Writing and politics don't mix

Krishna Sobti joins the roster of authors who declined various literary awards, sheds light on the politics of awards:

Sobti, the grande dame of Hindi literature, told The Indian Express from her Delhi home, “As a writer, I have to keep a distance from the establishment. I think I did the right thing.”

Sobti said an official from the Home Ministry had, as is the norm, contacted her three or four days before the announcement of the awards to inform her she had been chosen. “I told him, ‘let us stop this right here’. I did not want to create a din later, after the awards had been publicly announced. Then on the morning of January 25, I again got a call from the Ministry. The official said, ‘The nation wants to honour you.’ I told him, ‘Thank you very much. That’s very nice. But I am already honoured, I’m a Sahitya Akademi Fellow. That is the biggest recognition for a writer.’”  MORE