US raises issue of Kalburgi murder and protests by literary community

NEW DELHI: The US on Wednesday praised India for its tolerance and resilience amid rising incidents of terrorism, while also raising the issue of the murder of Kannada writer MM Kalburgi and the protests by the local literary community in what could be viewed as an indirect dig at the administration.

“Many could benefit from India’s example tolerance and resilience in the face of terror. They would benefit from hearing about the countless leaders outside government confronting violent extremism in communities across India,” Sarah B Sewall, US under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, said in a lecture, titled ‘Democratic Values and Violent Extremism’, here. “When extremists murdered Malleshappa Kalburgi last August to silence his critical views — the third such murder in as many years — the Indian literary and artistic community was among the first to condemn the act,” she said at the event organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation.

Sewall suggested, without any direct reference to India, that governments could help by ending stifling regulations on civil society and allowing citizen groups to peacefully speak and organise around sensitive topics. “Learning from the past, we must avoid the trap of invoking security to justify bigotry, profiling, and discrimination against any religious or ethnic group — including our Muslim brothers and sisters.”