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Sashi Deshpande quits Sahitya Akademi protesting silence over Kalburgi's murder

by IBNS 10 Oct 2015, 07:50 am

New Delhi, Oct 10 (IBNS) Writer Shashi Deshpande has resigned from the Sahitya Akademi General Council, joining the celebrated littorateurs, who have publicly declined state honours protesting the murder of Prof M M Kalburgi and the alleged attacks on the country's diversity.

Deshpande, in her letter, has said she is “deeply distressed by the silence of the Akademi on the murder of Prof Kalburgi”. Kalburgi, a Kannada writer, scholar and winner of the Akademi award, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Dharwad in August.

 Deshpande, also an Akademi winner, said “silence is a form of abetment”. 

 Deshpande’s resignation comes after three writers — Uday Prakash, Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpeyi — returned their Akademi awards as protest against Kalburgi’s killing, and the government’s and Prime Minister’s silence on the issue. 

Six Kannada and an Urdu writer have also returned literary awards given by the state government as a mark of protest.