INTERVIEW | ‘Communalism is rising in Kerala... but resistance is also building’: Aruna Roy.

The New Indian Express: Varsha Somraj: Thiruvananathapuram: November 07, 2025.

In a chat with TNIE, Aruna Roy says, feminist thought and presence are key to bring to politics a sense of equality and justice.

Kerala has, according to social activist Aruna Roy, been witnessing the rise of communalism, and the resistance to it. In a chat with TNIE, the recipient of the second K R Gouri Amma Award, who was named one of BBC’s 100 Women of the Year in 2024, says feminist thought and presence are key to bring to politics a sense of equality and justice.

Excerpts:

You received the award named after K R Gouri Amma, who was perennially in the running for chief minister...

Even the most progressive among us have to learn that feminist thought and feminist presence must be more sharply etched into the politics of every political party and of the world -- to bring to politics a sense of equality and justice, with an overriding humane compassion. The feminists fought for change. They fought for equality. You have to sit down and dialogue, you have to deal with it because it can’t immediately become polarised.

You were one of the architects of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Today, many RTI applications are turned down citing confidentiality...

Officials cannot say ‘confidential’ and be done with it. They must cite the exact letter and legislative clause and section under which the information confidential? The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, makes it even harder because it legitimises such denials.

What is your perspective on the current state of the federal structure, and the political and cultural tensions across the country?

The fight to protect the federal structure must be fought politically. And, I think all states must align and force the central government to give what it has to give.

The public space for protest is shrinking...

It is present in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, the Northeast. Begin the battle away from Delhi. Why should they all look to Delhi? Delhi is not India. Delhi is just a small state with a lot of government buildings. Let’s not view at India as Delhi, or Delhi as India. That’s a mistake we are making. Just because something happens in Delhi, it doesn’t become national.

You’ve been opposing the imposition of Hindi in the country...

Hindi is being forced upon us. I’m talking about the cultural position. It’s not the majority language. The states that are said to be Hindi speaking, Bihar, for instance, have many dialects. It’s got Bhojpuri, it’s got Maithili, and more. So, what is this notion of a Hindi-speaking state?

We must bust all these myths and pictures put in front of us. Many people don’t really understand either Hindi or English. You have to accept that India is not unicoded. It’s a multicoded country. You can’t wish away languages and cultures. You can’t wish away Muslims, Sikhs, Christians. And this country was not made to be a Hindu state. The dream was to create a secular state, with every community having the right to wish.

Having visited Kerala multiple times, what changes have you observed over the years?

The whole country has changed, and Kerala is no exception. Yet, Kerala still holds on to some of its core principles. Often, we notice the obvious signs first -- like the rise of communalism. There have been attempts to put pressure on both Kerala and Tamil Nadu in different ways, but I also see resistance building.