Jaipur: Hindi poet Uday Prakash on Sunday refused to take back his Sahitya Akademi award, claiming the NDA government was merely trying to restore its image by persuading ‘award wapsi’ campaign writers to re-accept their awards.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to take back my award. Even Nayantara Sahgal has declined to take back her award,” Prakash said on the sidelines of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) here.
The poet was among the first to give up his award followed by many other prominent writers including Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpeyi in protest against perceived “growing intolerance” in the country sparking a nationwide campaign.
The award-winning poet said he was disheartened to see authors taking back their awards only a week after the death of the Dalit scholar in Hyderabad.
“I personally feel that it is too early for the writers to take such a decision. They could have waited a little longer,” Prakash said.
