New Delhi: Winner of the International Booker Prize in 2022, the celebrated author Geetanjali Shree, told The Wire today that those at the top of the establishment, including ministers, bureaucrats, and the police are not gods but public servants.Geetanjali was responding to the brutal use of police force against students and youth starting July 20, when thousands gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in response to the Cockroach Janata Party’s call to march to the parliament. The movement which began against the NEET paper leaks and called for the ouster of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has found resonance countrywide and has organically grown into an expression of youth anger.“The youth are speaking out. They are Indians and are in their homeland. Yeh unka ghar hai [this is their home],” Geetanjali said.“When we notice cracks and leakages in our home, are we not bothered? Worried our home will collapse? They are calling out for repairs and redressals. Calling out to the authorities to allay their anxieties and protect their future and save their home and homeland,” she added.Top executives of the government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, have been silent on the Delhi police and allied security forces’ mistreatment of protesters. There are reports of victims sustaining pellet-like injuries, widespread injuries from police lathicharge and allegations of sexual harassment from police.“These people up there – the ministers, the bureaucrats, the police, are people’s representatives and public servants. They are not gods,” Geetanjali Shree noted.She has thanked young people for reminding the country about democracy.“Thank you, all you young people, for reminding us about democracy. Salaam to you. And a plea that the powers that be will do their duty wisely,” she said.Geetanjali has been vocal about social and political injustices. Her international Booker marked the first for a Hindi and Indian language piece of literature.In 2022, a complaint was filed against Geetanjali Shree by an Uttar Pradesh resident who claimed that her book Ret Samadhi had hurt Hindu sentiments. An event in Agra to honour her was called off, leading to widespread condemnation.