Nayantara Sahgal protests Dadri lynching, returns Akademi award
Noted writer Nayantara Sahgal has returned the prestigious Sahitya
Akademi Award in protest against what she called the “vanishing space”
for diversity.
The niece of the former Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, also said
people were being “killed for not agreeing with the ruling ideology.”
Referring to the recent killings of rationalists and writers M.M.
Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare and of Dadri resident
Mohammad Akhlaq, who was lynched on suspicion of consuming beef, Ms.
Sahgal, speaking to The Hindu from her home in Dehradun, said: “…in this
rising tide of hatred, India is being unmade, being destroyed.”
The last straw
Ms. Sahgal said she was concerned at the environment in the country and
it seemed to be getting “worse and worse” in the past 15 months. “I
guess the death of this poor man in Dadri [Mohammad Akhlaq] was the
final…the last straw,” she said.
She criticised the government’s inaction and Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s silence. “In all these cases, justice drags its feet. The Prime
Minister remains silent on this reign of terror. We must assume he dare
not alienate evil-doers who support his ideology,” she said in a written
statement.
Denying that her decision stems from her political beliefs, Ms. Sahgal
said: “I am not against any political party. India is a democracy, and
in democracies every party has a right to be in power, but what we are
seeing in India today is fascism. There is a vanishing space for
diversity to the extent people are being killed for not agreeing with
the ruling ideology.”
Ms. Sahgal was a member of the Sahitya Akademi’s Advisory Board for English but she resigned during the Emergency.
She also famously criticised her cousin, Indira Gandhi, for actions during the Emergency in 1975.
After Nayantara Sahgal, poet Ashok Vajpeyi returns Sahitya Akademi award
A day after writer Nayantara Sahgal returned her Sahitya Akademi award
against what she described “unmaking of India, poet Ashok Vajpeyi also
handed back the prestigious literary honour to the government,
criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking up against the
recent spree of violence.
Mr. Vajpeyi said that “it’s high time that writers take a stand” to mark
their protest against the recent murders of writers and minorities. “We
have an eloquent Prime Minister, who addresses lakhs of people, but
here writers are being murdered, innocent people are being murdered, his
Ministers make controversial statements...Still he is quiet. Why
doesn’t he shut them up?” Mr. Vajpeyi told a private news channel.
After seeing Ms. Sahgal, the 88-year-old niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr.
Vajpeyi said he decided to give up the award and express his solidarity
with her.
"Why doesn't he tell the nation and the writing and creating community
that the pluralism of this community will be defended at every cost?
Although the government makes announcements that this would not be
tolerated, that would not be tolerated ...but tolerance is there. How is
it that all this has erupted now?"
Earlier, Uday Prakash, another famous literary figure in Hindi language, had returned the award.
Urdu writer joins protest, to return prize
After writer Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi, Urdu novelist
Rahman Abbas announced that he would be returning the Maharashtra State
Urdu Sahitya Academy Award, which he won in 2011 for his third novel Khuda Ke Saaye Mein Aankh Micholi (Hide-and Seek in the Shadow of God).
Mr. Abbas’ action is in protest against the ‘growing intolerance of Hindu right-wing groups against minorities.’
Speaking to The Hindu, he said, “Ever since the Dadri lynching,
the Urdu writing community has been quite unhappy. I am going to the
Academy office on Saturday to return the award and already there are 2-3
Urdu writers who want to join the protest. It is high time we stood up
to the injustice surround-ing us…”
Mr. Abbas is no stranger to controversy. His first Urdu novel, Nakhlistan ki Talash,
published in 2004 had created a stir in literary circles and he was
forced to resign from his post as a lecturer in a Mumbai college. The
novel is the story of a young educated Muslim, who finds himself
alienated in the post-1992 Mumbai riots situation, which leads him to
join a terrorist organisation.
An FIR was lodged against Mr. Abbas for spreading ‘obscenity’ through
this novel and he was arrested on July 28, 2005 and charged under
Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 for the printing of ‘grossly
indecent or scurrilous text’ which carries a jail term of up to two
years. The case is still pending.
“Writers feel a sense of desperation and exasperation in the face of
threat to freedom of speech and the aesthetics of communication. This
[return of award] is a symbolic gesture as this is the only way the
literary community can react and express solidarity for one another,”
says Sukrita Paul Kumar, poet, author and critic.
Mr. Abbas took to his Facebook account on Wednesday to announce his move
to return the award, and in an open letter to fellow writers, said:
“The social and political scenario of our beloved country is worsening
with every passing day. Right-wing forces have polarised [the] nation in
the name of religion, caste and ethnicity for political gains. Dissent
is systematically crushed and rational thinkers and writers are
threatened and brutally killed in broad daylight. The central and state
governments don’t show any eagerness to arrest and punish murderers of
(rationalists) Narendra Dabholkar, Comrade Govind Pansare and Prof MM
Kalburgi. The state is seemingly hesitant and hiding behind various
excuses from banning organisations, which had reportedly played
clandestine roles in heinous crimes.”
Mr. Abbas urged other Urdu writers to join him in his protest. “It is
high time, as Ashok Vajpeyi said. We cannot remain voiceless. Hence, I
request senior Urdu writers, poets and critics including Nida Fazli,
Salam Bin Razzak, Abdus Samad, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Munawwar Rana, to
register [their] protest against the murder and killing of creative
writers by returning Sahitya Academy awards. This might be a small step
but in such volatile times, it is inescapable. It is our duty to raise
our voice against fascism, right-wing intolerant forces and lawlessness…
promoted as a strategy to divide the country on the lines of religion,
sentiments of segments and dogmatic cultural doctrines.”
Asked for his reaction, Delhi-based poet, Nomaan Shauq said: “This is a
great and pertinent gesture and I feel all the great Urdu writers and
those who have won awards and accolades must follow suit. Someone should
ask this question, as to why the more popular writers who go on public
forums and discuss freedom of expression remain silent when the time
comes to act. It is a question of the composite culture of India.”
Alluding to recent events, Mr. Abbas’ open letter also said: “I demand
that the state punish forces which had killed Narendra Dabholkar and
Comrade Pansare. I demand the Central government to book those
responsible for instigating the mob which killed Mr. Akhlaq in Dadri. I
urge senior Urdu writers to take a stand as this is high time and our
secular democracy is under attack.”
Here is the full text of Sashi Deshpande's statement on her resignation:
Dr Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari,
President,
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi
Cc: Professor Chandrashekhar Kambar, Vice-President Sahitya Akademi, Dr K. Sreenivasarao, Secretary Sahitya Akademi
Dear Sir,
When I heard in November 2012 from the Sahitya Akademi that I had
been nominated to the General Council of the Akademi in the individual
category of writers, I felt honoured. I have always respected the
Sahitya Akademi’s role as the single institution in India that brings
together all the Indian languages under one umbrella, at the same time
giving each language its rightful place and dignity.
Today, I am deeply distressed by the silence of the Akademi on the
murder of Professor M. M. Kalburgi. Professor Kalburgi was a noted
scholar, and a good and honest human being; he was also a Sahitya
Akademi awardee and a member of its General Council until recently.
If the Akademi, the premier literary organisation in the country,
cannot stand up against such an act of violence against a writer, if the
Akademi remains silent about this attack on one of its own, what hope
do we have of fighting the growing intolerance in our country? A few
tame condolence meetings here and there for a member of our community
cannot serve the purpose.
Sadly, it has become increasingly important to reaffirm that
difference of opinion cannot be ended with a bullet; that discussion and
debate are the only way a civilised society resolves issues. It has
also become clear that writers, who are supposed to be the
conscience-keepers of society, are no longer considered intellectual
leaders; their voices no longer matter. Perhaps this is the right time
for writers to reclaim their voices. But we need a community of voices,
and this is where the Akademi could serve its purpose and play an
important role. It could initiate and provide space for discussion and
debate in public life. It could stand up for the rights of writers to
speak and write without fear; this is a truth all political parties in a
democracy are supposed to believe in. Silence is a form of abetment,
and the Sahitya Akademi, which should speak for the large community of
Indian writers, must stand up and protest the murder of Professor
Kalburgi and all such acts of violent intolerance.
In view of the Akademi’s failure to stand up for its community of
writers and scholars, I am, out of a sense of strong disappointment,
offering my resignation from the General Council of the Sahitya Akademi.
I do this with regret, and with the hope that the Akademi will go
beyond organising programmes, and giving prizes, to being involved with
crucial issues that affect Indian writers’ freedom to speak and write.
Shashi Deshpande
Bangalore
October 9, 2015
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