Mumbai : A group of Marathi writers and poets returned their awards to the Chief Minister’s office here on Friday.
“This is a symbolic protest against the deteriorating state of affairs,” noted poet Urmila Pawar (in pic), who is more famous for her biography ‘Aayadan’, told FPJ, adding that symbolism carries good weight in the minds of people who are afraid of the new regimen in the country.
Noted literary critique and former head of the Marathi department at the Mumbai University Harishchandra Thorat, poet Ganesh Visputay, Sambhaji Bhagat, and Pradnya Pawar, noted writer and professor of linguistics at IIT Powai were among those who went to Mantralaya to return their awards.
The writers wanted to meet and return the awards to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. But, since Fadnavis was on the tour of Nandurbar district reviewing Jalyukta Shivar work, they insisted on meeting the CM’s Principal Secretary Pravin Pardeshi and return the awards.
Pradnya Pawar in her letter to the chief minister said that the gesture was to protest against growing religious intolerance, ban on personal freedoms and killing of rationalists.
She said that she has handed back five awards, including a cash prize of Rs 1.13 lakh. “I have also written to the Chief Minister and the Culture Minister about what we feel about the ban on food choices, killing of rationalists and endorsement of radical religious views in every sector, from education to art,” she added.
Visputay said he was giving back his two awards to protest against the “ban culture” promoted by politicians. He said the stir by writers, poets and other figures would spur the “silent society” to voice its anger.
“We want to make a big noise against this calculated silence. This is not the end of the stir. We will come up with a new strategy against the culture of bans,” he said.
Thorat asserted that this is a “political action” explaining it as “an action primarily against the environment of growing intolerance and shrinking personal freedom”. Replying to the question “why now” with another question “why not now”, he said that it shows the sorry state affairs in our society where such instances that deserve protests from literary figures are happening in such large numbers.
