Hindi Poet Allegations Spark 2025 #MeToo Reckoning

“You can be afraid if you want to.

No! Don’t name anyone.

Die crying if you have to—

But name no one.

They are powerful people, big names.

Who are you, you newbie?

Who will heed you”?”

The name of the woman who penned these lines originally in Hindi is being withheld to protect her identity as a survivor of sexual violence. But she spoke up. She named him. She was heard. She got extensive and intense support and solidarity. The reaction was fast and furious.

A six-week-long Writers’ Residency in Patna, the first of its kind in Hindi literature, ended up making history: not for literary achievements, but for turning into a landmark moment of women’s resistance to sexual violence.

What is now being dubbed Patna ki Ghatna began with a complaint of sexual harassment made by a budding young woman poet against a famous poet, 40 years her senior.

The event took place at Surajpura House, the family estate of Raja Radhika Raman Singh, who launched the much-acclaimed Nayi Dhara in 1950 to open up a space for new ideas and voices. To revive this legacy and celebrate the magazine’s 75th anniversary, the publication conceived a writers’ residency: An initiative met with much enthusiasm.

The two residents chosen by a jury of three were both poets: Krishna Kalpit, a senior poet in his 60s and a leading figure in the Rajasthan Progressive Writers’ Organisation, and a budding young woman poet. A week later, the woman filed a formal complaint with the organisers, alleging that Kalpit had sexually assaulted her. Kalpit had to pack his bags and leave Patna a day after the complaint was filed.

His name was leaked in social media in the last week of June. The fallout was swift and severe.

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Women—and some men—writers convened at least two discussions online and issued an open letter to the organisers, signed by dozens of writers, demanding an inquiry and appropriate action. The letter also questioned how a misogynist and repeat offender such as Kalpit was selected for such a prestigious residency. Kalpit has been lambasted in the past as well for his derogatory remarks against at least two well-known women writers in Hindi.  

The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, the Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh, and the Jan Sanskriti Manch have unequivocally condemned him. The Rajasthan Progressive Writers’ Organisation has expelled Kalpit from its presidential committee and revoked his primary membership, stating that the action was taken after verifying the facts.

At least one member of the jury broke his silence to say that he had objected to Kalpit’s selection on the ground that a senior like him should not even be considered for such a fellowship. Even though the jury member asserted that he had “blocked Kalpit a long time ago” because “his misogynistic views were so distasteful and almost crminal”, he did not object to his inclusion on the grounds of his offences against women.  

Under pressure, Nayi Dhara finally issued a statement: “We held an impartial enquiry and after careful discussions, we have taken necessary steps. The complainant is fully satisfied with our enquiry and the steps we took”.

Kalpit, however, denied the allegations in a Facebook post, claiming he was a “lion surrounded by wolves”. He escalated the matter by circulating a defamation notice—bizarrely issued by an entity called the “India America Society of London”—against several writers.

A great stripper

Debates can be strippers. Stripping celebrated names of their pretence and glory. This debate too tore apart the façades of many writers, exposing their regressive cultural expectations of women. Some self-styled “progressives” saw their reputations collapse. The most shocking stance was that of Uday Prakash, a much-awarded and esteemed figure in Hindi literature, known for returning his Sahitya Akademi award in 2015 for its silence on the murder of M.M. Kalburgi. He is now among Kalpit’s most vocal defenders.

In a Facebook post on June 28, Prakash wrote: “I am worried for Krishna Kalpit. He may take some step that will add another black mark on the forehead of Hindi… I request the Indian Government to protect a poet from the gangsters of (state) capitals… Save Krishna Kalpit. Save all of us who are somewhere low in caste categories”.

This marked the first time caste was brought into the debate. Prakash lamented that his calls to Kalpit had gone unanswered, asking rhetorically: “What is his caste.”

“We want to know his caste. Also of those who are included in this gangsterism.”

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Many were stunned that he had not spared a single word for the survivor. Some of his followers responded with muted support: One even “congratulated” Kalpit! Most expressed deep disappointment.

Nivedita Jha wrote: “Your post made me feel that however great a writer, under the skin he remains a male… People like me have always seen you stand by justice, and for us, your stand is shocking.”

“The real issue is the issue of conduct towards women”, Om Thanvi, former editor of Jansatta, responded with restraint.

Missing was the anger that was, and still is, being heaped on Kalpit. Idols take long to fall. Some commentators dismissed the public outcry and calls for boycott as a “trial by media”. Thanvi, too, suggested that social media reactions had become “too aggressive,” calling for restraint.

Victim-blaming

Soon speculation began about the identity of the victim. It was not difficult to guess, given that there were only two residents in the programme.

But that was not enough. One hyper-active Facebooker soon named her in his post, even posting her picture, blatantly violating the legal protection of her identity, with the comment, “She is still enjoying Patna”. Her women supporters had to respond, pointing out that she had done nothing wrong to make her leave Patna.

Then the trolls began to attack the woman mercilessly. One woman commentator remarked disapprovingly: “You should keep within the boundaries of decency.” Others echoed the same tired advice: “She should mend her ways”. Another called the women’s protests “the shop of feminism”. A third referred to the residency as a “sahwas (cohabitation) residency”.

In response, the Janwadi Lekhak Sangh made a statement, saying: “We condemn those who revealed her identity and posted her photograph on social media, and also those who have moralised and preached to the survivor instead of holding the accused accountable.”

Survivor responds

Finally, the hounded survivor responded. She posted a poem, Raat ke teen baje hain… some lines from which have been quoted above. She also posted a portion of her letter to the organisers on her Facebook page. She wrote: “Either Kalpit should be asked to leave, or hand over a written and signed apology. I do not want to leave the residency in fear because of his misconduct. To punish the victim for the perpetrator’s mistake would be injustice—and I will not allow injustice to be done to me”.

For a long time, there’s been a persistent stereotype that women writers gain prominence only by currying favour with—or sleeping with—powerful men. But this episode belongs to a different category—because the condemnation of the perpetrator and support for the victim goes beyond hierarchy or personal gains.

For many Hindi writers, like both the writers of this piece, this has been a moment of reckoning. Despite some writers, poets and readers voicing their regressive opinions of how women should act, what stands out is the widespread support that poured in for the complainant from individuals, collectives, and progressive organisations across the country.

This moment does not just affirm the growing strength of the feminist assertion in literature; it also affirms that Nayi Wali Hindi (New Wave Hindi, a term used mockingly by senior poets to deride younger writers) represents a cultural shift rather than just a new literary fad. A shift that insists literature cannot exist in isolation from ethics. A shift where younger poets write not just with new words, but with new world views. As the survivor put it, Kalpit is a great poet but “a neech man”. Banishing the neech is the challenge that the Nayi Wali Hindi generation needs to meet head on.

Anjali Deshpande is a former journalist and bilingual writer. Author of the novel Impeachment and the non-fiction book Japanese Management Indian Resistance co-authored with Nandita Haksar.

Kinshuk Gupta is a public health physician and the author of the first LGBTQ short story collection Ye Dil Hai Ki Chor Darwaza