<p>Author Girish Karnad's outburst questioning an award conferred on Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul here four days ago elicted a mixed bag of reactions here Saturday. Karnad had called Naipaul anti-Muslim.<br /> </p>.<p>Speaking at the <em>Tata Literature Live! </em>The Mumbai LifFest here Friday, Karnad surprised the audience by questioning the lifetime achievement award conferred on Naipaul on account of his (Naipaul) anti-Muslim remarks.</p>.<blockquote><p>Karnad had said: "When it comes to an Indian award given to an author of Indian descent in India, should not his irresponsible remarks (about Muslims) also be considered?"</p></blockquote>.<p>Naipaul has been criticised for referring to the Muslim community as "a bunch of raiders and marauders" and Karnad referred to some of his writings to justify his point.<br /><br />Naipaul's friend and author Farookh Dhondy dismissed Karnad's remarks saying it appeared "like a courtroom where the prosecution was allowed to make points but the defence was silenced".<br /><br />"Naipaul has never expressed views about the religion or any animosity towards Muslims," Dhondy said.<br /><br />He said that Naipaul's wife Nadira is a Pakistani and his other family members also belong to the Muslim community.<br /><br />Anil Dharker, director of the LitFest, also sided with Naipaul. "The award has been conferred for a body of works and not for a select few remarks," Dharker said.<br /><br />However, many in the audience supported Karnad though some were angry at not being allowed to present an opposing viewpoint.<br /><br />Referring to the fall of Vijayanagar empire, Karnad said that while history tells a totally different story, Naipaul has written in his book "India: A Wounded Civilisation" that Hampi pertained to "vibrant Muslims destroying decadent Hindus, which is a generalisation and simplification of the events to fit into his thinking".</p>.<p>The LifFest opened Oct 31 and will go on till Nov 4.</p>
<p>Author Girish Karnad's outburst questioning an award conferred on Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul here four days ago elicted a mixed bag of reactions here Saturday. Karnad had called Naipaul anti-Muslim.<br /> </p>.<p>Speaking at the <em>Tata Literature Live! </em>The Mumbai LifFest here Friday, Karnad surprised the audience by questioning the lifetime achievement award conferred on Naipaul on account of his (Naipaul) anti-Muslim remarks.</p>.<blockquote><p>Karnad had said: "When it comes to an Indian award given to an author of Indian descent in India, should not his irresponsible remarks (about Muslims) also be considered?"</p></blockquote>.<p>Naipaul has been criticised for referring to the Muslim community as "a bunch of raiders and marauders" and Karnad referred to some of his writings to justify his point.<br /><br />Naipaul's friend and author Farookh Dhondy dismissed Karnad's remarks saying it appeared "like a courtroom where the prosecution was allowed to make points but the defence was silenced".<br /><br />"Naipaul has never expressed views about the religion or any animosity towards Muslims," Dhondy said.<br /><br />He said that Naipaul's wife Nadira is a Pakistani and his other family members also belong to the Muslim community.<br /><br />Anil Dharker, director of the LitFest, also sided with Naipaul. "The award has been conferred for a body of works and not for a select few remarks," Dharker said.<br /><br />However, many in the audience supported Karnad though some were angry at not being allowed to present an opposing viewpoint.<br /><br />Referring to the fall of Vijayanagar empire, Karnad said that while history tells a totally different story, Naipaul has written in his book "India: A Wounded Civilisation" that Hampi pertained to "vibrant Muslims destroying decadent Hindus, which is a generalisation and simplification of the events to fit into his thinking".</p>.<p>The LifFest opened Oct 31 and will go on till Nov 4.</p>