Srinagar Oct 11 (KNS): Adbee Markaz Kamraz (AMK) on Sunday expressed solidarity with all those writers who in past few days have returned their awards to Sahitya Akademi and has asked the top literary body to break its silence over the communal frenzy that has gained momentum for some time.
In a statement to KNS, AMK president Syed Shujaat Bukhari said that the writers who returned their awards in protest against the increasing communalization and criminalization in India must be supported by one and all. “They are people with conscience and they have spoken the language of heart” he said adding that the increasing intolerance over petty issues is a serious matter of concern for thinkers and writers and that is why half a dozen leading writers and intellectuals have strongly come out against the communal frenzy.
AMK that represents nearly 1100 writers, poets and scholars of Kashmiri language, is the oldest and biggest literary and cultural organization of Jammu and Kashmir.
Expressing anguish over the silence maintained by Sahitya Akademi over the murder of noted writer Professor Kalburgi who was killed a month ago, Bukhari said that despite the protests and resignations tendered by eminent people associated with Akademi, it is yet to come clean vis a vis its stand on the issue.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelHe said that resignations by K Satchidanandan and Shashi Deshpande from the prestigious body of Sahitya Akademi and returning of awards by Nayantara Sahgal and former Lalit Kala Akademi chairman Ashok Vajpeyi and Uday Prakash is an eye opener not only for Akademi but also for the all the people who have conscience. The AMK president said that it was time for all right thinking people to stand up and support these writers as they have emerged as a light at the end of a dark tunnel.
Bukhari also urged the Sahitya Akademi award winners from Kashmir to stand up against this silence and muster courage to side with right thinking people. “Unfortunately this wave of communal frenzy has been showing its head in Jammu and Kashmir as well and if not contained and fought back it will have disastrous consequences” he said adding that writers have an important role in changing the direction of society towards positivity and tolerance. (KNS)