The Hindu : `Naipaul is the torchbearer of truth'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 08, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mysore

`Naipaul is the torchbearer of truth'

The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, V. Srinivas Prasad, inaugurating a seminar on `V.S. Naipaul: His life and works', in Mysore on Wednesday. Giriija Annaiah Gowda, Reedway Dasenbrock, and Feroza Jussawallah of New Mexico University ar e seen.

Mysore Jan. 7. The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, V. Srinivas Prasad, said today that educationists and scholars should shoulder the responsibility of creating awareness among the ignorant and exploited masses on their rights.

He was speaking after inaugurating an international conference on "V.S. Naipaul: His life and works'' organised by the Institute of Commonwealth and American Studies and English Language (ICASEL) here.

Mr. Prasad said Mr. Naipaul's outbursts and indignation against dictatorship, corruption, mismanagement, and poverty were understandable and this was the way with all the truth tellers. "They are harsh and bitter about any unjust practice, and Mr. Naipaul is the torchbearer of truth,'' he added.

He said Mr. Naipaul inherited many cultures — Indian, Indian-Trinidadian, and English. He was a writer in exile. But his exile was not forced, but chosen. The biggest problem that Mr. Naipaul encountered as a writer was the problem of belonging. "Where does or to what culture does he belong? Indian, Carribean, or English?

Mr. Prasad noted that Mr. Naipaul belonged to nowhere and at the same time he belonged to everywhere.

"He searches his roots, and his quest for roots leads him to self-realisation, the self-knowledge. To discover one's self is necessary for one to arrive at the ultimate truth. Thus, while his novels depict the conditions of all post-independent and pre-independent societies, they also search for the discovery of lasting human values,'' he said.

Commending the work of the institute started by H.H. Annaiah Gowda, the Minister said that it had been conducting national and international seminars since its inception in 1986. Annaiah Gowda did a commendable job in the promotion of Commonwealth literature, especially African and West Indian literature in this part of the world, and after retiring from the University of Mysore, Annaiah Gowda started the institute to continue the task of spreading Commonwealth literature along with literature from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America, and England, Mr. Prasad said.

Paying tributes to Annaiah Gowda for launching the institute, Mr. Prasad said the institute was helping many scholars to pursue research and studies in commonwealth literature.

Feroza Jussawallah of the University of New Mexico, U.S., referred to Mr. Naipaul's works and the rancour created by his observations.

It was not the writer's intention to create acrimony, she added. T.R.S. Sharma delivered the keynote address.

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