The return of Awards

Prof.A.N.Sadhu
For last few weeks, News papers have been invariably carrying at least one news item frequently about some one from somewhere returning his award, primarily Sahitya Akademi Award. It may partly be as a reaction to Kanada incident, partly, in response to Dadri and partly also, as a reaction to several acts of violence, omissions and commissions taking place across the country. Littérateurs are a class of people, who are scholarly and very high quality refined human beings, though, on occasion, highly sensitive as well. Any society feels proud of these scholarly persons, because their pen is supposed to be mightier than sword, in moulding the public opinion towards change and reform. Littérateurs are also emotional persons, very soft hearted and sympathizers of human being irrespective of caste, creed or colour. These are the people who enjoy singing the songs of glory, playing with rose-petals and delivering the sermons of love and affection. These littérateurs are supposed to be composed and capable of drawing right inferences and showing rational reactions to an incident and/or to a situation. Litterateurs have shaped several revolutions in the world by their writings and they have successfully achieved their goals without adopting any agitational path. The world is passing through a high speed transition and literateurs have a role to play to keep this transition along the right path so that the grandeur of humanity is not dented.
Any award is a certification of some one’s merit and quality contribution to any field in a broad spectrum of human activity. Award is not a gift which is given out of pleasure or goodwill. Sahitya Award is recognition of a very high quality literary contribution. Similar other awards also stand for recognition of outstanding work done in different fields. Gifts may be returned out of anguish or by falling apart from the gifting agency either on misunderstanding or by a willful act of annoyance. Returning awards tantamounts to refusing recognition. If you refuse recognition, what are you conveying by doing so? That you don’t deserve it or that you don’t need it or that you want a bigger recognition. Return of an award undermines the very prestige of such an award. If award is retuned as a protest, it does not seem to be an appropriate action for there are several other methods of protests and disapproval of an act.
Nobody can understand the sanctity of an award, more so of an award given for literary work than the literateurs themselves. Does the return of such an award not violate its sanctity? There are other forms of protest that can give vent to one’s anguish and disgust. The biggest handle with a man of literature is his pen. He can use it to stir the conscience of mankind. Let the literateurs convey their displeasure through their write-ups prepared on the basic premises of rationale, truth and objectivity. At any stage of social evolution, men of letters, have a role to play. This role has to be played within the ambit of tolerance and accommodation. No rational thinking person can ever defend an act of violence. Violence is a medieval trait but the world has travelled too far. If there are elements who intend to stall this march, they need to be condemned. The society has been faced with problems of irrational intolerance at all stages of its evolution and it is literateurs who have liberated the people from such turbulences. In the transformation from dark ages to enlightenment, the role of literateurs have remained supreme. Does it not call for such a role to be played by them without returning the awards which neither keeps its sanctity/nor, perhaps, also create the required sensitivity among those to whom the signal is directed.
Literateurs are faced with a bigger challenge of playing a positive role to check the negative tendencies among the people at this highly advanced stage of social, economic and scientific development. Let men of letters not be charged with intellectual intolerance. Viewed in historical perspective, the societies in south Asia are experiencing formidable transformations, all of which may not be desirable. Probably the type of incidents that evoked large scale anguish are pointers to those types of wrong transformations. Literaeurs have to step in and help correcting these distortions not by returning the awards which may not have a mass appeal, but by using their pen to create an awareness against such incidents.
For every action there has to be a reaction. In an orderly society, a quick and an appropriate administrative response is called for wherever something undesirable happens. No sane person can condone the administrative apathy, in-difference and inefficiency.Unfortunately, in our country, there is much to be desired on this front. Many a things happening in the country is because of absolute administrative failure. It is a sad state of affairs if the literateurs have to resort to an action which probably they would never have thought of. If administration is alert and quick, in their response, with high quality of intelligence, perhaps such type of a situation would not arise where one of our finest sections of the society will have to resort to such a protest. It is certainly painful at this shape of social and technological development. Men of literature are also powerful social reformers. They have successfully brought about revolutions in the social order, whenever it was needed the most
There is a role for statesmanship as well. Issues related to society can always not be addressed from a political angle. Social sensitivities are better address by rising above the political considerations. A common man does not have much to do with a politician, he makes his choice on welfare considerations. Politicians working in narrow party domain meet their waterloo too soon and only those who forge ahead with qualities and considerations of statesmanship, last for a longer time. The nation cannot forget some of the statesmen who even after winning elections on a party ticket rose much above the party paradigms to address the national issues. In a pluralistic order, as we have, we need statesman more than the politicians. The entire world is on cross roads and needs the statesmen of global vision to keep it on the right course. Those who have returned the awards may have done it on their own calculations, all of which may not be right, but the statesmanship demands that it is taken note of even when it may not be justified on rational approach. Whether it is intellectual intolerance or a miscalculated adventure, time also will test it.
The return of awards may also be viewed in the light of social sensitivity and social responsibility. The Kannada incident and Dadri incident are sensitive issues, though there are many more. These incidents may out rightly be condemned but in a country of 125 crores of people, such undesirable incidents may not cease unless, as said earlier, the administration is alert and effective and its intelligence agencies are extra vigilant. It calls in question, the social responsibility as well. Sensitivities are natural but responsibility is a conscious effort to remain informed. While as awardees returning awards are within their rights to do so but they need to be guided by a sense of responsibility as well. Does the return of award address to a feeling of sensitivity or to a sense of responsibility. It appears that return of an award does not exhibit responsibility it only exhibits the sensitivity. Should not a literateur discharge his responsibility by sensitising the readers against such crime by his pen rather than by his return of an award, which in any case is not a gift, it is only a recognition which he should hold close to his chest.
Any human action is supposed to be a blend of reason and response. The reason may be one or many but response has to be thoughtful and rational. Many a situations arise when for one or the other reason, responses are evoked from the public. Responses can be peaceful, these can be violent as well. While as reason is uncontrolled, the response can be controlled. While building a response, it needs to be assessed as to against whom should the response be directed. It may be directed against an individual, a group of people, an administrative Department, a political party or the government itself. In the present case, it seems directed towards government or more precisely towards party in power.There are administrative lapses, there are uncontrolled and improper statements, there is some governance lethargy as well,. But these can’t be adjudged as connivances. At best such happenings may be attributed to intelligence failure, administrative incompetence or social mischief. Logic would suggest that return of an award is in no way an appropriate response, instead the awardees should have built a strong case for effective intervention of the government in checking such incidents. Return has manifested their anguish, it has not suggested a way out. No society can tolerate acts of violence and religious bigotry. There in a secular country, adequate space has to be available, freely and fearlessly, to all people of different faiths and the government should guarantee it with full commitment.
Patriotism and nationalism demands, of all citizens including the leaders- does not matter if some of them are only self styled- to work for the preservation and adherence to national goals and not play sectional and caste politics. Let there be no  scope for conspirators to fish in with the troubled waters. Sooner, we learn to work with responsibility, better it will be for the country.
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