Nehru's niece returns Sahitya Akademi Award, questions PM’s silence
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru's niece and writer Nayantara Sehgal returned the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award she won in 1986, to express her support to “all Indians who uphold the right to dissent”.
The 88-year-old writer has questioned the Prime Minister’s silence in the wake of a “reign of terror” in the country. Her move comes against the backdrop of the lynching of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri over beef eating rumours. 50-year-old Ikhlaq was dragged out of his home by a 200-strong mob and beaten to death after a public announcement from the local temple that the family had slaughtered a calf and eaten its meat last Monday night in Bishada village.
Sahgal in her statement talked about the murders of Ikhlaq, Kannada writer and Sahitya Akademi Award winner MM Kalburgi and anti-superstition activists Narendra Dhabolkar and Govind Pansare, when she questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The writer has echoed Congress' demand that Prime Minister break his silence on the Dadri incident.
The Eminent writer and member of the Indian Writers’ Forum came down heavily on the Prime Minister in her statement, saying “The Prime Minister remains silent about this reign of terror. We must assume he dare not alienate evil-doers who support his ideology. It is a matter of sorrow that the Sahitya Akademi remains silent”
Criticising state machinery, Sahgal held the government responsible for failing to protect those who questioned “any aspect of the ugly and dangerous distortion of Hinduism known as Hindutva – whether in the intellectual or artistic sphere”
“In memory of the Indians who have been murdered, in support of all Indians who uphold the right to dissent, and of all dissenters who now live in fear and uncertainty, I am returning my Sahitya Akademi Award,” Sahgal said while concluding her statement.
