In the latest twist
in Award Wapsi row, few authors and filmmakers are taking back their awards
after they returned them as a protest against religious intolerance under PM
Modi governance. Different intellectuals are giving different reasons, and all
are less ridiculous than the one they gave up for.
One of the reasons,
expectedly, was lack of publicity. In the crowd of people returning their
Sahitya Akademi and National Awards, the media failed to interview and give
overnight fame to many of them. Upset over it, these intellectuals retreated
from the protest.
“I didn’t get as much
exposure as other authors when they returned their award,” explained Kamal
Burgi, a free thinker and intellect, “although I received the award before
everyone else, I got the least fame.”
“Indian media is so
unfair, it took exclusive quotes from Nayantara Sehgal because she’s neice of
Jawahar Nehru, however it ignored me because I’m little known,” stated Bidaker
Bannerjee, a noted filmmaker.
Meanwhile, other
authors have withdrawn the awards in the wake of NDA alliance losing Bihar
Elections, as they are identified as anti-Modi and pro-Congress intellectuals.
However, the move has angered Sonia Gandhi as it exposed the whole plan.
Probably, these
intellectuals were afraid that Sahitya Akademi would also ask them to return
the Prize Money, which none of them have returned with their awards.
All in all, the no of
intellectuals who returned the award as protest against Religious Intolerance
has reduced gradually with BJP losing Bihar elections, though with different reasons.
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