Writers returning their awards - what do they hope to achieve?

Shampa Sadhya wrote:

Renouncing an award is a very old practice. As we all know that Tagore did it by returning his Knighthood after Jaliwanwalla Bagh massacre. He was right in doing so. At present the writers have all the right to show their protest in their own way but it should be backed by a strong moral ground. The same writer must act in the same way when a similar situation arises again irrespective of any political bias. If this time the writers renounced the awards only to show support to a certain political party and to demean another then their act lose its sheen but countering a writer by posing a question that why she didn't do it during the Anti-Sikh riot then my simple opinion is maybe she failed to react at that moment but that does not signify her support for the riot. This writer spoke against Emergency so I would like to think that the writer has no hidden agenda. Expression of reaction may vary due to age and many other conditions.

According to your point of view, if she failed to show reaction during the antisikh riots, she failed again and again many times. She failed again when she did react during the 1993 Mumbai riots followed by several blasts time and again which killed people of all caste and creed, she failed again when Hindus were burnt in the Godhra train and Muslims were killed later on in the following riots. There are just too many incidents that can be cited here. But leaving the political turmoil aside, she again failed miserably when Tasleema Tasrin appealed to the WB government seeking asylum but Mamta Banerjee refused to grant her asylum because she is a Bengali Muslim and welcoming her in WB would have affected Mamata's Bengali Muslim votebank. Now Tasleema Nasreen is one TRUE rationalist and a sensitive writer who should have been welcomed with open arms. If she was refused by the government, why didn't Nasrin's counterparts in India, including Nayantara speak out? It is this selective outrage and sensitivity that these writers bloc keep showing, is what is most disgusting./ Only when a Muslim is killed or a Mosque is targetted, these so-called rationalists speak up. I did not hear a single squeak out of these pseudo intellectuals when just very recently, during a large Muslim rally in Mumbai, several lady police constables were cornered and seriously molested and harassed. The ladies were only doing their duty and the large crowd of Muslims behaved horribly with these women such that they are now scarred for life. Not even a squeak from Nayantara, Ganesh Devi and others on that incident. So what freedom of speech or other rights THEY have any rights to talk about?

@Kalyani Nandurkar See, I am not at all supporting the writers if they have done it with an agenda of demeaning someone or a particular party. I just gave a benefit of doubt and that's it. The logic you gave as well as @usha manohar wrote in her last reply related to Kashmiri Pundits are all very true. I have nothing to object to all these valid points and the writers who have renounced the awards to show their resentment against intolerance is acceptable to me but if they did it to give a political colour to such incidents then it is very much unacceptable. 

Politicizing the issues is a tool used by  Unscrupulous Politicians. And another favorite tool for these opportunists is adding  communal color for their existence and survival. The issue under our discussion is nothing but a political drama only to defame the ruling party. In this connection it is worth hearing the reply of Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement. Here is the link.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/dont-give-political-colour-to-dadri-lynching-incident-rajnath-singh/

There was a time not very long ago when we saw in each other an Indian. Today there is a paradigm shift. We see  each other's religion and respond accordingly.  Whole communities are branded under different labels. Incidents of the past are intermingled with situations of today and sweeping judgments passed. Right of freedom of speech  today means my viewpoint prevails. The more narrower the outlook the more effective it is becoming.  The writers are protesting against the slaughter of their  brother writers and they are being hounded and abused as if they have committed a crime. There is a guilt complex operating somewhere in the extreme responses. 

When we look at a situation we have to see both sides not just one side...Writers have been feeling threatened since a long time in India and elsewhere in the world and now with the two killings they may feel more so.No one is saying that they have no right to protest . The problem here is the manner in which the different political parties are posturing by taking sides, almost as if it is the fault of one party and what is happening now has never happened before in India which is of course far from truth ...The writers too are human and while they have the right to support any political establishment they want, the very fact that they call themselves as rationalist writers , the expectations are far more and when they become tools in the hands of the political parties , naturally questions will be raised about their intent.

Yesterday there was a debate where one of the author/columnist Keki Daruwalla admitted that they had no agenda of returning the award until Nayantara did and the rest followed suit ! When he was questioned why they did not do so earlier when there were far more gruesome incidents , he had no ready answer to that..It goes to show that they are being led by political parties for their own benefits..

Their motives are suspect to say the least.Why did they accept accept state awards in the first place.I can not name not too many but a few honorable ones whose names do honor to pages of history who firmly subscribed to their firm belief that any state award or reward is nothing but a bribe or inducement to buy their independence and they scrupulously avoided and rejected them.The less we say about our intelligentsia the better.A majority of them are loose cannons and of dubious characters.

usha manohar wrote:

The so called symbolism is nothing but their irrationality because these people never protested when Sikh riots took place nor when many such events took place , which goes to show  their double standards and that they cater to the interest of one political party ..

http://indiafacts.co.in/where-was-nayantara-sahgal-when-india-actually-needed-her/

Yes today also one person return awards. What happen with it. I don't know but it may possible that some cash also attached with these  rewards. Are they refunding cash? It is only to come in to lime light.

 

anil wrote:

usha manohar wrote:

The so called symbolism is nothing but their irrationality because these people never protested when Sikh riots took place nor when many such events took place , which goes to show  their double standards and that they cater to the interest of one political party ..

http://indiafacts.co.in/where-was-nayantara-sahgal-when-india-actually-needed-her/

Yes today also one person return awards. What happen with it. I don't know but it may possible that some cash also attached with these  rewards. Are they refunding cash? It is only to come in to lime light.

 

 

LOL...It will be difficult to trace the cash now , so that is the bonus for them to keep , the award is being given back ...

anil wrote:

usha manohar wrote:

The so called symbolism is nothing but their irrationality because these people never protested when Sikh riots took place nor when many such events took place , which goes to show  their double standards and that they cater to the interest of one political party ..

http://indiafacts.co.in/where-was-nayantara-sahgal-when-india-actually-needed-her/

Yes today also one person return awards. What happen with it. I don't know but it may possible that some cash also attached with these  rewards. Are they refunding cash? It is only to come in to lime light.

 

 Cash attached to the reward will not be refunded. That cash is meant for the rewardee's pocket . 

 

Some one was taunted the same way and she attached a chque of Rs one lac along with her award. She says the balance can be kept as interest for the money paid. 

Yes, Nayantara Sehgal has returned the cash and you never know some more may follow her. It is a matter of prestige if the nation starts accusing the writers for not returning the money so let's see what they do finally. 

In today's Times of India , editor Indrajit Hazra has come up with his own take on the matter ...The witty manner in which he has addressed the subject  is quite amusing especially his own reason for returning bis birthday gift to his father LOL..

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Undertheinfluence/how-to-return-an-award-without-coming-across-as-uncultured-and-boorish/

A good article. I liked it. Especially the line that says one must be careful to return the right award to the right sender quoting the example of McDonald. The article is both witty and thought provoking.

The writers are more emotional and sensitive than others.  The government should consider their sentiments and take any remedial measures as necessary.  It is no use blaming the writers for political bias or taunting them in several ways.  It is true that writers are not so significant to people or government but even then they represent conscience of nation and should be taken seriously. 

Gulshan Kumar Ajmani wrote:

The writers are more emotional and sensitive than others.  The government should consider their sentiments and take any remedial measures as necessary.  It is no use blaming the writers for political bias or taunting them in several ways.  It is true that writers are not so significant to people or government but even then they represent conscience of nation and should be taken seriously. 

True true true....But quite funny that their emotions and sensitivity is so selective in nature LOL

The link is worth reading. What a style the editor has! Each and every sentence makes a strong impact but through a mild satire. Loved it. 

Although many in the forum are seeing red  in the writers returning their awards, the matter cannot be brushed aside as the sheer diversity and range of writers doing so shows something is wrong and needs to be corrected. Let us not shoot the messengers but understand the message they are giving.

It is not a question of seeing red, one can understand that they may be feeling threatened with the killings of writers that has been taking place and the open threats made. More writers have joined in to show solidarity no doubt , including Salman Rushdie ! Personally I feel that by doing this , they may not achieve anything much because, this will be forgotten in a matter of days ,but the goons will remain at large and the political parties would have gained some mileage out of it ..

Writers can protest by their writings or by surrendering the recognition they have received. They can come together and organise a march. Being small in number and scattered perhaps returning awards is a way of conveying their resentment. Yes like so many other acts this also will be forgotten. But should one not even protest when times required to protest is an important question? It surely registers at whom it is directed.

I have already mentioned in my previous comments that there is nothing wrong in returning the award. This is a kind of dissent that they try to reflect against the increasing intolerance. So, there is no reason that the forum members are seeing red about this protest of the writers. As some experienced members have pointed out that why they kept quiet during some other disturbances and we see that some experienced journalists have also raised this question. So, here we are only discussing it especially because we wish that the writers' action is not politically motivated. If so then it's a matter of concern as well as pity. Writers enjoy high esteem so if they speak or act in protest against violence towards mankind then no one will raise a question but it will be questioned if they want to show any political bias.