Hounded, Perumal Murugan Said He Was Dead. Chennai High Court Intervenes

Chennai: After weeks of protests by caste-based groups provoked famous Tamil writer Perumal Murugan to declare, on Facebook, that he was dead. "As an ordinary teacher, he will live as P Murugan. Leave him alone," the professor of Tamil posted.

A year later, the Madras High Court has urged course-correction.

"Let the author be resurrected to what he is best at: Write," said judges today, dismissing a criminal case filed against him over his novel Madhorubhagan.

"The author should not be under fear... the choice to read is always with the reader. If you do not like a book, throw it away....yet, the right to write is unhindered," said the court, rejecting a petition to remove all copies of the novel in Tamil as well as its English translation, One Part Woman.

Professor Murugan, revered for his body of work, told the story of a childless couple; after years of being unable to conceive, the wife takes part in a festival which permits sex between any man and woman on one night without that amounting to a sin.

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Societal and caste pressures and diktats are explored in the book, as are the prejudices against women, especially those who do not bear children.

After he was pilloried by some residents of his hometown Tiruchengode, and targeted by the dominant Kongu Vellala community, the 50-year-old was reportedly coerced by the local administration and police to sign an agreement about the book being withdrawn.

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In February 2015, he shifted to Chennai and joined the faculty of the city's famous Presidency College.

The court has also asked the government to create a committee that would mediate when conflicts over views in art and literature escalate.