Eminent author Kashinath Singh has protested the “irresponsible” remarks made by various Union ministers against fellow Sahitya Akademi award winning writers who have over the past two weeks announced their decision to return the honours.
Singh said he will hand over the 2011 award he received for his fiction “Rehan Par Raghu” along with a cheque to the Akademi on Monday.
“Certain ministers from the Centre have made irresponsible remarks against the authors who returned their awards. The authors’ decision have not been taken seriously,” Singh said.
Singh, a former professor at the BanarasHinduUniversity, known for writing novels and short stories, also said he was protesting the “very ridiculous” allegations that the authors were politically motivated.
“It is ridiculous to say that the authors are motivated by political parties. Writers are not so foolish to get swayed by anybody. Their actions are against the Akademi’s stance on the tragic incidents in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Dadri. They are not against the Akademi itself,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, Telugu translator Katyayani Vidmahe has also announced her decision to return her 2013 Kendriya Sahitya Akademi translation award in solidarity with other authors who had given back their Sahitya awards.
“I am returning my award in dissent to a range of incidents like the silencing of the Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, the killing of Kannada writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee M M Kalburgi. This is against the violence of writers and for the freedom of expression,” Vidmahe said.
The Warangal-based writer had received an Akademi award for her ‘Sahityakashamlo Sagam - Streela Astitwa Sahityam -Kavitwam - Katha’, a compilation of essays about literature on gender identity published in 2010.
Over the past couple of weeks, at least 34 authors have returned their awards given by the Sahitya Akademi, and five writers have stepped down from official positions of the literary body, which in turn has convened an emergency meeting on October 23 to discuss the developments.
Urdu poet Munnawar Rana returns award on live TV
In a dramatic twist, popular Urdu poet Munawwar Rana on Sunday took to television to hand over his Sahitya Akademi award along with a Rs one lakh cash prize and vowed never to accept any government award in future.
Participating in a televised debate with other writers and politicians, Rana, a big name in contemporary Urdu poetry, said he had decided to return the award because he was disappointed with the present developments in the country.
“I come from Rae Bareli, politics runs through the street drains in my city but I never cared for it,” Rana said.
“Writers and litterateurs have been associated with one party or the other. Some are linked with Congress while others are alleged to be linked with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“I am a Muslim and some may label me as a Pakistani. Many areas in this country do not have an electricity connection but Muslims here are linked to Dawood Ibrahim,” the poet said.
Rana, 62, who was awarded the Sahitya Akademi in 2014 for his book Shahdaba, had earlier said that he would not return his award as doing so would not solve the issue of growing religious intolerance in India.
“I vow not to accept any government award in future, from whatever government is in power,” he said.
Image: Author Kashinath Singh said that certain ministers had made irresponsible remarks against authors who returned their awards.
