Sahitya Akademi Award: Arundhati Roy Rejects Honor

[donheld]

Celebrated writer Arundhati Roy on Saturday refused to accept the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in protest against the Indian Government toeing the US line by “violently and ruthlessly pursuing policies of brutalisation of industrial workers, increasing militarisation and economic neo-liberalisation”.

The jury of Sahitya Akademi last week chose her book, The Algebra of Infinite Justice, a collection of political essays, for the 2005 literary award.

“I have a great deal of respect for the Sahitya Akademi, for the members of this year's Jury and for many of the writers who have received these awards in the past. But to register my protest and reaffirm my disagreement — indeed my absolute disgust — with these policies of the Indian Government, I must refuse to accept the 2005 Sahtiya Akademi Award”, Arundhati said in a statement here.
“These essays written between 1998 and 2001 are deeply critical of some of the major policies of the Indian State”, she said. The main area of her disgreement included the government policies of constructing big dams, persuing nuclear weapons, increasing militarisation and economic liberalisation.


http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0116-01.htm

[Tom Joad]

1. More should listen to the likes of Arundhati Roy. A courageous woman.

A true friend of humanity against the brutalities of militaristic regimes... From India to Pakistan, from Britain to the US, Israel and beyond. The elite worry about such people as Roy. They should. It is people such as her that are making a new world possible.

The traffic prevents me temporarily from proudly displaying her image, but I salute you, Arundhati Roy.

[tatertop]

2. Tom Joad, you and I definitely see eye to eye on that

She is absolutely great.