A group of intellectuals, comprising mostly Muslim scholars, from the state have written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing dismay over the postponement of eminent lyricist Javed Akhtar’s programme in Kolkata.

In an open letter to the chief minister, the prominent personalities, including Mudar Patherya, Zeeshan Majeed, Taiyyeb Ahmed Khan and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, regretted the decision of the West Bengal Urdu Academy, and claimed it “evidently transpired on account of a protest by Muslim religious organisations that Javed Akhtar should not be invited because he is an atheist”.

The signatories emphasised that the government should have stepped in and directed the Academy to reverse its decision, “which it never did”.

They expressed frustration, stating, “We are disappointed this happened in liberal Bengal under your leadership. Thousands who value free expression would have liked to see you stand up for it.”

The West Bengal Urdu Academy had invited Akhtar as chief guest for a panel discussion on “Urdu in Hindi Cinema” between August 31 and September 3.  The literary event was cancelled at the last minute after Islamic groups, including Jamiat Ulema Kolkata and Wahyain Foundation, objected to his invitation, citing his alleged anti-Islam remarks.  A controversy began when Jamiat Ulema Kolkata’s general secretary Zillur Rahman Arif publicly criticised Akhtar and claimed that his remarks against Islam had caused “unease among people”.

The cancellation of the event has sparked a backlash from the literary and intellectual community in Kolkata.  “As it turned out, West Bengal Urdu Academy (which does not have the word ‘Muslim’anywhere in its name) pandered to the fundamentalists and promptly withdrew its invitation,” the letter states.

The intellectuals argued that “Urdu is a language for everyone”, and it should not be considered the “exclusive property” of a community.

The letter mentions, “A number of people in India harbour the feeling that secularism means appeasing Muslim fundamentalism and intolerance. Sadly, this instance has only deepened this conviction.”

The members also claimed that the decision has “exposed that the religious leanings of a poet (or any individual) are more important than what the poet has to say about an unrelated subject”.

In their letter to the CM, the group said, “The person protesting the inclusion of Javed Akhtar in the event called it a ‘qaumi mushaaira’ on a social media post, which it was not,” adding, that the academy’s decision had damaged Kolkata’s reputation as a liberal city.  “If the decision were taken to appease Muslim sentiment in view of the impending State elections next year (as is being rumoured), then there would always be some kind of an election in this State all the time (panchayat, municipal, State and national). By this yardstick, Javed Akhtar should ever be invited by anyone in Kolkata,” the letter mentions. “Withdrawing the invitation because some people object to the guest implies citizens can’t think for themselves and need fundamentalists to dictate what’s acceptable – it’s a form of censorship,” they wrote in the letter.