Taking a contrary stand on return of Sahitiya Akademi awards by eminent writers, former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Thursday commented that although writers had every right to stand up for their freedom of expression, returning the awards amount to “dishonouring” the recognition.
“Personally, I regret the fact that a section of writers have returned the Akademi awards. Award is a recognition of intellectual, literary, creative or academic merits. It is not a political act,” he told PTI on the sidelines of a function here.
“The Sahitya Akademi is an independent institution, and the concerns we have are political ones. For writers, I think there is no need to confuse these two. One should oppose the present climate... one should stand up for freedom... but one should not dishonour the award,” he said.
An established writer, Mr. Tharoor said awards are “society’s tributes to the achievements of writers and neither the achievements nor the tributes can be rolled back.” However, the Congress leader said he was glad that so many writers had stood up for their cause at a time when many others had preferred silence. — PTI
