New Delhi: The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was mired in controversy after its daily, The Peacock, decided not to print the translation of a Konkani poem on caste discrimination written by late Goan writer and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from St Andre, Vishnu Surya Wagh.The Sunday edition of the daily featured a two-page illustration of Wagh by artist Siddhesh Gautam.Sources told the Indian Express the illustration was meant to be carried alongside Wagh’s poem ‘Secular’, but the text was removed on Saturday (November 25).The poem is republished at the end of this article.According to the newspaper, Wagh’s nephew, Kaustubh Naik, called it an “act of censorship”.Naik told the daily that The Peacock team had asked him a few days ago to translate the poem from Wagh’s collection titled ‘Sudirsukta’. “They wanted me to vet some poems. I asked them if they had any specific poem in mind and was asked to translate this particular one. The poem was to accompany a double-page spread illustration on Wagh by the anti-caste artist Siddhesh Gautam in the Sunday edition of The Peacock.”However, on Saturday, the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) officials informed him that the poem would not be included in the print.He added that the poem’s “anti-establishment stance” and themes could be one of the reasons to not print the poem.“The poetry collection Sudirsukta caused some controversy in 2017 … If you read the collection, you realise that Wagh recorded histories of Goa’s Bahujan Samaj through his poems. The use of language and its imagery and themes are rather revolutionary in Goa’s literary scene. The poems take an anti-establishment stance. Perhaps that’s the reason,” Naik said.“It is unfortunate that this act of censorship occurred on the eve of Constitution day [November 25],” he added.In 2017, Wagh’s anthology of poems in Konkani, titled ‘Sudirsukta – Hymns of a Shudra,’ got the Goa Konkani Academy Award in the poetry category. However, controversy ensued when news of the award “leaked before the official announcement,” leading to allegations that the book endorsed communal views.It was reported that a social media campaign lifted its verses and shared them “out of context”, triggering a caste divide between the state’s dominant Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) and the majority Bahujan Goans.Subsequently, the awards for that year were cancelled by the then-chief minister, the late Manohar Parrikar, who incidentally belonged to the GSB community.Gautam also expressed his disappointment, saying, on Instagram, “I was asked to not publish a poem by Vishnu Surya Wagh for today’s issue. Wagh’s poem ‘Secular’ (is one that) I carefully chose because it expresses so many incidents of caste discrimination by many on a daily basis in both urban and rural areas. I myself have gone through something similar many times in my life, not just as an unknown student, but also as a well-known artist.”The ESG is the nodal agency that organises IFFI on behalf of the Goa government.It told the newspaper that the decision not to include the poem was taken “purely for creative reasons”. ESG is also the publisher of The Peacock.ESG CEO Ankita Mishra told the daily that “the decision to not print the article was an editorial call taken purely for creative reasons and had nothing to do with the content of the article.”“(The) Peacock has been a flagbearer for artistic freedom since its inception, and it is our endeavour that it continues to be so,” he added.§Secular(By Vishnu Surya WaghTranslated by Kaustubh Naik)I was unawareOf their techniqueTo sniff people’s casteOne day, visiting a friend’s houseEncountered his uncle,Lounging on the balcãoAnd we began conversing“Wagh? You’re one of us,”Uncle smirked.I felt a pang of anxiety.Yet, he sought absolute certainty.So he inquired,“The Kamat Waghs of Ribandar, kin to you?”“No,” I replied.“Hailing from Karwar?”“No, I’m from Goa.”“Indeed? Which part?”“From Dongri? Perhaps the Mahajans of the Rama temple?”“No. Our goddess is Sati.”Still unable to deduce,He probed once more.“Who is your family deity?”“Shivnath,” I offered.“From Shiroda?”“Yes.”“So…so you are not a GSB.”“No, uncle, we are Bhandaris.”A chuckle escaped him.“Don’t take offense! I asked out of curiosity.We renounce caste.Come, have tea.Caste systems have marred Goa.Who is Baman? Who is Shudra? Who cares?These divisions hold no meaning.We should be secular.We must have a casteless society, you know?”Uncle waited, anticipation in the air,I merely noddedSipping teaMy gaze, firm on his sacred thread’s descent