Perumal Murugan
| Perumal Murugan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works | Madhorubagan (novel) |
Perumal Murugan is an Indian author, scholar and literary chronicler who writes in Tamil. He has six novels, four collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry to his credit. Three of his novels have been translated into English: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize in 2005, Current Show and One Part Woman. He has received awards from the Government of Tamil Nadu as well as from Katha Books. He is a professor of Tamil at the Government Arts College in Namakkal.
In January 2015, he announced that he was giving up writing after he came under attack from Hindutva supporters who claimed that his novel Madhurobhagan, which was first published in 2010, is blasphemous. The novel explores the problems of caste divisions in the context of a childless marriage and alludes to real-life places and communities such that actual communities were considered to be slurred. The book has been translated into English as One Part Woman. He said on his Facebook page that "Perumal Murugan the writer is dead. As he is no God, he is not going to resurrect himself. He also has no faith in rebirth. An ordinary teacher, he will live as P. Murugan. Leave him alone."
The protests by Hindu and caste-based outfits focused on the portrayal of historical traditions related to Ardhanareeswarar Temple in Tiruchengode, where the eponymous presiding deity is part-Shiva and part-Parvati in one idol. The Tamil title of the book, Madhorubagan, is a translation of the name of the deity (Ardha-naree-eswarar), just as the English title, One Part Woman, is an allusion to the deity's form. The protest by some outfits were continued by the local units even after they lost momentum at the state level.
On 5 July 2016 the Madras High Court, citing Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, ruled that there was no binding force or obligation in the previous state intervention that forced him to apologise and withdraw the books. The court further directed the state to provide appropriate protection when artistic or literary people come under attack, and to form an expert body to help guide the police and local administration to develop sensitivity to the issues involved.
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