Buzzing Blogosphere – The unrest of Sahitya Akademi awards

India being a democracy technically means that every citizen has the freedom of expression, but lately, this freedom has come under heavy fire from intolerant people who take it upon themselves to uphold the values of the country. This attitude has rattled many people who think that violence and coercion in the name “getting their sentiments hurt will take the country on a short cut route to doom. Foremost among them are authors, hordes of whom have returned their Sahitya Akademi Awards as protest against increasing intolerance and muzzling of voices.

The following authors have returned their Awards in the last few days, following noted author and Jawaharlal Nehru’s niece Nayantara Sahgal, who returned her award over her concerns over “India’s culture of diversity being under vicious assault” – Ashok Vajpeyi, Sarah Joseph, Ganesh Devi, Gurbachan Singh Bhullar, Ajmer Singh Aulakh, Atamjit Singh, Waryam Sandhu, Ghulam Nabi Khayal and Hindi poet Rajesh Joshi. Apart from these gestures, Kannada writer Aravind Malagatti and others resigned from the Sahiya Akademi’s general council to protest against M. M. Kalburgi’s killing.

We ran our fingers through the virtual world to read through some bloggers’ minds and their voices on the ongoing issue that has shaken the very base of democracy and here is what we surfaced with.

Nayantara Sahgal, Indian writer in English and niece of India’s first PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru writes, “Rationalists who question superstition, anyone who questions any aspect of the ugly and dangerous distortion of Hinduism known as Hindutva – whether in the intellectual or artistic sphere, or whether in terms of food habits and lifestyle – are being marginalised, persecuted, or murdered.”

Amrit Hallan, a professional Content Writer expresses his discontent on Nayantara Sahgal in his article here. He writes, “Where was the mighty pen then? Did she return the comforts she got due to her association with the family-name? It was the usual family business. It was not the BJP at the Centre. It was not Narendra Modi who was heading the government during any of those long decades.The Congress party is so full of sins that a right-thinking writer would not like to touch it even with a barge pole. Every big and small problem the country faces can be easily traced back to the family and the party, which was its extension.

Dilip Simeon, a blogger writes, “ The courageous gesture of returning awards sends a strong message to the government. Critics have panned Nayantara Sahgal, Jawaharlal Nehru’s niece, for what they have called “selective outrage”, but what she, Ashok Bajpai and others have done is an act of bravery —that too at a time when it is convenient to remain silent.”

Kemmy Jose, a writer too had something important to say, “In the recent line of events, many awardees are returning their awards. The reason is simple. They are protesting over the government’s silence on these issues. According to the law, every citizen has the right to dissent, and that is what the press and the media is built upon, but today, these press houses and media giants are turning into a channel for politicians to climb up their ladder.

Dr Kouser Fathima, in a column writes, “The country may be moving towards becoming a truly developed nation, but some people are becoming increasingly narrow minded. The social media, a powerful tool is misused to spread hatred and incite people, even more shocking is how easily people get to believe the words of these hate mongers and get fooled. Photoshop has become a boon to such rumour mongers. It now just takes a message or a photoshopped image to incite people into hating each other.”

Aman Sethi, a recipient of the award (Yuva-Puraskar), in his blog writes, “I chose to accept the award as I believed the Akademi’s official charter that states that the institution is an autonomous, publicly funded body registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act of 1980. Thus, the Akademi, to use an analogy, is an autonomous institution much the same way that public universities are autonomous – they are state-funded, i.e. they are run on public money, but are not government run. The Akademi award is thus a state honour, not a “government” honour – and this is an important distinction.”

He further writes disgruntled, “I am shocked by the Akademi’s refusal to take a firm stance on the assassination of scholar, rationalist and Sahitya Akademi Award winner M.M. Kalburgi (a condolence meeting is not the same as a statement of solidarity) and its silence in the face of attacks on writers like U.R. Ananthamurthy, and Perumal Murugan in the past. This appears to be in line with what Akademi President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari calls the institution’s “tradition” of staying silent on “political controversies”.

We are still wondering, is blogging as a medium effective to reach out? If yes, these voices cannot go unheard of. they cannot pass by ears without action. Share your views.