Awards Return Drama of the Intellectuals – The Southern Edition

Chanakya who once said, “If there is unrest among intellectuals & criminals, assume that King is doing right”.

‪#‎GiveItUp was a campaign started by Narendra Modi asking able citizens of India who were still availing the Gas Cylinders at subsidized rates to give up their subsidy. Liberals mistook this to an extreme level.

Return of the awards by the “Eminent Writers”, “Highly Intellectuals”, “Progressive Thinkers”, “Free Speech Champions” and “Ultra Seculars” in the past few weeks is soaring steadily for showcasing their Secular commiseration and angst against some “Nation Rattling” incident which is impeding the Secular fabric of India. Here, I want to highlight the writers galore who are making the news up in South by returning their awards for the very own Secular motives. It is unequivocally certain that, their returning awards will have no effect on the incident investigations as such. The respective State Governments are acting on their behest. Intellectuals

Writer and Rationalist, Prof. Dr. Malleshappa M. Kalburgi has been assassinated in his hometown Dharwad, Karnataka. Two men arrived by motorcycle at the scholar’s home. One knocked on his door claiming that he is the student of Professor. Then, he had a brief conversation with him – then shot him dead in point blank range and escaped on the waiting bike.

Who is Dr. MM. Kalburgi?

Kalburgi, a leftist ideologue and former vice-chancellor of Hampi University. Dr. Kalburgi was a scholar in Vachana verses, the founding literature of the Lingayats. Vachanas are like the daily rituals, helping people to lead their daily life. Lingayats, a middle caste, comprising 12-14% of Karnataka’s population. It is one of the politically persuasive Hindu sect. Most of the Karnataka’s Chief Ministers have belonged to this community. Indubitably, this is one of the resilient vote base of the BJP. There are more than 2000 Lingayat community mutts, or monastery establishments across the Karnataka, who are into Education sector, Charity, Hospitals, etc…

In 1989, the Lingayat community had allegedly threatened him to kill for writing a book (Marga – 1) in the Kannada language which contains the blasphemous account of a 12th Century Veerashiava saint, Basavanna. Since then, he was under the police fortification.

Read: Indian Intellectuals hate Modi because hey who loves a job snatcher    Intellectuals

In June 2014, at a seminar on the Anti-Superstition Bill in Bangalore, Dr. Kalburgi had said, citing the works of U.R. Ananthamurthy written in 1996. This book was titled “Bettale Pooje Yeke Koodadu?” (Why nude-worshipping is wrong?). He debated the late author’s childhood experience of urinating on the idols as an experiment to see whether there would be any divine retribution (Seriously?). Kalburgi had endorsed this and called for the actual experimentation by his cliques. This led to the remonstrations from several groups and the rest is history.

Writers that returned their awards/resigned from Sahitya Akademi:

1. Chandrashekar Patil a.k.a Champa: Renowned Kannada writer, Prof. Chandrashekar Patil, a close associate of Kalburgi has announced that he would return his PAMPA award (Karnataka State’s highest literary award) that he was acknowledged it in the year 2009, in protest against the murder of his friend, Prof. Kalburgi. Prof. Patil said that this was the least thing he could do as a writer to protest against “the environment created in the country is stifling dissent and freedom of expression”.
2. Kum Veerabhadrappa: Karnataka’s writer Kum Veerabhadrappa, who will also return his Sahitya Akademi award, said: “I’m doing this condemning the killings of Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi, and Akademi’s silence on the issue; also against Dadri lynching.” Veerabhadrappa had won the award in 2007 for his book ‘Aramane’.
3. Arvind Malagatti: Noted Kannada writer and researcher Dr. Arvind Malagatti resigned from the General Council of Sahitya Akademi. He condemned the Akademi’s “silence” over the killing of the progressive thinker Kalburgi. He emphasized his point stating that, “I have resigned condemning the killing of Kalburgi and silence of Akademi over the issue. It should have spoken out and expressed its condemnation against such acts. Killing of personalities like Kalburgi, (Govind) Pansare and incidents like Dadri lynching are an attack on the Constitutional rights in this country. They are highly condemnable.” Intellectuals

And the list goes on…

Shashi Deshpande, K. Satchidanandan, P K Parakkadavu has resigned from their positions from the Sahitya Akademi, citing the exact reasons of Dadri, Kalburgi and other reasons that the vile groups had perpetrated intentionally to break the Secular circuit of India.

Personalities like Nayantara Sahgal, Ashok Vajpai, Gurucharan Bhular and Sarah Joseph from the God’s own country Kerala, Urdu Novelist Rahman Abbas, and Hindi Novelist Uday Prakash were among the list of writers who returned/announced that they would return their awards.

Budding writers join hands in the protest:

Six young writers from Karnataka, who were awarded with the Aralu Sahitya (Budding Literary) award which was given by Karnataka state run BMTC. They are saddened by long delay in the arrest of the two assailants of Kalburgi, who are at large and the probe did not make much headway.
The young writers – Veeranna Madiwalar, T. Satish Javare Gowda, Sangamesh Menasinakai, Hanumanth Haligeri, Shridevi V Aloor and Chidanand Sali – were conferred the awards on November 20, 2011 at a function where Kalaburgi was also honored with the Nrupatunga Award. Intellectuals

Now let me ask few questions to these eminent writers who are on the helter-skelter mode to return their awards.

1. Mahendra Munnot, a Bangalore based Chemist that runs a Medical shop, over the years has been working with dedication for the cause of cow protection and protesting against cow slaughter. He habitually organizes public awareness campaigns and programmes about the importance of protecting cows, and has even written a book on the subject. After he finished distributing the books he wrote in a school and was sitting in his car getting ready to leave, a mob of about 50 Muslims surrounded the car and unleashed a vicious attack. He suffered serious injuries on the face, arms, and legs. Where were you then? You would’ve very well condemned the attacks and should’ve returned your awards then and there itself.
2. When lakhs of Kashmir Pundits were forced out of their home towns, where we you expressing your solidarity? Didn’t the Secular fabric of India come in to your mind?
3. When 1993 Bombay blasts happened and hundreds of people died at the hands of dreadful terrorists – where were you? Intellectuals
4. When thousands of Sikhs were murdered on the broad daylight after Indira Gandhi’s assassination – where were you?

In Kerala, the situation is even dreadful. Ruled by the LDF-Congress allied government, the opposition voice has been suppressed by sheer force. The assault on the people who had different ideological beliefs than their government counterpart had been attacked in various places over the years.

In 2006:

1. Krishna Kumar (Biju), an RSS activist killed in Thiruvananthapuram by CPI (M) thugs.
2. BJP activist P.S. Sujith murdered in Engandiyur town of Thrissur district by CPI (M) goons.

In 2007:

1. RSS activist Ravi killed in Tirur by NDF members.
2. BJP/ BMS activist Shaju (30) killed in Kallettumkara near Thrissur district by CPI (M) goons.
3. RSS activist Lakshman murdered in Thanur in Malappuram district by NDF workers.
4. An RSS Taluk Karya vahak G. Chandran murdered in Vettiyar near Mavelikkara by CPI (M) thugs.
5. Pramod (33), RSS/BJP activist killed by CPI (M) thugs in Thallassery, Kannur district.
6. BJP activist Sunil Kumar killed in Kodungallur by DYFI goons.
7. An RSS activist Vinod Kumar (35) killed near Manalayam junction at Chadayamangalam in Thiruvananthapuram by NDF workers.
8. RSS Mandal physical education teacher Vinod (25) killed by NDF goons near his house.

The list will turn out to be interminable. But the silence of our eminent writers, Intellectuals, Progressive thinkers, liberals is just an example of how predisposed they are. If you are showing your “compassion” or “antagonism” towards an incident for which an Indian has been hurt, yes, I unswervingly support it. But the discerning exoneration is what makes you a charlatan and no less than a clown. Grow up!! Jai Hind.