Bhopal: Littérateur and academicians in the city ripped into the Swedish Academy’s decision not to give Nobel Prize in literature this year. The Academy’s decision came in the wake of infighting and resignations after allegations of sexual misconduct, financial malpractices and repeated leaks that recently came to light.
The intellectuals termed it as ‘funny and wrong decision and its justification ambiguous. It is the world’s most prestigious honor for achievement in literature and so it shouldn’t be personalize, they said. The Academy should nominate the members to set up committee rather postponing the award for a year, said academicians.
Condemning the sex abuse scandal that has embroiled the Swedish Academy, Littérateur said that the incident is unfortunate and shameful; however, they supported the Academy’s decision to defer the award for a year. Had it been canceled entirely, then it would have been an unfair decision, they said.
Padma Shri awardee Manzoor Ahtesham termed the Academy’s decision as funny and its justification ambiguous. “The entire thing is fishy. I don’t know why it is happening after 20 or 30 years. It doesn’t concern,” said the noted writer.
Sangeeta Gundecha Hindi poet and professor in Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan said, “It is sad incident. But it is injustice with persons associated with literature. What is problem if the concern person has already been resigned? The Academy can nominate members to set up a committee. I think, due to this, it may reduce the charm and zeal of literature lovers towards the award.”
Head of the department in English, MLB College, Seema Raizada said, “It’s sad. But I think there must be some constraints and circumstances that forced the Academy to take such a decision. So I can’t comment on it. But it is also sad to know that a case of misconduct is affecting the most prestigious award in the world. And it happened for the first time in the history of Nobel Prize.”
Laxmi Sharan Mishra, a librarian at Swami Vivekanand Library termed the decision wrong. “Swedish Academy is trying to show to become unbiased. The company has its own code of conduct but there is no logical connection between beneficiaries and jury members. No doubt, it is shocking news for littérateur. We have been getting new genres of books and dimension of authors for past 20 years.”
“It is really unfortunate and shameful, the recent incident around the Noble Prize for literature. But I feel that it is right to postpone the award till the next year, as Swedish Academy says that it needs time to recover public confidence and its own stability. As I came to know that the noble prize for literature has been postponed and not canceled. Had it been canceled entirely, then it would have been an unfair decision,” said secretary of MP Urdu Academy, Nusrat Mhendi.
Suman Judge, a German teacher said, “We felt very bad to know the news. What is fault of the jury member if her husband was involved in sex scandal? In fact she has resigned. We shouldn’t involve personal and professional life together. A committee should be constituted for the award.”
“The decision is illogical. It should be personalized. The literary people associated with literature have high hope on it,” Mayank Sekhar Mishra, a lecturer in a media college. For the first time since 1949, the secretive jury that hands out the world’s most prestigious literary prize will not unveil a winner this autumn, instead revealing two laureates in 2019, it announced.
