26 November 2015, Bangalore.
In view of media reports, the Bangalore Literature Festival organizers and authors Shinie Antony & Vikram Sampath, issue a clarification:
The Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF) has done Bengaluru proud as it has emerged as the second largest literary conclave in this country and survives as a community funded festival that runs on no agendas. The Festival is a forum created to democratically discuss, dissent and debate varied view points and opinions and not merely a single strand of thought. Individuals and particularly writers, including the organizers, are entitled to their opinions in a free country like ours.
However, BLF as a whole is neutral and impartial and subscribes to no single ideology or view point. If we were monochromatic in our views, in the last three editions and this one, we would not have invited diverse shades of opinion in the first place. We organizers work really hard to put the festival together against all odds, staying away from corporate funding thus far. The reason for this is we believe that voices need to be kept independent and a rainbow of opinions can then be presented to a discerning audience. To ascribe motives to us is simply mischievous and unwarranted.
While we respect the decision of the writers who have chosen not to participate in the festival due to certain misgivings, we feel they have deprived a vast section of the audience to listen to their view point. We would still urge them to reconsider and participate in the festival so that their views are heard by all.