12 more return Akademi awards

The growing list of authors protesting in one form or another also includes: Aman Sethi, Ashok Vajpeyi, N Shivdas, Shashi Deshpande, Sarah Joseph, Rahman Abbas, K Parakkadavu, Ajmer Aulakh, Atamjit, Gurbachan Bhullar, Waryam Sandhu and Ghulam Nabi Khayal.

At the state level, six Kannada writers had earlier this month returned their awards to Kannada Sahitya Parishat upset over the delay in arrest of killers of Kalburgi, who was shot dead at point blank range two by men at his Dharwad residence recently.

Poet and critic Adil Jussawalla, who won the Sahitya Akademi honour for his 2014 work, also urged the literary body to condemn the “unacceptable censoring” of writers by “violentaly intolerant groups”. “That is why, I made a decision to return Sahitya Akademi award”. An award is a sign of recognition for an artist and the decision to return an award would mean a serious thoughtful action which is compelled by a deep sense of social responsibility.

“I am sorry to find that you think this is a “political issue”; to writers like me, this is an issue of our basic freedom to live, think and write”. “It was a well-organised event and that is why we needed time to do so”.

“The Sahitya Akademi remains silent about the Kalburgi murder so many dangers our democracy is facing, the very fabric of democracy is under threat”.

Public lynching over a slab of meat, cold blooded murders of writers, rationalists and a wave of crimes of intolerance has led well-known Indian writers and winners of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award, to innovatively script their dissent. She said, referring to recent communal atrocities: “To kill those who stand for truth and justice put us to shame in the eyes of the world and God”.

Other writers resigned from the governing council of the academy.

Congress leader PL Punia on Tuesday termed Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma’s jibe over writers as “objectionable”. He further added, “The lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri too failed to make the government take any steps to rein in anti-national elements”.

Writers Rahamat Tarikere and D N Srinath, who had received Kendra Sahitya Akademi awards in 2000 and 2009, respectively, on Monday announced that they would return the awards along with the citation and cash.

The state may not wish to hear what these writers have to say, but as the protest spreads with even theatre artistes like Maya Krishna Rao and filmmakers such as Govind Nihalani joining in, it may have to learn to listen.