Jaipur Litfest organisers clarify stand after inclusion of RSS speakers

In a media statement, it said: “For a decade, the Jaipur Literature Festival has stood for diversity of ideas, languages, nationalities and subjects. The 2017 edition is no different in featuring multiple voices and viewpoints across genres collectively on one platform.

"The festival continues to uphold and celebrate its core values which place equity, democratic access and free speech above all. It strongly believes that for dialogue to be meaningful, we must have representation from all points of view," it said.

"The festival has always been inclusive and welcomed plurality in opinion and often opposing viewpoints, to be expressed without discrimination. This is neither the first nor the last instance where we have welcomed speakers from the right, left and centre and allowed our audiences to form their own views at the end of each session of debate and discussion. We are proud of the incredible breadth of our programme put together by Festival Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple.

"We look forward to welcoming you at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2017.”

Two RSS men — Manmohan Vaidya and Dattatreya Hosabale — are among speakers at the festival with critics saying they were there for political reasons since they have no literary work to their credit.

According to a report in The Hindu, three writers who returned their State-sponsored awards protesting against growing intolerance in the country — Ashok Vajpeyi, Uday Prakash and K. Satchidanandan — will not find their names in the list of speakers this year.