Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s niece, Nayantara Sahgal, an eminent writer, has returned her Sahitya Akademi Award, against what she calls “a vicious assault on India’s diversity and debate.”
Nayantara Sahgal, stated her reason behind returning the award, the ‘intolerance on the rise.’
She said, she is returning the award “in memory of the Indians who have been murdered, in support of all Indians.”
While speaking to NewsX, she expressed her immense grief on the poor social condition of the country and mentioned the same, being the reason behind her returning the prestigious award.
She said, “The culture of diversity which we have nourished and cherished since Independence, is fast disappearing under this present government.”
Sahgal also referred to the recent lynching case in Dadri and killings of rationalists like M M Kalburgi, Narendra Dabolkar and Govind Pansare. She said, “We have seen three scholars and writers brutally murdered. We have seen poor man in a village Dadri lynched. I don’t think any sensible or intelligent Indian can tolerate such a thing.”
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