NEW DELHI: Sahitya Akademi on Friday strongly condemned the killing of rationalist M M Kalburgi and appealed to the Centre and state governments to protect the writers’ right to freedom of expression and take steps to prevent such incidents in future.

A resolution that called the Akademi an organization of ‘writers for writers’ urged authors to take back their awards which they had returned in protest against “rising intolerance” in the country. It also urged authors who had dissociated themselves with the Akademi to reconsider their decision.

But while the Akademi’s executive board discussed the fine-print of the resolution, deep divisions in the literary community spilled out at Mandi House as writers loyal to the government and those ranged against the establishment, representing various hues of Left ideology, held simultaneous marches mocking each other.

The resolution, finalized after a marathon meeting, did not mention Dadri lynching, an issue raised by many writers who returned their award, nor any decision to hold a condolence meeting in honour of Kalburgi in Delhi as demanded by a group of writers.

However, before the meeting could look at the memorandum given by the warring factions, the situation outside was somewhat vitiated by leading Hindi writer Narendra Kohli who said protesting writers can “take off their clothes if they want, it does not bother us”. Those protesting against the government outnumbered Rashtravadi Lekhak Sangh, the group Kohli belongs to. Sources said the culture minister’s office was directly in touch with Akademi officials as it all played out.

During the meeting, Akademi president Vishwanath Tiwari read out letters of authors who returned awards as well as one by Krishna Sobti in which she had asked Tiwari to be proactive or resign. Many authors like Radha Ballabh Tripathi and Arjun Dev Charan asked why did Akademi take so long to call a meeting and why did it not speak out when Kalburgi was murdered. Though Tiwari explained that Akademi vice-president Chandrashekhar Kambar had contacted Kalburgi’s family soon after the killing and even a condolence meeting was organized in Bangalore, many members felt it was not enough. However, some members felt a condolence meeting could be organized even now in Delhi. However, the resolution remained silent on this.

One member of the EB was not in favour of requesting writers to reconsider their decision to return the award. The resolution took the middle path of supporting “the writers’ right to freedom of expression in all the languages of India” and condemned “any atrocity against any writer anywhere in the country in the strongest of words”. The Akademi asked the central and state governments to bring the culprits to book and ensure the security of writers “now and in the future”. “The spirit of plurality that Indian culture embodies has been a much sought-after ideal for the rest of the world. This is what should be protected,” the resolution said.

Memorandum by Left group – Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, Progressive Writers’ Association and Jan Sanskriti Manch – wanted the EB to condemn Tiwari’s attitude towards authors who returned awards as well as his refusal to hold a condolence meeting for Kalburgi in Delhi. They also wanted the EB to reiterate the autonomy of Akademi.

But the memorandum by Rashtravadi Lekhakh Sangh called those protesting as “self-professed” writers who for the past one and half years have launched a vicious campaign against Narendra Modi government as they have not come to terms with his victory. It requested the Akademi to not pay heed to campaign by authors who are protesting more due to personal reasons.

