Kerala writer S Hareesh withdraws novel following threats by radical elements

Thiruvananthapuram: Another novel has fallen victim to fundamentalist wrath. Writer S. Hareesh has withdrawn his novel Meesha, being serialised in Mathrubhumi weekly, following threats by radical elements allegedly for hurting the sentiments of believers of Hindu religion.

Hareesh, winner of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for short story for his anthology Adam last year, said he could no longer hold on against the threats raised on the social media and over phone against him and his family members.
It may be recalled that renowned Tamil writer Perumal Murugan had stopped writing in 2015 after alleged Hindu-groups protested against his novel Madhorubhagan.

Mathrubhumi weekly editor Kamal Ram Sajeev confirmed that the weekly had received a letter from Hareesh asking it not to publish the remaining parts of the novel. “Hareesh withdraws his novel Meesa, literature is being mob-lynched, darkest day in Kerala’s cultural history, lightless days to follow,” Sajeev tweeted.
Sajeev told this newspaer that the development showed where society has been heading to. Hareesh said that most of the people who abused him on the Facebook had fake IDs.