The first ever Sahitya Akademi Award was given to Makhanlal Chaturvedi in year 1955 for hi ‘Himtarangini.’ In year 1957, this Puraskar was conferred on Acharya Narendra Deo (posthumously) for Buddha Dhamma Shatra, said the sources. “Alarming times for free expression in India”, Rushdie tweeted.
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Top writers like Uday Prakash, Nayantara Sahgal, Ashok Vajpeyi among several others have already returned their awards blaming the Akademi for its silence.
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.
“The communal poison is spreading in the country and the threat of dividing people looms large”, the writers warned.
Speaking to Mirror, Akademi secretary Dr K Sreenivasarao said, “The meeting will discuss all the recent developments”.
Zacharia’s broadside against the government comes two days after writer-activist Sarah Joseph made a decision to return the Sahitya Akademi Award she had won in 2003, in protest against intolerance and curbs on freedom of expression. But now I feel we the writers have a role to play in the way things are going on in our country.
He said that as an individual, they have got the award, which was given to them by a group of literary persons on the basis of a few of their writings, a few of their books or in different languages. While I may or may not agree with all the views and politics of all those who have returned their awards, I stand with them on this specific issue.
In the place of the pen, there are now bullets being fired. “That we have come to a stage when the honourable Rastrapatiji had to remind the nation that these must be seen as non-negotiable foundations of India should be enough of a reason for the Sahitya Akademi to act”, Devy said in the letter.
“I had written to the Akademi when M.M Kalburgi was killed earlier”. “It was the duty of the Akademi to condemn the atmosphere in the country”, Srinath said. For his part, Atamjit said he “is very upset over the incidents communal hatred in the country for the last a few months”.
The AMK, President, Syed Shujaat Bukhari, said, “The writers who returned their awards in protest against the increasing communalization and criminalization in India must be supported by one and all”.
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“The behaviour of the government following Dadri lynching (in Uttar Pradesh) reflects that the country is heading towards fascism”, the writer added.
