Noted English poet Jayanta Mahapatra on Sunday became yet another intellectual to return a major national award, his Padma Shri, in protest against the prevailing climate of “growing asymmetry evident in the country”. Mahapatra had received the award in 2009, and becomes the first writer from Odisha to protest in this way. Mahapatra said his act “should not be considered as any kind of dishonour to the country,” in a letter addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee.
“It is a personal decision. I thought for a long time but some incident hurt me so much and I decided to return the award. Every day something is coming out in the paper. You cannot eat this or you cannot eat that. This hurt me (sic),” Mahapatra told the Times of India. The poet, however, said his protest had little to do with the dozens of writers who had returned their Sahitya Akademi awards.
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