The Paris-based Alliance Française Foundation has distanced itself from “The Pondy lit Fest 2018” questioning the decision of its Puducherry-based affiliate to associate with the literary event.
With a guest list that includes mostly Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters and ministers, the literature festival, scheduled to be held between August 17-19, is facing flak from all corners for being a sham event which has less to do with literature and a lot more to do with the propagation of right-wing ideology.
In a statement, the foundation underlined that Alliance Française de Pondichéry is not allowed to be involved in events that are political in nature.
The foundation added that it “regrets” that the three-day event is being announced as organised in partnership with the Alliance Française de Pondichéry, without any relation with the objectives of the institution, and is scheduled to be held in its premises.
“Having learnt about the organisation of the event “The Pondy lit Fest 2018” and the criticisms and polemics that the aforesaid event has given rise to in the press and on social media, the Alliance Française Foundation, to which the Alliance Française de Pondicherry is bound, would like to remind that the statutes of the Alliances Françaises worldwide, as well as the charter that the president of the Alliance Française de Pondichéry has himself, signed very clearly stipulate that the Alliances Françaises must abstain from undertaking any initiative of a political or sectarian nature,” the statement said.