Nand Kishore Bhardwaj is among the latest of nearly 30 writers who have return award.
Noted Rajasthani writer Nand Kishore Bhardwaj today said he was returning his Sahitya Akademi Award because he was disappointed by the body's silence over the killing of rationalist writers.
The writer had received the award in 2004 for his novel Samhee Khulto Marag and a cash prize of Rs 50,000. He said he had written to the literature body, to return both.
"For some time now there have growing attacks on writers. First Narendra Dabholkar was killed, then Pansare faced a similar fate. MM Kalburgi was shot in his house. There was a clear warning that some intolerant people were threatening him but nobody paid attention," he said.
"A few days ago Bhalchandra Nemade received similar threats, others have also been threatened and pressurised among them Tamil and Kannada writers. This is an issue that worries us writers," Mr Bhardwaj said.
"If the Sahitya Akademi cannot speak up on these issues then their awards have no meaning. This is a way for artists to create a moral pressure by returning the awards given to them," he said.
Mr Bharadwaj is among the latest of writers to return award. Nayantara Sahgal, the 88-year-old niece of Jawaharlal Nehru was among the first to return Sahitya Akademi Award. At least 29 more have since followed suit, many saying they were protesting a "rising culture of intolerance".
The killing of MM Kalburgi, a leading rationalist author in Karnataka in August this sent triggered widespread outrage, while the recent lynching of a Muslim man accused of eating beef in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri caused further unease.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has called the protest by writers a "manufactured paper rebellion" against the government. "Is this protest real or a manufactured one? Is this not a case of ideological intolerance?" Mr Jaitley asked in a Facebook post.