After studied silence, the Sahitya Akademi finally passes a resolution condemning the increasing number of cases of intolerance and at once, requests writers to take back their awards.


At least 35 writers from across the country had over the past few weeks announced their decision to return their Sahitya Akademi awards and stepped down from official Akademi positions to protest the "rising intolerance" in the country.


In New Delhi today, supporters of the writers who had returned the Akademi awards, held a solidarity march ahead of the Sahitya Akademi emergency meeting to discuss the returning of awards by eminent authors. The awards had been returned in the backdrop MM Kalburgi's killing, the Dalit killings and the Dadri lynching.


Writers from different languages converged for the silent march to the Sahitya Akademi building, where they submitted a memorandum to the Akademi demanding that it pass a resolution pledging to take stern steps to safeguard the freedom of speech and right to dissent of the writers.


Akademi chairman Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari accepted the memorandum and said "it would be considered" in the meeting.


At the meeting, the Akademi passed a resolution condemning the increasing cases of intolerance in India and urged the writers who had returned their awards to accept them.