The RSS leader also questioned why the writers and scientists did not raise issues of intolerance in the past.
Those returning awards are "desperate and frustrated", the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS has said, lashing out at the increasing number of public intellectuals including writers, scientists and filmmakers protesting against what they call "growing intolerance" in the country.
"They are desperate and frustrated and hence are returning their awards. The RSS is not a punching bag for the so-called pseudo secular intolerant people," said Dattatreya Hosabale, joint secretary of the RSS, which is the ruling BJP's ideological mentor.
The RSS leader also questioned why the writers and scientists did not raise issues of intolerance in the past and why they did not debate on subjects of their profession.
An increasing number of intellectuals have returned awards and resigned from positions in recent weeks in protest of a series of incidents which they say demonstrates rising levels of intolerance. They have mainly blamed the BJP-led government at the Centre.
At least 40 writers have returned one of the country's top literary honour, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and several have resigned from their positions over the murders of three prominent rationalist authors this year.
The Sahitya Akademi was forced to speak out last week and said it was "deeply pained and strongly condemns" the killings.
This week on Tuesday, 10 filmmakers returned National Awards and raised their voice against the government's appointment of small-time actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of the country's premier film school FTII and also referred to the incidents mentioned by the writers.
On the same day, a body that represents over 2,000 of noted Indian scientists, the Inter-Academy Panel on Ethics in Science (IAPES), wrote to the government calling for "exemplary punishment to trespassers of reason".
Yesterday, more than 50 renowned historians, including Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, KN Pannikar and Mridula Mukherjee, came out strongly against Prime Minister Modi for not making any reassuring statement following concerns over "highly vitiated atmosphere" prevailing in the country.
The government has dismissed the protest with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley slamming the writers for a "manufactured paper rebellion".