Arundhati’s talk cancelled as cops withdraw permission

Renowned Indian author Arundhati Roy’s talk “Utmost Everything” has been cancelled as Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) withdrew their permission for the event.

The talk was scheduled to be held at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) at Farmgate in Dhaka at 6 pm on Tuesday. Chobi Mela was the organizer of the event. 

Noted photographer and also the editor of Chobi Mela Shahidul Alam confirmed the matter in a written statement posted on his verified facebook account.

“We were informed late at night by Dhaka Metropolitan Police that the permission granted, regarding our application (16th February 2019) to hold Arundhati Roy’s talk on 5th March at Krishibid Institute Auditorium, has been withdrawn for ‘unavoidable circumstances,” Shahidul wrote.

He also wrote on his facebook account that, “A lot of preparation had gone into organising this event. We are extremely shocked at this decision, and know how upsetting it must be for all of you who were looking forward to the first-ever visit to Bangladesh of this celebrated writer.”

“We apologise to all of you who had looked forward to this event, and are just as disappointed,” he added.

In this connection, Mazharul Islam Kajal, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Police Station, said the talk has been canceled due to unavoidable circumstances. We requested the authorities of KIB and they canceled the talk.

Arundhati Roy is an Indian author best known for her novel The God of Small Things (1997), which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the biggest-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author.

Shahidul Alam, who was picked up by DMP’s detective branch following his role in road safety movement in August, last year, is a friend of Arundhati.