Now, Hindi poet Vajpeyi returns Sahitya award

New Delhi, October 7

Hindi poet and literary heavyweight Ashok Vajpeyi today returned the Sahitya Akademi Award, joining a parade of litterateurs renouncing their coveted prizes, as a mark of protest against the increasing assault on “right to freedom of both life and expression”.

Vajpeyi's decision came close on the heels of celebrated writer Nayantara Sahgal yesterday returning the Sahitya Akademi Award over "vicious assault" on "India's culture of diversity and debate" and the "right to dissent".

Vajpeyi, former chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi who returned the award given to him in 1994 for his poetry collection “Kahin Nahin Wahin”, voiced displeasure over the Dadri lynching incident and a string of killings of rationalists, while questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's continued silence on the issues.

"Sahgal was right. He is a very loquacious Prime Minister. Why doesn't he tell the nation that the pluralism of this country will be defended at every cost?" Vajpeyi said.

The 74-year-old Hindi poet, essayist and noted critic on literary and cultural matters, disapproved of statements by senior political leaders, including Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma which, he said, "belittled the multi-cultural and multi-religious" fabric of the country.

"There are the comments made by the Culture Minister about renaming Aurangazeb road to APJ Abdul Kalam road. He says Kalam was a great nationalist despite being a Muslim. These kinds of statements belittle the multi-cultural and multi-religious fabric of the country....What can writers do but protest," he said.

Sahgal, the 88-year-old niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, had in an open letter titled "Unmaking of India" referred to the mob lynching of a man in Dadri over rumors of beef consumption, and also the killings of Kannada writer MM Kalburgi and rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.

"This is in solidarity with writers and intellectuals being murdered in broad daylight...," Vajpeyi said.

He also expressed disappointment over the failure of the Sahitya Akademi to "rise to the occasion" to protect the autonomy of writers. "The Sahitya Akademi has failed to rise to the occasion. They have not protested against what has been happening to the writers' autonomy," Vajpeyi said.

Earlier, Hindi writer Uday Prakash had returned his award, raising similar issues. Six Kannada writers, too, had returned literary awards conferred on them by Karnataka over Kalburgi’s killing. — PTI