Noted writer K.P. Ramanunni, who won the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel Daivathinte Pusthakam (God’s Own Book), believes his was a “political victory.”
At a function organised by the Progressive Writers Association (PWA) on Thursday to felicitate him, Mr. Ramanunni said he was selected for the award, despite speaking out against intolerance, social evils, and divisive tendencies through his work.
‘Autonomy intact’
“The selection is an indicator that the autonomy of the Sahitya Akademi is intact and that the administrative dispensation has not been able to usurp the institution,” he said. He added that he did not regard his achievement as a personal triumph, but one for the resistance put up by cultural activists across the country.
Mr. Ramanunni also said that his decision to donate the cash prize to the mother of Junaid, who was lynched by alleged Hindu right wing activists while travelling on train, was an act of penance. “It was my obligation as a true Hindu to seek forgiveness for an inhumane act committed in the name of the religion,” he said.
Inaugurating the programme, CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran said the recognition would embolden other progressive writers who had been striving to resist fascist tendencies.
C. Divakaran, MLA, released a book ‘Purogamana Sahithyavum Keraleeya Samoohavum’, edited by PWA general secretary Vallikavu Mohandas.
