He had allegedly portrayed fishermen, Christianity, priests and nuns in bad light in his novel Korkai

After writer Perumal Murugan, it is now the turn of Tamil writer Joe D’ Cruz to face the wrath of his community for writing a work of fiction about them.

Sahitya Akademi award-winning novel Korkai released in 2009 has landed Mr. D’Cruz in legal trouble.

On a complaint alleging that the novel had portrayed fishermen, Christianity, priests and nuns in bad light, the Judicial Magistrate-II of Thoothukudi has issued a summons directing him to appear before the court on June 12.

“He has written as if promiscuity is prevalent among fisherwomen. His portrayal of Catholic priests and nuns has offended the faith. It caused me and others who have read the novel pain and anguish,” said V. Alangara Bharathavar, general secretary of the Meenavar Viduthalai Iyakkam in Thoothukudi.

Denying the allegations, Mr. D’Cruz told The Hindu that the complainant, instead of seeing the book published in 2009 as a work of creative literature, had culled out a few paragraphs and sentences from the novel to create an impression that it was against fishermen.