The “Whose Culture Is It Anyway” panel that was held on the Lawn stage on the final day of Dhaka Lit Fest 2017, was a timely exploration of identity politics in all its nuances of racism, inclusion, and expression, when applied to art.
Novelist and DLF director Dr Kazi Anis Ahmad introduced the panel, which featured poet/translator Andres Naffis-Sahely, novelist Karan Mahajan, and journalist/author Lionel Shriver in a lively discussion about identity politics, cultural appropriation and political correctness.
After a rather quiet start, possibly caused by the acoustics of the open-air location, the discussion gradually gathered steam, moderated ably by Kelly Falconer, founder of the Asia Literary Agency. The focus shifted from matters of inclusion and control of the narrative, to the toxic nature of the PC movement in its present incarnation, and although there wasn’t much disagreement, some strong statements were made.
“There are some important principles that, at this point in time, need defending that are behind the cultural appropriation movement, that’s all part of the package, the ways of thinking – categorising people and limiting them to the labels we put on them and encouraging them to embrace a very limited concept of identity,” said Lionel Shriver. It is the author’s belief that free speech, which has recently been appropriated, at least in the US by hate groups and neo-Nazis, might be disturbing, but also provide opportunities for the said groups to hang themselves. “Racists, when we let them talk, sound like racists. Big surprise,” she quipped.
“Out of a sense of misguided righteousness, I think, a lot of young people in the United States have abandoned the idea of free speech, in preference for assuming the role of censor, because it feels very powerful to tell people what they can or cannot say, and I think the big mistake that these young people are making is to assume that they will always be in a position to censor others,” she added, warning that this was something of a slippery slope that could come back to haunt them.
“Every generation wants to bring down the old systems that haven’t of course kept the pace of change that they demand,” said Andres Naffis-Sahely. He counselled the need for a roadmap, a proper plan to effect change in identity politics.
Talking about the struggle that artists have with censorship, or cultural appropriation particularly in writing about other cultures, Karan Mahajan said: “There are two things that are being forgotten; one is that no piece of art an artist produces is the final statement about something, and the other is that overall, you have to tune out the criticism.”
Thursday, June 04, 2026
