London, Oct. 21 (PTI): Novelist Anita Desai has warned she will "renounce" her 1978 Sahitya Akademi award and its membership if the academy does not reaffirm its independence and commitment to free speech, and said she doesn't "recognise India of the present time".
The 78-year-old urged the Akademi to make it clear it is not a government body but an independent institute "that exists to defend free speech and the right to question and dissent". Over 40 authors have given up awards or Akademi posts over the murders of writers, including Akademi member M.M. Kalburgi, the Dadri lynching and other incidents pointing to growing intolerance in the country.
Desai stressed that her award, for her novel Fire on the Mountain, was given "in more hopeful times". "If it (the Akademi) is not able to declare and pursue such a policy, I will be obliged, in solidarity with my fellow writers, to renounce my membership of the Akademi and the award it gave me when I was a young writer in more hopeful times," Desai said in a statement issued here by PEN International, a worldwide association of writers.
Desai said she was born in an India that enshrined democracy, pluralism and freedom of speech in its Constitution. "I do not recognise India of the present time where, under the banner of 'Hindutva', intimidation and bigotry seek to silence writers, scholars and all who believe in secular and rational thought."
Desai urged the Akademi to stand up for free speech. "At this crucial moment, I appeal to the Sahitya Akademi to make clear that it does not represent any government or its policies , but is an independent body that exists to defend free speech and the right to question and dissent, in short what the Constitution of the country promised us."
The president of PEN International - founded almost a century ago in 1921 - recently wrote to the President, Prime Minister and the Akademi urging them to take "immediate steps" to protect the rights of everyone, including writers and artists.
Pak actor 'bar'
The Shiv Sena has threatened to stop Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, whose Bollywood films are due for release next year, from entering Maharashtra to promote their movies as part of its campaign against ties with the neighbouring country.
Mahira will make her Bollywood debut in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees, slated for release in July 2016. Fawad's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is expected to hit theatres on Diwali next year.
