AMN /
Lynching of an innocent man in Dadri and growing intolernce in the society continue to haunt litartti in the country. After writer Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi, Urdu novelist Rahman Abbas has decided to return the Maharashtra State Urdu Sahitya Academy Award protesting against such incident
“After the Dadri lynching, the Urdu writing community has been quite unhappy. I have decided to return the award.
“There are some other Urdu writers who also want to join the protest. It is high time we stood up to the injustice surrounding us,” he said.
Abbas had in 2011 won the award for his third novel Khuda Ke Saaye Mein Aankh Micholi (Hide-and Seek in the Shadow of God).
Mr. Abbas urged other Urdu writers to join him in his protest. “It is high time, as Ashok Vajpeyi said. We cannot remain voiceless. Hence, I request senior Urdu writers, poets and critics including Nida Fazli, Salam Bin Razzak, Abdus Samad, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Munawwar Rana, to register [their] protest against the murder and killing of creative writers by returning Sahitya Academy awards. This might be a small step but in such volatile times, it is inescapable.
It is our duty to raise our voice against fascism, right-wing intolerant forces and lawlessness… promoted as a strategy to divide the country on the lines of religion, sentiments of segments and dogmatic cultural doctrines.”
Earlier, noted writers Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi had returned their literary honours to protest what they termed as an “assault on right to freedom of both life and expression”.