An extremely welcome move by
the writers!
A growing number
of writers have returned literary honours that had been awarded to them in
recognition of their work. Their protest is against an impassive state that
remains a silent spectator, effectively complicit in the act of writers and
rationalists being hunted down, and a Muslim man being lynched by his own
neighbours for allegedly storing beef in his home.
An extremely
welcome move by the writers! A writer is the spokesperson of the underdog.
Individual efforts fail to make a point but collective moves can rock. This
level of intolerance is beyond logic. We need to stand up.
It is true that
the writers of India should have behaved in similar manner even when 1984 Sikh
riot was taking place or when Mujaffarnagar riot was spreading its tentacles or
when Mumbai blast ripped apart thousands of innocent bodies or when barbaric
act was perpetrated by Ajmal Kasab or when Kargil was taking place or when
thousands of Kashmiri Pundits were driven out of their home. Had the writers
protested these above happenings then everyone would have appreciated it.
Those writers who
have returned the Sahitya Akademi awards are angry but they have chosen a
democratic way to express their anger. Return of Sahitya Akademi awards is only
one form of democratic protest against government inaction on the front of
growing intolerance and mindless violence indulged in by religious
fundamentalists. Question is whether the Sahitya Akademi chief understands this
and what he proposes to do to convey to the NDA government that authors and
writers are having serious doubts about the government’s intentions. Another
question is whether in the current scenario the Central government has moral
authority to advise the State governments to deal firmly with those who use
violent methods to curb dissenting views of liberals and those who propagate
cause of rational thinking.
The pillar of
secularism and tolerance laid by the founders of modern India with a vision of
nurturing progressive, scientific and artistic minds, free from the shackles
and shadows of caste, creed and communal bigotries has gradually corroded and
to an extreme woe of those great parted souls has reached its nadir. Where in
the midst of 21st century we proudly acclaim our leap on Mars and are pioneers
of incredible scientific breakthroughs, it is heart-breaking to realize that
half of India is still rolling in the muck of myopia, conformism and barbarism
that slings us back to the primitive era.
It is indeed the
responsibility of the highest office in the government of the land to ensure
that there is no flavor of intolerance anywhere. The Person occupying this
office should be like a ‘galvanometer’ of extreme sensitivity in such matters
in the first place and then be strongly committed – as committed as President
Truman was that he had placed on his table the sign “THE BUCK STOPS HERE” - to
ensure that any such attempt of intolerance raising its head anywhere in the
country is nipped in the bud.
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