Wary of 'award wapsi', parliamentary committee wants undertaking from recipients
New Delhi, July 25
Describing the return of Akademi awards by recipients for “political reasons” as “disgraceful to the country”, a parliamentary committee has recommended prior concurrence of short-listed candidates for awards before finalisation.
“Awards may not be given without such an undertaking. In the event that the awards are returned, the awardee shall not be considered for such an award in the future,” stated a report tabled in Parliament by the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.
It said 39 recipients of Sahitya Akademi Awards returned their awards in 2015 to protest the murder of Kalburgi, an eminent writer from Karnataka. Some of them returned the plaque while some also sent cheques of amounts they received as part of the award. They were informed by the Akademi that it did not have any system for taking back the award. Therefore, cheques were not deposited. There was no instance of “award wapsi” after 2015.
The parliamentary committee was informed that many of these people, who returned the award, have again associated themselves with the Akademi, serving sometimes in the jury and participating in programmes of the Akademi. The committee questioned the re-engagement of such awardees who joined the Akademi “after insulting it”. — TNS
‘Disgrace’ to nation
- The panel says such acts bring ‘disgrace’ to the country
- 39 returned awards in 2015 to protest Kalburgi murder
- Some even sent the cheques of amounts they received
