Forced to Withdraw Novel, Tamil Writer Perumal Murugan Declares Himself 'Dead'

Using the social media to announce his 'death', Tamil writer Perumal Murugan said that the writer part of him had died and that only the teacher in him would live on.

Murugan wrote on his Facebook page:

Perumal Murugan, the writer is dead. He is not God, so he is not going to resurrect. He does not believe in reincarnation either.

Following protests against his novel 'Madorubhagan' in his home town Thiruchengodu, Murugan was forced to withdraw the book and apologise unconditionally for it. The story revolves around a woman's attempt to get herself pregnant following a tradition of consensual sex with a stranger after not being able to conceive with her husband.

Citing his right to freedom of expression, the author posted on Facebook that he now wants to withdraw all his previous books and compensate the publishers for their loss, reports Zee News.

In his post he also thanked his students, friends and publishers for supporting him so far. But Murugan also said that he should not be invited to any literary event from now on.

Failure to protect the 'freedom of expression' of the author has been criticised by many imminent personalities.

Murugan has written four novels, three collections of short stories and three anthologies of poetry. He is also a Tamil professor at the Government Arts College in Namakkal.

(With inputs from IANS)