Indian writers protest against government silence on violence

The Indian writers protest against government silence on violence is a wide spread protest in India. Starting from the beginning of September 2015, disgruntled writers and poets across India have started returning the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award to protest the increasing incidents of communal violence in India. They believe there is a climate of rising intolerance in the country under the present central government (NDA Alliance). Several elite writers and poets have also resigned their posts in the General Council of the country's top literary body, saying that they were shocked at the level of intolerance on freedom of speech and expression. This incident is also referred to as award wapsi.

Hindi writer Uday Prakash was the first to return the prestigious award on September 4, 2015, protesting against the murder of MM Kalburgi. Writer Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi followed Prakash in protesting the murders of rationalists like MM Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar. They also came out against the shocking Dadri incident, in which a mob lynched a Muslim man in Greater Noida over rumours of eating and storing beef. As of 2020, 26 writers are yet to return their souvenirs after declaring the return of awards. Only 13 writers have returned souvenirs and prize money. To prevent return of awards from taking place again, a Parliamentary committee recommended that the Centre should make recipients of government awards sign an undertaking that they would not return them at any stage as a mark of protest.

List of writers who have returned their awards
As of 15 October 2015, more than 40 scholars returned their awards:

Statements made by writers
"The PM keeps quiet. Writers are being murdered, Innocents being killed and his ministers making objectionable statements"

"The country is now passing through very though times. It's worse than Emergency"

"We are going backwards. There is rising intolerance"

Protests by Tamil writers
Sixteen Sahitya Akademi award-winning Tamil writers have condemned the Akademi for not adequately condemning the killing of Kannada writer M.K. Kalburgi and its failure to bring pressure on the centre to protect freedom of expression.

"The situation has come to such pass that there was no security for the life of a writer not to mention the threat to freedom of expression. The Akademi has not condemned the act in no uncertain terms. On the contrary it has just issued a general statement. It is not adequate and we demand that the Akademi take a stronger stand,"

the writers said.

The signatories are, as of October 12, 2015: Indira Parthasarathy, K. Rajanarayanan, Ponneelan, Prabanchan, Ashokamitran, Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, 'Kavikko' Abdul Rahman, Vairamuthu, Erode Tamilanban, Mu. Metha, Melanmai Ponnusamy, Puviarasu, Nanjil Nadan, Su. Venkatesan, D. Selvaraj and Poomani.

Reaction from Academy
The academy's president, Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, countered the writers' claims by saying that they are mistaken in believing that the academy was not responding to intolerance and violence, pointing out that the vice president of the academy presided over a tribute for Mr. Kalburgi in September, where his murder was strongly condemned.

Other award winners

 * Six Kannada writers returned the State literary award on 3 October.
 * Theater artist Maya Krishna Rao has also returned her Sangeet Natak Akademi award on 12 October.
 * Shiromani Lekhak award winner Megh Raj Mitter has also announced to return his award.

Communal violence pointed out by the scholars
In general all the scholars have protested the growing intolerance of government supported Hindu right-wing groups against minorities and rationalists.

Particularly
 * Dadri lynching
 * Murders of rationalists like the Kalburgi murder
 * Government Silence on Violence

Controversy
Former Sahitya Akademi president Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari has claimed that he has evidence to prove that the so-called “award wapsi” movement in 2015, when more than 50 writers returned their awards to protest alleged growth in intolerance under the Narendra Modi regime, were part of a politically motivated campaign organised by Marxist writers and Hindi poet Ashok Vajpeyi to defame the government in the run-up to the Bihar assembly election.

Reactions
Union Minister and former Chief of Army Staff V.K. Singh claimed that the return of awards by the writers citing intolerance was a planned conspiracy. The then Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said that the return of awards was an international conspiracy against the Modi Government.