Writers concerned about government’s mishandling of the FTII issue.
By Dileep Thekkethil
Protesting against an intolerant government in the centre, 24 filmmakers and writers including “God of Small Things” author Arundhati Roy, returned their national awards on Thursday.
According to a collective statement released by the writers, they are returning the award over the fear that the countries robust democracy, which has been its cornerstone since the independence, is coming apart.
The statement read “We return our national awards and hope that this symbolic gesture urges you to pay attention to our fears that the warp and weft of our robust democracy might be coming apart in the current atmosphere.â€
Other than Roy, 21 others including Saeed Miza, Kundan Shah, Virendra Saini, Ranjan Palit, Tapan Bose, Shriprakash, Sanjay Kak, Pradip Krishan, Tarun Bhartiya, Amitabh Chakraborty, Madhusree Dutta, Anwar Jamal, Ajay Raina, Irene Dhar Malik, P.M. Satheesh, Satya Rai Nagpaul, Manoj Lobo, Rafiq Ellias, Sudheer Palsane, Vivek Sachidanand, Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti, Manoj Nitharwal and Abhimanyu Dange returned their awards today.
They also took part in a signature campaign that wrote to the government to address the concerns of the FTII students who recently ended their four-month strike asking for the reversal of the appointments of Gajendra Chouhan and four other officials.
The statement which was released today also underlined that this was the way to protest against government’s mishandling of the FTII issue.
The 24 people who returned their award today also criticised the government’s apathy towards the 12 other filmmakers who had earlier returned their national awards. They questioned the manner in which members of the ruling BJP abused them and belittled their gesture.
“This has been the consistent response of the powers that be towards the writers, academics, scientists, historians, filmmakers and artists, who have expressed their dismay over the increasing climate of intolerance,” the statement read.
They further added that as law abiding citizens of India they are concerned about the conduct of the current government in power and thus they are returning their honours. The statement also says they are not rejecting the recognition nor are they belittling the honour.
“We are using the one possibility of making you (the government) pay attention to our plea, resolve the crisis at FTII, ensure that our prestigious right to Freedom of Speech is unambiguously protected,” they said.
In an article published in the Indian Express, Arundhati Roy was quoted saying she returned her 1989 National Award for Best Screenplay to protest the growing intolerance and ideological brutality growing in the country under the BJP regime.
She added that the killing of a 55-year old man in Dadri for allegedly consuming cow meat literally shocked her as it showed the deeper malaise sickening the country.
“These horrific murders are only a symptom of a deeper malaise. Life is hell for the living too. Whole populations – millions of Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and Christians – are being forced to live in terror, unsure of when and from where the assault will come,” she said.
Since the Dadri incident, over 40 writers, artists and 10 filmmakers have returned their awards to mark their protest over the rising intolerance in the country.