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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: maceng2 who wrote (20505)	3/10/2002 7:30:23 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Big full page spread on Arundhati Roy in the Telegraph. You have to register on the telegraph site, but here is the subject matter. nationalpost.com =================================================== Roy cuts jail stay short Celebrated author opts to pay fine after dam protest Rahul Bedi The Daily Telegraph, with files from Reuters and Agence France-Presse DELHI - In the end the lure of life in New Delhi's most expensive housing area appeared to outweigh Arundhati Roy's political resolve. After serving one day in jail the Booker Prize-winning author balked at the prospect of another three months inside, and paid a $66 fine instead. In classic Roy-speak, the diminutive author of The God of Small Things said she spent the entire night in the overcrowded Tihar jail in the Indian capital mulling over whether to pay the fine for a contempt of court or serve the three-month sentence instead. "Paying it [the fine] does not mean that I have apologized or accepted the judgment. I paid the fine as I had made my point," she said at a news conference immediately after her release on Thursday. Earlier, her inner circle of admirers had declared that, as a dedicated activist, she would opt for jail for criminal contempt over a campaign to halt the building of the Narmada dam in central India. Activists say the huge artificial lake due to be created by the dam would swamp 248 villages and destroy fragile ecosystems, fertile farmland and forests in western and central India. The novelist's supporters were at a loss to explain her decision to leave jail for the comfort of her home overlooking a park in the Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi's most expensive neighbourhood, where she lives with her film-maker husband. Critics accuse her of being part of Delhi's "radical chic" set of social activists, who often live in smart residences, drive expensive cars and leave India during the heat of the summer for "conferences" in Europe or America. She is also accused of hijacking the Narmada dam controversy only after winning the 1997 Booker Prize. Critics claimed that Ms. Roy's involvement in a celebrated issue was guaranteed to generate publicity for herself. A contempt case against Ms. Roy was dismissed last year, but her passionately worded defence affidavit, filed in response to the proceedings, was declared in contempt of court and resulted in Wednesday's conviction. Her involvement in the dam project is also said to have had the effect of sidelining Mehda Patkar, who launched the Save Narmada Campaign more than a decade ago and, unlike Ms. Roy, has worked ceaselessly to mobilize local opposition. "Going to jail adds ersatz to her CV; serving a three-month sentence would not have enhanced her glamour," a newspaper editorial claimed yesterday. But Ms. Roy's friends and supporters say the criticism stems from jealousy of the novelist's looks, fame, intellect and effervescence. "Arundhati has no reason to lobby for fame," said Tarun Tejpal, the first publisher of her prize-winning novel. "She's the only well-known Indian author who actively and consistently agitates for what she believes in."