Sometimes human beings are prone to be swayed by emotions and thus become victims of strange eccentricity. Some of us, more sensitive to events, do things in haste and later on repent our hasty action. In such a state of mind, a few writers, artists and intellectuals in our country recently declared they were returning the Sahitya Akademi awards given to them by previous Governments. By doing so, they wanted to register their resentment to what they called “intolerance spreading in the country”. Intolerance, of which they speak, is their perception of current situation. The award given to them is in fact public recognition of their service to the Sahitya. Therefore, returning the award obviously shows they have not shown respect to the public recognition. If they think that by returning the award they are disapproving the Government in place, they should not forget that the Government has come to power as a result of majority vote. Therefore they are indirectly disparaging the majority of the Indian nation. That is not justifiable because it proves they are intolerant of majority opinion. The President has very wisely and clearly sent this message to the entire intellectual class in the country by saying that such awards should be cherished and valued by the recipients and emotions should not overrun reason. The President was speaking on the occasion of giving away awards of Press Council of India.
The point is that the nation, by giving them Sahitya Akademi award, has recognized their literary excellence through which instrument they have expressed themselves and their ideas loudly. Given the gift of the gab, they could have expressed their resentment through the same instrument and not given cause to the nation to suspect their worthiness of qualifying for the award. A stray incident here or there should not become the rule. Such incidents have happened in the past and we should be prepared to meet with such happening in future also. We have a viable democracy. The Constitution gives us the right of freedom of expression. Nothing more will fortify our tolerance than what the Constitution has given us. With this Constitution as the lodestar of the nation, no Government at the Centre or in the State can be intolerant simply because it cannot go against the Constitution. Those who returned the award have to ask whether they are tolerant with themselves.
We would expect the award returnees to be inspired by the sane words of the President who is the custodian of the Constitution and in this light, have a second thought on their hasty and emotional decision of returning the award. Returning the award is, in a sense, insult to the Government that had given it. The present Government is exonerated of that blame. We expect all award returnees to let good sense, reason, national interests and the magnanimity of literary pursuit prevail upon them. They should try to fathom the depth and truth in the words of the President.
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