Kozhikode: Celebrated Malayalam writer and critic M. Leelavathi, aged 98, faced online harassment after dedicating her birthday to the starving children of Gaza. The author, known as Leelavathi Teacher, refused to celebrate her birthday on Monday, saying she could not enjoy food while children in Gaza suffer.
Her statement, “How could rice slip down my throat when children in Gaza sit with plates, waiting for food?” drew sharp criticism from right-wing groups, particularly the Kerala-based CASA (Christian Association & Alliance for Social Action), which mocked her stand on social media and accused her of selective outrage.
Leelavathi explained that she has never celebrated birthdays and instead treats the day as a time for reflection. She recalled how in 2019, after the Wayanad landslides claimed 76 lives, she ate only rice gruel during Onam to express solidarity with the victims. She said, “To me, children everywhere are the same. Those who oppose me are free to do so. I bear no enmity.”
The backlash sparked strong responses from Kerala’s cultural and literary circles. State Education Minister V. Sivankutty said the cyberattack on Leelavathi questions Kerala’s values of compassion. Prominent writer C. Radhakrishnan called the attacks “in very bad taste,” stating that critics had twisted a mother’s pain into a communal issue. Author K. R. Meera also condemned the abuse, describing it as an attack on humanity itself.
Leelavathi, a Padma Shri awardee, is among Kerala’s most respected literary critics, with a career spanning decades in teaching and writing.
