By IndiaTomorrow.net,
Patiala/New Delhi, 13 Oct 2015: Echoing the chorus of writers returning their awards in an unprecedented literary uprising in the country, noted Punjabi writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana announced on Tuesday she would return her Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award of India, as a mark of protest against the growing attacks on the freedom of speech in the nation.
According to Hindustan Times, Tiwana announced her decision in a brief statement today (13 Oct), reasoning, “In this land of Gautama Buddha and Guru Nanak Dev, the atrocities committed on the Sikhs in 1984 and on the Muslims recurrently because of communalism are an utter disgrace to our state and society.”
“And to kill those who stand for truth and justice put us to shame in the eyes of the world and God. In protest, therefore, I return the Padma Shri award,” Tiwana added.
Tiwana, a novelist and short-story writer, received the Padma Shri award in 2004 for Literature and Education. She retired as a professor of Punjabi from Punjabi University of Patiala.
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in the country followed by Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
Besides Tiwana, about 28 other writers have returned their awards so far in the past couple of weeks – including eminent Punjabi writers like Surjit Patar, Baldev Singh Sadaknama, Jaswinder Singh, Darshan Buttar, Gurbachan Bhullar, Ajmer Singh Aulakh and Atamjit Singh. They were led by eminent writers Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpayee who also returned their Sahitya Akademi awards last week.
The parade of writers returning their awards began following the killing of M.M. Kalburgi, noted Kannada rationalist and Akademy award winner. Kalburgi, 77, was shot dead by two assailants at his residence in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30. The Kannada rationalist’s murder was the third in a row after two Maharashtra-based authors Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar were killed owing to their stands against religious superstition and fanaticism within months.
