Three Punjabi writers among five to return literary awards

Chandigarh/ New Delhi/ Bengaluru, October 11

Five writers returned their Sahitya Akademi award on Sunday. Three eminent Punjabi writers — Gurbachan Bhullar, Ajmer Singh Aulakh and Atamjit Singh — Ganesh Devy, a leading writer and tribal activist from Gujarat, and Kannada writer Kum Veerabhadrappa have decided to return the award condemning its "silence"  joined the growing number of writers protesting what they called the atmosphere of increasing intolerance and attacks on free speech.

"During recent past, the attempts at disrupting the social fabric of the country, targeting particularly the area of literature and culture, under an orchestrated plan of action, has been perturbing me," Bhullar said.

The 78-year-old author who was born in Bathinda in Punjab was awarded the Sahitya Akademi for his 2005 book of short stories ‘Agni-Kalas’.

Aulakh, a renowned Punjabi playwright, said the attacks on "progressive writers, leaders of the rational movement and the forcible saffronisation of education and culture" troubled him.

“I am very upset over the communal atmosphere being created in the country and the central government was not performing its duty as the representative of a secular and democratic country,” he said, citing his reasons for returning the honour.

Renowned Punjabi theater personality Atamjit Singh also announced on Sunday that he would return his Akademi award due to “the incidents communal hatred in the country for the last some months".

In his letter to Tiwari, Devy, who recieved the award for his book 'After Amnesia' (1992), told Tiwari: "It is high time that writers take a stand. I do this as an expression of my solidarity with several eminent writers, who have recently returned their awards to highlight their concern and anxiety over the shrinking space for free expression and growing intolerance towards difference of opinion."

"The great idea of India is based on a profound tolerance for diversity and difference.  They far surpass everything else in importance. 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.

Veerabhadrappa, who returned the award to condemn the killings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkra, Govind Pansare and Malburgi, had won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2007 for his book 'Aramane'. He has also authored an autobiography, 'Gandhi Classu'.

Poet and critic Adil Jussawalla, who won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2014, urged the literary body to condemn the "unacceptable censoring" of writers by "violentaly intolerant groups."           

Writing to Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, chairman of the Akademi, Jussawalla referred to the attacks on rationalists Kalburgi, Narendra Dhabolkar and Govind Pansare, he urged the Akademi to condemn the killings.

"I realise that the Akademi has rules and regulations but I do feel that it should condemn what is happening to the writing community. But what I don't understand is the lack of urgency. Instead of waiting for December when the Akademi convenes for its executive meeting, it should expedite the matter urgently," Jussawalla said.

 Dalit poet resigns from Akademi

Earlier in the day, Kannada writer and Dalit poet Aravind Malagatti resigned from the Sahitya Akademi’s General Council in protest of the institution’s perceived silence over killing of rationalist scholar MM Kalburgi.

"Yes, I have resigned as member of the General Council and have sent a letter to the president and secretary of the Akademi this morning," Malagatti said.  "I have resigned condemning the killing of Kalburgi and silence of Akademi over the issue. It should have spoken out and expressed its condemnation against such acts," he said.

The writers  join the horde of authors protesting the growing atmosphere of communal intolerance and attacks on free speech in the country.

Kalburgi, 77, was shot dead by two men at his house in Dharwad, northern Karnataka — often considered the state's cultural capital — on August 30. Kalburgi’s murder came six months after progressive thinker, left wing politician and author Govind Pansare died of gunshots in Mumbai. The killings had been condemned as attack on free speech.

"Killing of personalities like Kalburgi, (Govind) Pansare and incidents like Dadri lynching are an attack on the constitutional rights in this country. They are highly condemnable," Malagatti said.

Malagatti is among 20 representatives from various Universities in the General Council of the Sahitya Akademi. He is known for his poetry, prose, essays, criticism and folklore studies in Kannada.

Karnataka government has given him the prestigious Ambedkar Fellowship Award to him. His book, 'Government Brahamana' — the first Dalit autobiography in Kannada — has received the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award.

Pained by allegations: Sahitya Akademi

In his statement, Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, the Akademi's chairperson said: "We wish to emphasise that the Akademi stands for freedom of expression of all writers, regardless of caste, colour, creed or nationality. Sahitya Akademi condemns the attack on and murder of any writer or artist anywhere. Sahitya Akademi is committed to the core secular values enshrined in the Constitution of India and the golden principle of the right to life of all".

He claimed allegations of being silent over attacks on free speech pained him

"I as president can express my official views on any matter only after placing the same before and getting the requisite approval form the Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi in the next meeting," he said defending his stand.

He also asked writers to defend the dignity of the literary body.

Several leading figures in the world of literature have spoken out against the recent attacks. Previously, writer Shashi Deshpande resigned from the Sahitya Akademi's General Council, while poet K Satchidanandan and short story writer PK Parakkadavu gave up their memberships to the institute citing, like Malagati, the Akademi’s lack of response to the growing attack on free-thinking writers. Authors Nayantara Sahgal, Ashok Vajpeyi and Sara Joseph have returned their Sahitya Akademi awards.

Six Kannada writers had returned their awards to Kannada Sahitya Parishat in protest of Kalburgi's killers last month.  On Saturday, Urdu novelist Rahman Abbas announced her would return his Maharashtra State Urdu Sahitya Akademi to protest the Dadri killing and what many call the growing communal intolerance in the country.

In August 2013, rationalist author from Maharashtra Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune when he was out for a morning walk. His death, much like Govind Pansare's, led the police to investigate a link between the murders — Agencies