Telugu writer Katyayani Vidmahe returns Sahitya Akademi award

Joining in the chorus of protest by the writers' community, Telugu writer Katyayani Vidmahe on Sunday said she was returning her Sahitya Akademi award in protest against "the growing intolerance in the country".

A professor of Telugu at the Kakatiya University, Warangal, Vidamhe recieved the Sahitya Akademi award in 2013 for her compilation of essays, 'Saahithyaaksharam lo Sagam Telugu, Streela Asthitva Saahithyam, Kavitvam, Katha'.

Vidmahe told PTI that as a National General Secretary of Democratic Women Workers's Forum, she felt it was her responsibility to react to the prevailing situation.

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In the wake of the murder of Kannada scholar and rationalist M M Kalburgi and the recent incident of lynching at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, several writers across the country have returned their awards in protest.