A Hypocrite Called Nayantara Sahgal

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA OCTOBER 14, 2015 02.30 A.M.

Let me start with DADRI LYNCHING. It is despicable. It is atrocious. It is condemnable. No sane person will justify this heinous crime.

But it didn’t happen in a BJP-ruled state. It happened in Uttar Pradesh, a state ruled by SAMAJWADI PARTY, a family concern run by indefatigable MULAYAM SINGH YADAV and his bellicose clan.

Then came a statement of NAYANTARA SAHGAL, a forgotten, moth-eaten writer, who happened to be the niece of JAWAHAR LAL NEHRU, the 1st Prime Minister of India, and who got SAHITYA AKADEMY AWARD for her novel ” RICH LIKE US ” during her nephew Rajiv Gandhi’s rule. On October 06, 2015 she returned her SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD to protest against “increasing intolerance and supporting right to dissent in the country”.

Her protest is against killing of Govind Pansare and M. M. Kalburgi and DADRI LYNCHING of a muslim person. I personally don’t support killing of writers or mob lynching. But I also have few questions for NAYANTARA SAHGAL.

She accepted SAHITYA AKADEMY AWARD in 1985, just a year after infamous 1984 Anti-Sikh riots of Delhi, during the term of her nephew Rajiv Gandhi. She didn’t return the award then. She didn’t return the award when Babri Majid was demolished. It happened again during Congress rule. She didn’t return the award when KASHMIRI PANDITS were driven out of their houses in Kashmir valley. She didn’t return the award when Narendra Dabholkar was murdered during Congress rule.

SO WHY NOW?

She did give her answer. She said, ” NOW THERE IS A HINDUTVA GOVERNMENT AT THE CENTRE.”

I call it selective outrage. She has double standards and is a stark hypocrite.

After her “outrage”, 25 more authors have returned their awards. But look at the facts. Only 25 out of 1004 recipients announce the returning of the awards. Out of these 25 authors, only 8 have written letters that they intend to return the award. And only 3 have returned the award money of INR 1,00,000.00 [ INR One Lakh ]. Wow! such brave intentions!

I denounce these bunch of jokers. They are out of sync with the NEW INDIA. They are jaded. They are archaic. They are hypocrites of the worst kind. It’s a good riddance. NEW INDIA is better placed without such pig-headed intellectuals.

NAYANTARA SAHGAL in her swanky mansion in Dehradun

Sitting in their swanky mansions, these outdated intellectuals pretend that they know India better. According to me NAYANTARA SAHGAL’s belated protest is linked to her feeling of being a part of Nehru-Gandhi oligarchy and a failed attempt to thwart a perceived threat to the Nehruvian legacy.

threat to the Nehruvian legacy.