BOOKER Prize-winning Indian novelist Arundhati Roy could be prosecuted for a 2010 speech about Kashmir after a top official signed off on the move, local media reported.
Roy, 61, is one of India's most famous living authors, but her writing and activism, including her trenchant criticism of prime minister Narendra Modi's government, has made her a polarising figure at home.
A criminal complaint accusing her and several others of sedition had languished in India's notoriously glacial criminal justice system since it was first filed in 2010.
But on Tuesday (10), Indian media reported that V K Saxena, the top official in the administration governing New Delhi, had given approval for the case to proceed before the courts.
Saxena's directive said there was enough evidence for a case to proceed against Roy and her codefendants "for their speeches at a public function" in the capital, The Hindu newspaper reported.
The original complaint accuses Roy and others of giving speeches advocating the secession of Kashmir from India, which partly governs the disputed region and claims it in full, along with neighbouring Pakistan.
Kashmir is one of the most sensitive topics of public discussion in India, which has fought two wars and countless skirmishes with Pakistan over control of the territory.
Tens of thousands of people, including Indian troops, militants and civilians, have been killed in Kashmir since an insurgency against Indian rule broke out in 1989.
Roy's home in New Delhi was besieged by protesters in 2010 when her remarks from the panel discussion became public.
Two of her codefendants have died in the 13 years since the case was first lodged.
Roy became the first non-expatriate Indian to win the prestigious Booker Prize for her acclaimed debut novel The God of Small Things in 1997.
She is also known for her passionate essays on the plight of the poor and dispossessed in India, occasionally earning the ire of the country's elite.
In recent years her work has marked her as one of the most high-profile critics of Modi's government, which has been accused by rights groups and others of targeting activists for criminal prosecution and working to suppress free speech.
Reporters Without Borders warns "press freedom is in crisis" in India. Since 2014, India dropped from 140 to 161 on its rankings of media freedom, including 11 places since last year.
(AFP)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)