Kalburgi murder: Kannada writer Dayananda refuses to accept award

Bengaluru: A young writer has refused to accept Kannada Sahitya Akademi Award by the state government. State government's failure to arrest the killers of Sahitya Akademi award winner MM Kalburgi has been cited as the reason by writer and filmmaker Dayananda TK.

According a report in the Indian Express, Dayananda was to be honoured for his debut work 'Raste Nakshatra'. 

The awards were given away on Saturday. 

In his letter to the Kannada Sahitya Akademi, Dayananda cited growing 'intolerance' as one of the reasons behind his decision.

In his letter, the author said, "It's been four months since  Kalburgi was murdered and yet there is no sign of any development in the investigation into the case."

Dayananda's refusal to accept the award is likely to re-ignite the debate over the growing intolerance in the country. Last year, Central government has to face a major embarrassment following the 'Awardwapasi' campaign by a group of writers and filmmakers against the growing intolerance in the country.