Bulldozer demolitions: Writers, translators condemn JCB for 'blatant hypocrisy'

British bulldozer manufacturer and organiser of a literature prize criticised for ‘uprooting’ the lives of poor and marginalised in India as well as Palestine

Over a hundred writers, poets and publishers have come out with an open letter condemning JCB, the British bulldozer manufacturer and organiser of a literature prize, for allegedly “uprooting” the lives of poor and marginalised in India as well as Palestine.

Signed by the likes of poet-critic K. Satchidanandan, poet-publisher Asad Zaidi, Adivasi poet Jacinta Kerketta, poet-novelist Meena Kandasamy and Dalit poet-activist Cynthia Stephen, the letter condemned the company, which organises the annual JCB Prize for Literature in India for its “blatant hypocrisy”.

They said the company is awarding a literary prize celebrating the diversity of Indian writers, while “simultaneously remaining complicit in destroying the lives and livelihoods of so many as a form of punishment”.

The award organisers declined to respond to the open letter when approached for a comment.

The open letter, released days ahead of the announcement of this year’s winner of the JCB Prize on November 23, condemned the company for “uprooting of the lives of so many Indians from poorer and marginalised backgrounds - including Muslims, Dalits and others - not to mention its enforcement of occupation in Kashmir and Palestine”.

“As writers, we will not stand for such disingenuous claims of support for the literary community. This prize cannot wash off the blood on JCB’s hands. India’s up-and-coming writers deserve better,” the letter read.

Distinguished international names from Palestine and the Middle East, including Palestinian novelist Isabella Hammad and poet Rafeef Ziadah, Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif, Iraqi poet and novelist Sinan Antoon and Omar Robert Hamilton, novelist and Director of the Palestinian Festival of Literature are the other signatories of the letter.

Irish novelist and screenwriter Ronan Bennett, novelist Andrew O’Hagan and novelist and screenwriter Nikesh Shukla also signed the letter.

“If the JCB Prize is intended to support Indian writing, that means Indian writing is complicit in British racism, Hindu fundamentalism, and Zionist ethnic cleansing. Writers need money to carry out their difficult work, but that cannot be at the cost of mass death and suffering. As John Berger put it while pointing out Booker McConnell’s historic roots in slavery, ‘Clarity is more important than money’,” Indian author Siddhartha Deb said in a separate statement.

Ms. Stephen condemned the “hypocrisy on the part of the company and those administering the prize”.

“How ironic that the term JCB is more popular in India as the machine that has aided the demolition of literally hundreds of thousands of houses of the common citizens of India in certain states of India. To see it associated with a very ‘prestigious’, (read large) literary prize for Indian literature is surreal. Heavy earthmoving equipment is like a knife. It can be used to build infrastructure for human comfort, but in recent years has been more used to destroy the lives of the poor and marginalised,” Ms. Stephen said.

Writer-journalist Zia Us Salam said that the company is trying “to gain legitimacy with the literature prize”. “This has nothing to do with promotion of free speech, diversity and pluralism. As writers it’s critical that we speak up against this flagrant violation of human rights. This letter is a silent protest which is a small but important beginning,” he said.

Published - November 21, 2024 03:34 pm IST