Amid Row Over 'Mughal Tent' At Jaipur Literature Fest, Organiser's Defence

Amid an outrage by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the 'Mughal Tent' in the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), the Organiser of the festival has said that it was named before 16 years ago and will continue with the same.

Sanjoy K Roy, the organiser of the festival said that the leaders have the right to have opinions though the event has nothing to do with politics.

"It is their opinion. In Hollywood 'Mughal' word is used to look at a certain lifestyle and not to denominate any religion or people. We have nothing to do with politics. It was named 16 years ago and will continue the same," Mr Roy said while talking to the media on Saturday.

The BJP has objected to the organisers of the JLF naming one of its venues Mughal Tent, saying that the name had hurt the sentiments of a lot of people in the country.

Rajasthan BJP MLA from Chomu, Ram Lal Sharma said in a video, "The organisers of JLF are not aware that it is our duty to name elements at the festival based on Rajasthan's culture. Maharana Pratap and Mirabai are all from here, but organisers have named the domes differently. One of the domes is named Mughal Tent. By doing so, what mentality are they trying to promote? Organisers should at least have considered the historical culture of this land."

Responding to the BJP leader's remark, Mr Roy said that Ram Lal Sharma was entitled to hs opinion.

"We have the right to what we call each of our venues. Those who say 'why did you name it after Mughals' forget that 'Mughal' represents a completely different world," he added.

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