Calls it a "penance for that wicked act"

Writer K.P. Ramanunni has donated his Sahitya Akademi Award cash prize to the mother of Junaid, who was lynched by alleged Hindu right-wing activists while he was travelling by a train from Delhi to Haryana, as a “symbolic and moral gesture.”

Mr. Ramanunni told The Hindu on Tuesday that it was his responsibility as well as obligation as a true Hindu to show that killing people in the name of religion was wrong.

“Such people are actually demonising Hinduism, described by Swami Vivekananda as the mother of all religions. Hinduism has a culture of respecting pluralism and expressing love towards believers of other religions,” he said.

Of the award amount of ₹1,00,000, Mr. Ramanunni took only ₹3 and handed over the rest to Ms. Saira Banu in New Delhi on Monday. In a statement, he said: “Let me place this award amount as an offering at the feet of Junaid’s mother, thus doing penance for that wicked act, for penance is a special observance in the true Hindu tradition. Yes, I am a true Hindu, l am a true Hindu.”

The writer has been selected for the award for his book Daivathinte Pusthakam, where Prophet Muhammad calls Krishnan ‘Ikka’ (elder brother) and Krishnan affectionately calls the Prophet ‘Mushy’ (precious dear). “Junaid was killed for only being a Muslim. The dedication of the award to his mother, Saira Banu, is an act in tune with the soul of the book. At a time when communalism is rearing its ugly head in society, we need to speak against it,” he added.