr. Jagannath Ghosh, Secretary PEN West Bengal,Essayist■■ Ranjan Gupta, Jt. Secretary PEN West Bengal, Poet ■■ Shayamal Mukhupadhya, Poet■■Nisith Kr. Roychoudhury,Writer■■ Albert Ashok, Poet and Painter■■ Jayati Gangopadhya■■ Shyamal Roy Choudhury, Poet■■ Pabitra gangopadhya, film maker/Writer■■ barun chakraborty, Writer■■ Abdus Shukur khan, Writer/poet■■ Manish maulik, writer■■ nilima sarkar, Writer■■ Preeti Basu ,Writer/Social worker■■Keshab Ranjan,Editor■■ Dipshikha Poddar, bangle kabita Academy■■ prasanta Ghosh, Editor■■ Krishna basu, College Teacher/ writer■■ Gaur sankar bandhopadhya, poet and writer■■ dhirendranath modak Dy.commissioner.Commercial tax,writer■■Pradip saha, Asst.president,Jila parishad■■Biswajit Panda,Writer■■ Bhupati Ghosh,Editor,Kristi■■Jibanmoy Datta, President ,Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan. Chandannagar■■asim tribedi, Author■■ Chaitali data , Singer■■ sukanto gangopadhya, Writer■■kinnar Roy,Writer■■ Nabakumar sil, Editor■■soumyadeb Basu, Stage actor■■debashish Mukhupadhya, rteporter■■ gautam Bandhupadhya, reporter■■tapas Ghosh, photojornalists■■ prasanta Majhi,Writer■■ Meghanath Das,Editor,Chikan■■ KashinathGhosh, Editor■■ S. Choudhury, Writer■■ D N Lahiri, Writer■■ Mrs. Minati Datta mishra, writer■■ rasbehari chakraborty, Poet■■ Dipendra bhaduri,Writer■■sashankha sekhar Paul,poet■■Biren Chattopadhya, Writer■■ Benoy Kr Mahato,University professor, writer■■ prafulla Ch. Acharya, Writer■■ Bishnupada das Writer■■Ashok lakhdar, Writer■■ rathin kar, Poet■■ nandita guha, poet■■ Rabin Mukhupadhya, editor/ Poet■■ Vivek Moitra, Story writer■■tapan Kr. roy■■■■ Samarendra Dasgupta, Poet■■ Anirban roychoudhury, Editor- Lokmanas■■ Sankar Saha , Artist and Poet■■ Neel Kashyap,Poet■■ Apurba Barman, Poet■■ Dr.Jagabandhu Kundu, Editor- Sahitya Setu■■ Sri Manimoy Sengupta, Writer ■■ Partha Chattopadhya, Writer ■■ Shaubhik Mondal, Poet ■■ B. Banerjee, Secretary Little Magazine ■■ Nikhil Kar, Working President, Kalyani Book Fair ■■ Samar Kr. Mitra, Asst. Secretary K B F ■■ Dr. Samir Mukherjee, Writer, University Prof. ■■ Kumarsankar Raysarma, Poet■■ Sukhendu Bikash Maitra, Poet■■ Tamal Saha, Writer ■■ Kanai Chakraborty, Poet ■■ Bhavatosh Roy, writer ■■ Sunanda Maitra, Poet ■■ Pandu Biswas, Poet ■■ Sarit Kr Misra, Poet, ■■ Pranesh Sarkar writer/teacher ■■ Narayan Bairagya, Poet ■■ Yadab Das, poet ■■ samit Mandol, Poet ■■Pijush Bagchi, Poet ■■ Ranjoy malakar, writer ■■ Santosh Mukhupadhya, Poet ■■ Anindita Goswami, poet/Teacher■■ Gautam Guha Roy, poet■■ Pijush Kanti Saha, Librarian■■ Mrinal Kanti Datta, Writer■■ Tarapada Santra, Teacher,Poet ■■

Posted by Albert Ashok. Kolkata India The news reflects on the link below

http://penreporter.blogspot.com/2008/12/india-expression-of-our-anger-and.html

http://penreporter.blogspot.com/2008/12/pen-west-bengal-condemns-mumbai-attacks.html

A letter From Adhir Ghatak, West Bengal PEN

A letter From Adhir Ghatak

shatabarsher aaloke PEN by adhir Ghatak ( The international PEN in centenary Light) I had posted earlier ( click http://penwestbengal.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-search-of-history-all-indian-pen.html ) "In search of history - All India PEN center "

Dear Albert,
Thanks for accommodating my article on PEN with your comment. As I told you, that was an article written on the request of the then Secretary, Mr. Deb Kumar Basu, on the centenary year of PEN. There may be errors but venture should be appreciated without comments. However, You tried atlast to include PEN West Bengal in the international arena.

It would be highly appreciated if you can include the following publications of a fellow PEN Life member of West Bengal :
Parabasi, a fiction in Bengali by Adhir Ghatak
Yayabar, a fiction in Bengali by Adhir Ghatak
Agaman, a fiction in Bengali by Adhir Ghatak
Saat Samudra, collection of three novels & four travelogues in Bengali by Adhir Ghatak
Maa Anandamaoyee, Life and teachings of Maa Anadamoyee by Adhir Ghatak
6. Journey Never Ends, a novel by Adhir Ghatak. Published by Createspace.com
With regards,
Adhir Ghatak

( the mail as he sent me I have posted here without editing - Albert Ashok)

Contact Adhir Ghatak : adhirghatak@yahoo.com , adhir@ghatak.com

News from International PEN and All India PEN center, West Bengal

News from International PEN and All India PEN center, West Bengal :

PEN All India Centre: Distinguished writers condemn continuing attacks on Christians
source: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/distinguished-writers-condemn-continuing-attacks-on-christians

Dear Friends of International PEN,
We write to express our anguish and outrage at the continuing brutalities visited upon Christian communities and places of worship in Orissa and Karnataka, and elsewhere in India, as well as at the pusillanimous attitude of our political leaders towards the perpetrators of these atrocities.
While the police have stood by and watched churches being desecrated and acts of assault and rape carried out, the Central Government has reacted vigorously only after representatives of the European Union expressed their concern. The perceived damage to India's international image should not be a greater concern than the actual damage that such violence causes to the inclusive, multi-religious and multi-ethnic character of Indian society.
This violence is a failure of our political institutions and of civil society. It is a consequence of our failure to uphold the principles of the rule of law, mutual understanding, and civil dialogue. Eventually, such violence does not remain confined to a few clearly targeted victims. Rather, it spreads to engulf and destroy the entire society that spawns it, as is evident in neighbouring Pakistan and Sri Lanka, for instance.
The worst contributors to this scenario are politicians who dream of electoral victory at the cost of social catastrophe. The powerful ideal of 'unity in diversity', which has held this country together for six decades, has been seriously imperilled by the use of religious and ethnic prejudice as a political weapon. Intolerance of those different from ourselves, and the abandoning of reasoned discussion to deal with differences, spells the end of the India for which the freedom struggle was waged.
More and more of us must come out and say clearly that we do not share the dreams of these cynical opportunists. Their India is not the India we dream of. The India we dream of is a just society, not an aggressive power.
We call upon the Indian Government to ensure that hate speech is outlawed from the domain of public discourse. We also call upon the Indian Government to outlaw those political parties which, directly or through their cohorts, promote communal discord and encourage violence. The rule of law implies that every citizen's life is sacred. Let the law act decisively to punish those who perpetrate the appalling crimes of pogrom and murder.
Girish Karnad, Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Ramachandra Guha, Kiran Nagarkar , Amit Chaudhuri, Mukul Kesavan, Suketu Mehta, Ranjit Hoskote, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Sampurna Chattarji, Nancy Adajania
Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Shobhana Bhattacharji, Romesh Bhattacharji, Sridala Swami,
The PEN All-India Centre

And a member of West Bengal PEN, Albert Ashok, expresses his anger and protest against the lawlessness in the region where Christians are being persecuted and Government failed to secure the right to freedom of religion in his blog.
Click The link: http://cartoonin.blogspot.com/2008/10/shameful-beastly-acts-by-cowards-and.html