SRINAGAR: Eminent Kashmiri litterateur, former Head of Department of Kashmiri Language and Literature at University of Kashmir Dr Margoob Banihali has decided to return the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award.
Dr Margoob Banihali had received Sahitya Akademi award for his Kashmiri poetry collection “PARTAVISTAAN” in 1979.
Overwhelmed and horrified at the cold blooded murder of Zahid Rasool Bhat who was burnt alive in Udhampur on October 9, 2015 and succumbed to his injuries on the 18th of October, Banihali has chosen to listen to his conscience and return the award- a trophy and a cash prize of Rs. One lakh.
The return of the award is Banihalis way of expressing solidarity with Zahids family and as a mark of protest to PDP-BJP government in J&K and the BJP government at the Centre.
While more than 25 writers and intellectuals have returned the Akademi till now, Banihali is the first Kashmiri awardee to return this prestigious prize.
