Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is among six personalities chosen for this year's Padma Vibhushan.
Booker Prize winning author Salman Rushdie joined the growing chorus of protests by leading writers against spread of "communal poison" and "rising intolerance" in the country even as seven more authors decided to return their Sahitya Akademi awards.
A clueless Sahitya Akademi has now called a meeting of its executive council on October 23 to decide the future course of action.
"I have decided to return the award. The minorities in the country are feeling unsafe and threatened. They feel their future is bleak," Khayal said.
Her action comes in the wake of a parade of litterateurs renouncing their coveted prizes.
Playwright and novelist Cyrus Mistry's English novel Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer and K R Meera's Aarachar in Malayalam are among the works that have won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award for this year.
Leading writers Nayantara Sahgal and Shashi Deshpande on Wednesday sought a strong condemnation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Dadri lynching incident and opposition to Ghulam Ali's concert.
Three eminent writers from Punjab announced that they were returning their Sahitya Akademi awards, while Kannada writer Aravind Malagatti resigned from the body's general council, joining the growing protest by litterateurs over "rising intolerance" and "communal" atmosphere.
After eminent writers Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpeyi, Malayalam novelist and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sarah Joseph today said she would return the Sahitya Akademi award in protest against what she called the "growing communalism" and "life threat faced by writers" in the country after Narendra Modi government assumed office.
Writers from across the country gathered at Shri Ram Centre near Mandi House and marched towards Sahitya Akademi in the capital, wearing black ribbons on their heads as a sign of protest.
'If they oppose the government on different issues, what has the Sahitya Akademi got to do with it?'
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