98-year-old Indian writer harassed by right-wing groups after Gaza solidarity
Veteran writer M. Leelavathi targeted by right-wing groups after dedicating her 98th birthday to victims of Israel’s genocide in Gaza
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A 98-year-old Indian literary icon has faced harassment from right-wing groups after announcing she would forgo her birthday celebration in solidarity with Palestinians suffering under Israel’s war on Gaza.
According to Maktoob Media, Mundanat Leelavathi, a renowned Malayalam critic and award-winning author from the southern Indian state of Kerala, became the target of coordinated cyberbullying after declaring she could not celebrate while “children in Gaza sit with plates, waiting for food.” Her decision, seen by many as a gesture of conscience, triggered attacks from right-wing networks that accused her of “selective outrage.”
One of the loudest campaigns came from CASA, a Kerala-based right-wing Christian organization, which mocked her statement by citing militant violence in Israel and unrest in Kashmir.
Analysts said the backlash reflected how cultural figures in India are increasingly vilified for expressing solidarity with Palestinians, as Hindutva and allied groups seek to delegitimize dissent.
Leelavathi, popularly known as “Leelavathi Teacher,” defended her decision as part of her lifelong principle of standing with victims of human suffering. She noted that she has never celebrated birthdays, choosing instead to mark them by reflecting on global crises.
In 2019, she ate only rice gruel during Kerala’s Onam festival to honor children killed in devastating landslides. “To me, children everywhere are the same. Those who oppose me are free to do so. I bear no enmity,” she said.
The attacks have drawn widespread condemnation. Kerala’s Education Minister V. Sivankutty said the harassment “questions all the goodness of Kerala,” urging citizens to rally in defense of cultural values rooted in compassion.
Celebrated novelist K.R. Meera called the campaign against her “profoundly against humanity,” while senior writer C. Radhakrishnan criticized those who, in his words, “failed to recognize a mother’s pain for children, regardless of caste, religion, or nationality.”
Leelavathi, born in 1927, is among India’s most respected literary critics. Over her long career, she has been honored with the Sahitya Akademi Award, the country’s highest national literary prize, as well as the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the state’s top literary honor. She also received the Padma Shri, one of India’s most prestigious civilian awards.
A former principal of Government Brennen College in Thalassery, she remains revered across Kerala as both a teacher and cultural critic.
Analysts say her treatment underscores a broader climate in India, where acts of solidarity with Palestinians are increasingly branded as disloyal or communal.
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