Months after returning her Sahitya Akademi award, Nayantara Sahgal agrees to take it back

New Delhi: Months after returning her Sahitya Akademi award after Dadri lynching incident last year and the killing of rationalists MM Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, noted writer Nayantara Sahgal has agreed to take it back.

Sahgal, niece of India' s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and one of the first to join the ‘award waapsi’ campaign, agreed to take back her award in view of the contention that there is no provision to return it. 

Nayantara Sahgal, told the Hindustan Times that, “The Akademi wrote a letter to me saying it is against their policy to receive returned award and therefore they are sending back the award. I will use the money for a worthwhile cause and welfare schemes.” 

As a protest over the 'growing' intolerance in the country, Sahgal, has returned Sahitya Akademi award following the Dadri incident in October last year.

The 88-year-old authors has also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence over the the issue. 

"The silence of the prime minister is upsetting. We must assume he dare not alienate evil-doers who support his ideology," she had said in an statement after returning her award.

Sahgal has also expressed concerns over the silence and inaction of the Sahitya Akademi in the matter. 

"It is a matter of sorrow that the Sahitya Akademi remains silent. I wish they have spoken about it. The Akademis were set up as guardians of the creative imagination, and promoters of its finest products in art and literature, music and theatre," she felt.

Following Sahgal's decision to take back her award, some other writers, who returned their award, are also likely to accept their awards in near future.