Writers and historians ask Stalin to ensure Badri Seshadri’s release

Eight eminent personalities from various fields, including Carnatic singer T M Krishna and author Perumal Murugan, on Tuesday wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin demanding that publisher Badri Seshadri be released from jail to uphold the right to expression.

Seshadri is under judicial custody after the Tamil Nadu police arrested him for his “provocative remarks” against Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud over the Supreme Court’s observation that it would be forced to intervene in the Manipur violence if the Centre didn’t act.

Read | Madras Reporters Guild condemns arrest of publisher Badri Seshadri, seeks his release

Seshadri, 58, is the founder of Kizhakku Pathippagam, one of the leading publishing houses in Tamil Nadu, and is a regular on Tamil television and YouTube channels.

The letter signed by writers Ambai, Paul Zacharia, Perumal Murugan, musician T M Krishna, historian A R Venkatachalapathy, subaltern historian Stalin Rajangam, professor Rajan Krishnan, and publisher Kannan Sundaram said there was no doubt that Seshadri’s outburst deserves unequivocal condemnation.

“However, we strongly believe that arrest is an extreme reaction to such an infringement and goes against the spirit of the constitutional assurance of freedom of expression,” they said in the letter, adding that they believed that the Stalin government was strongly committed to the freedom of expression.

“We expect the Government of Tamil Nadu, which differs vastly from other state governments of the Indian union, to be an exemplary model in this matter,” the eminent personalities said in the letter and reminded Stalin of Periyar’s words “to not heed meaningless words, consider everything rationally, and act in a manner in conformity with reason.”

Periyar not only advocated the right to expression but also the right to hear every point of view. Periyar trusted in the rationality of people and their ability to discriminate right from wrong, they said.

“We therefore request you that Thiru Badri Seshadri be released at the earliest and encourage the refutation of his unacceptable views on various forums,” the signatories said.

The FIR said Seshadri, who is a supporter of the BJP, has been booked under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In an interview to Aadhan Tamil, a popular YouTube channel, Seshadri had criticized the Supreme Court’s observation that it would be forced to intervene in the Manipur issue if the Centre didn’t act immediately.

The Manipur High Court’s decision to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei community led to the violence in the north-eastern state, Seshadri said in the interview, and took objection to the Supreme Court intervening in a sensitive issue.

“Let's give a gun to Chandrachud and send him there. Let's see if he can restore peace,” he said in the interview.