Under-fire Indian literary society condemns killings of writers

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/indian-literary-group-condemns-killings-writers

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India’s top literary body has condemned multiple killings of writers, as protesters surrounded its Delhi headquarters in a growing row over intolerance that has prompted dozens of authors to hand back awards.

The Sahitya Academy had been criticised by India’s literati for its silence over the murders of writers including MM Kalburgi, a secular scholar who was shot dead in August, allegedly by Hindu radicals.

More than 50 authors and artists have returned prestigious awards over what they say is institutional inaction following a series of violent incidents including the lynching of a Muslim over rumours he ate beef.

“The academy strongly condemns the killing of writer Kalburgi and appeals to the state and central government to take steps to prevent such incidents in the future,” said Krishnaswamy Nachimuthu, an academy member.

Related: Inside the Indian village where a mob killed a man for eating beef

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the academy’s Delhi office on Friday wearing black armbands and holding pictures of Kalburgi. “Those who do not subscribe to the agenda of these [extremist] groups will be targeted,” said Pankaj Singh, a poet.

In a counter-protest, supporters of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, chanted nationalist slogans and said handing back the awards was merely an attempt to defame the government.

“The murder of Kalburgi was a criminal act and we should not politicise it. The trend of returning awards is setting a wrong precedent,” said Shiv Shankar Awasthy, an author.

Government investigators have said Hindu extremists were also responsible for the killings of the writers Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar.

The British author Salman Rushdie has lent his support to the protesting writers, saying the literary body’s silence was giving rise to “thuggish violence”.