Panaji, Nov 27 (PTI) A controversy has erupted after a daily published by the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here dropped a poem on caste discrimination penned by the late Goan writer and former BJP MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh.
The Sunday edition of the daily Peacock carried an illustration of late Wagh but the poem titled "Secular" was dropped.
Artist Siddhesh Gautam, who has drawn this illustration, claimed he was asked not to publish the poem.
When contacted, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) Chief Executive Officer Ankita Mishra said it was an editorial call to not print this poem of the late Wagh.
"The daily, Peacock, has been a flag-bearer for artistic freedom since its inception," she added.
The ESG is the nodal agency which hosts the IFFI every year on behalf of the Goa government. Notably, the late Wagh had served as vice chairman of the ESG.
Ramrao Wagh, brother of the late author, said it was unfortunate that the festival which promotes artistic freedom holds such an attitude towards this poem.
Siddesh Gautam has shared the poem on Instagram.
"I was asked to not publish a poem written by Vishnu Surya Wagh for today's issue. I had chosen Wagh's poem Secular because it expresses so many incidents of caste discrimination by many every day in both urban and rural areas.
"Since my handle is still democratic and I have NOTHING TO LOSE, I am going to share his poem here. I have made my way bearing such blows on my soul many times and without any social, emotional or financial capital. And, I will continue to make my way with my hard work and hard words," he posted.
The poem, originally written in Konkani, was translated into English by the late writer's nephew, Kaustubh Naik.
The poem was published in late Wagh's book 'Sudhirsukt' – Hymns of a Shudra, an anthology of poems in Konkani. The book was chosen for the Goa Konkani Academy Award in the poetry category.
"It would have been such an honour had the poem been published in the magazine dedicated to art and culture," Ramrao Wagh told PTI.
Notably, the Goa government in 2017, in an unprecedented move, had cancelled all 32 undeclared awards of the previous two years by the Goa Konkani Academy (GKA) amid a row over the contents of 'Sudhirsukt'. PTI RPS