BENGALURU: Noted Kannada writer Professor Chandrasekhar Patil, popularly known as ChamPa, has decided to return the Pampa Award given to him, the highest literary honour conferred by the state government. He said he is returning the award to condemn writer Prof M M Kalburgi’s murder and to protest against the attack on freedom of expression.
Kalburgi was shot dead outside his house in Dharwad on August 30.
“I will meet the Chief Minister tomorrow (Monday) and return the award along with a cheque for `3 lakh. Kalburgi was my close friend and what I am doing as a friend and writer is a small gesture to protest the attack on freedom of expression and thought,” ChamPa told Express on Sunday.
The award, named after the first Kannada poet Adikavi Pampa, comprises a citation and a cash prize of `3 lakh. He received the award in 2009.
Stating that he has full faith in the state government and the police, Patil said that during his meeting with the CM, he would urge the latter to further intensify the probe so that the culprits who killed Kalburgi and “dark forces” behind the crime are arrested. “I will also urge the CM to call a special session of the Assembly to discuss the Anti-Superstition Bill that they had drafted earlier. It was dropped due to pressure from reactionary and fundamentalist forces. The government should again pick it up. When Maharashtra can do it, why not Karnataka?” he asked.
There is a need for a rationalistic people’s movement in the state. Writers and intellectuals should pool in their energies to fight against fundamentalist forces, he added.
