"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.
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.
Writers including those who had returned their Sahitya Akademi awards on Sunday wrote to the National Academy of Letters urging it to respond in a "strong, humane and robust" manner to situations.
Novelists are speaking for millions across India who are alarmed at where this country is headed.
Lovers of good cinema should not miss this opportunity to watch one of the best Indian films of 2016, raves Aseem Chhabra.
