Every day, we come across news of some writer or film maker returning their awards in protest against the government! That is fine!
But at the same time, it would be equally pertinent to wonder whether these people are returning only their awards. You see, the awards come with a cash prize and some other incentives.
Now, the cash prize may not be huge, only a small amount but nevertheless, it’s still money, right? And it is binding on the intellectuals to return the cash prize too along with the award apart from various fringe benefits associated with the recognition.
The money so collected can be used to finance the various literary bodies. Or better still; do away with these awards altogether.
Who in this country gives a damn whether a person is a Padma Shri or a Arjuna awardee. Do they even know the difference?
