Munawwar Rana, poet who returned award, to meet PM next week
Rana, one of the 40-odd writers who returned Sahitya Akademi and other awards, said he had spoken to an official in the PMO regarding the meeting.
RELATED
LUCKNOW: Well-known Urdu poet Munawwar Rana, who gave up his Sahitya Akademi award dramatically during a live TV debate on Sunday, told TOI on Wednesday that he will be meeting the Prime Minister next week to "discuss the prevailing situation".
Rana, one of the 40-odd writers who returned Sahitya Akademi and other awards after the killing of Kannada writer M M Kalburgi and lynching of a Dadri man for allegedly consuming beef, said he had spoken to an official in the PMO on Tuesday regarding the meeting.
READ ALSO: Urdu poet Munawwar Rana returns his Sahitya Akademi award
Rana said that although he was in touch with a few other dissenting writers, "I told the official to call other writers who had returned their awards." He added, "When I meet the PM, I will request him to create an atmosphere in which writers are not victimized and Muslims stay peacefully."
It does seem Rana is the only protesting writer who has been in touch with the PMO. When TOI contacted Kashinath Singh, the other writer from UP who returned his Sahitya, he said he hadn't received any call from the PMO.
Incidentally, the Rae Bareli-born writer was given the Sahitya Akademi award by the Modi government this year. Rana is a big name in contemporary Urdu poetry, and until last week, he was opposed to writers' returning awards. "They should do something bigger," he had told TOI when asked about his view.
READ ALSO: Will return award if Akademi doesn't make a clear stand: Desai
"Giving up awards and resigning from posts is a small thing. It's better to bring a bigger revolution. It's only when litterateurs will sit in strike that Saraswati be revered in this country the way Laxmi is," said the writer of the couplet, "Chalo chalte hain mil julkar watan par jaan dete hain, bahot aasaan hai kamre mey Vande Mataram kehna" (come let's together sacrifice our lives for the country; it's all very easy to give a patriotic call sitting inside a room).
But, in a matter of days, he joined the protesting writers.
Rana, one of the 40-odd writers who returned Sahitya Akademi and other awards after the killing of Kannada writer M M Kalburgi and lynching of a Dadri man for allegedly consuming beef, said he had spoken to an official in the PMO on Tuesday regarding the meeting.
READ ALSO: Urdu poet Munawwar Rana returns his Sahitya Akademi award
Rana said that although he was in touch with a few other dissenting writers, "I told the official to call other writers who had returned their awards." He added, "When I meet the PM, I will request him to create an atmosphere in which writers are not victimized and Muslims stay peacefully."
It does seem Rana is the only protesting writer who has been in touch with the PMO. When TOI contacted Kashinath Singh, the other writer from UP who returned his Sahitya, he said he hadn't received any call from the PMO.
Incidentally, the Rae Bareli-born writer was given the Sahitya Akademi award by the Modi government this year. Rana is a big name in contemporary Urdu poetry, and until last week, he was opposed to writers' returning awards. "They should do something bigger," he had told TOI when asked about his view.
READ ALSO: Will return award if Akademi doesn't make a clear stand: Desai
"Giving up awards and resigning from posts is a small thing. It's better to bring a bigger revolution. It's only when litterateurs will sit in strike that Saraswati be revered in this country the way Laxmi is," said the writer of the couplet, "Chalo chalte hain mil julkar watan par jaan dete hain, bahot aasaan hai kamre mey Vande Mataram kehna" (come let's together sacrifice our lives for the country; it's all very easy to give a patriotic call sitting inside a room).
But, in a matter of days, he joined the protesting writers.
No comments:
Post a Comment