After Nayantara Sahgal, poet Ashok Vajpeyi returns Sahitya Akademi award

A day after writer Nayantara Sahgal returned her Sahitya Akademi award against what she described “unmaking of India, poet Ashok Vajpeyi also handed back the prestigious literary honour to the government, criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking up against the recent spree of violence.

Mr. Vajpeyi said that “it’s high time that writers take a stand” to mark their protest against the recent murders of writers and minorities. “We have an eloquent Prime Minister, who addresses lakhs of people, but here writers are being murdered, innocent people are being murdered, his Ministers make controversial statements…Still he is quiet. Why doesn’t he shut them up?” Mr. Vajpeyi told a private news channel.

After seeing Ms. Sahgal, the 88-year-old niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr. Vajpeyi said he decided to give up the award and express his solidarity with her.

“Why doesn’t he tell the nation and the writing and creating community that the pluralism of this community will be defended at every cost? Although the government makes announcements that this would not be tolerated, that would not be tolerated …but tolerance is there. How is it that all this has erupted now?”

Earlier, Uday Prakash, another famous literary figure in Hindi language, had returned the award.