Says it does not address right to eat and worship in freedom.

Reacting to Friday’s Sahitya Akademi resolution, condemning the killing of professor M.M. Kalburgi, thinkers and intellectuals and violence against fellow citizens in the country, writer Nayantara Sahgal who was one of the first few writers to return her award with cash money said, “This was a belated response from the Akademi and the resolution had failed to frame the larger issue confronting the country which is that the very Idea of India, is at stake. The resolution should have addressed the concerns and rights of every Individual to eat and worship in freedom,” Ms. Sahgal said.
Instead, the resolution makes an appeal to communities to set aside their differences. “To my mind, this is not correct. It is not the communities who are causing the trouble but uncontrolled elements of the BJP and smaller groups committed to Hindutva ideology who are attacking people,” Ms. Sahgal said.
She, however, hoped the Akademi would play a pro-active role in defence of free speech and freedom of thought in the future.
Earlier the Sahitya Akademi’s executive board meeting here was chaired by president Viswanath Prasad Tiwari. Vice-president Chandrashekhar Kambar and 18 other members of the Executive Board participated with senior officials from the Ministry of Culture in attendance. Some of the members could not make it on time.
Two members, Radhavallabh Tripathi who felt the Akademi should have spoken out earlier and Arjun Dev Charan who forcefully argued that writers who had resigned should not be allowed to return, were also given a patient hearing.
Earlier in the day, two groups of writers representing competing views made their presence felt and submitted three sets of memoranda to the Akademi. The memorandum submitted by the Progressives, read out by Mr. Tiwari, asked the Akademi to pass a strong resolution condemning not only the killing of Kalburgi but also hold a condolence meeting in New Delhi. It also criticised the Akademi for not coming out with a strong statement earlier despite insistence by several Hindi and Urdu writers.
On the other hand, the convener of JANMAT, an organisation favouring the Akademi, Avnijesh Awasthy said, those who question the Akademi’s silence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence have no respect for democracy.