It seems that the award wapsi movement is far from over. As many as 24 recipients of the national award have decided to return their awards on Thursday citing intolerance in the country.
The list of awardees who have decided to part ways with their national awards include Saeed Mirza, Kundan Shah, Arundhati Roy, Vikrant Pawar
With this, at least 75 members of the intelligentsia have either returned national or literary awards even as writer Nayantara Sahgal reiterated that "secularism was under threat" like never before. Sahgal, niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, was among the first to return the honours when she gave back the Sahitya Akademi award.
Kundan Shah, an FTII alumnus, said to give up his only National Award which he received for cult film "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro" was very sad but was a necessary decision to protest against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of FTII. "This is the only National Award I have for 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' am I feel very sad to part with it. I owe this award to my alma mater FTII- there would've been no JBDY if I had not studied at FTII," Shah said.
Mirza, a former chairman of FTII and known for his films like "Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai" and TV show "Nukkad", said the protest started by the students has become bigger to turn into movement against "intolerance, divisiveness and hate".
Hitting back at them, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday released a book on the spate of award returning, named ‘Know the Trust’. The book was released at BJP headquarters in the national capital by party president Amit Shah.
Targeting those who are returning their awards, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, "The whole thing has been created to derail the developmental agenda of the Modi government. The purpose of the book is to show both sides of the story."
The Union Minister trained guns at the Congress party on the issue, saying, "In the last 60 years, the other side was not allowed to have any view. The policy that existed was that the king can do no wrong."
Meanwhile, noted sound designer and national award recipient Vivek Sachidanand said that he was returning his award in protest against whatever happened at the Film and Television Institute of India, referring to the protest over appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the institute's chairperson.
With PTI inputs.
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