Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Politician-writer Shashi Tharoor is among 23 writers who will be bestowed with the Sahitya Akademi Award 2019. The national academy of letters announced the names of the winners on Wednesday.
Tharoor won the award for his work in creative non-fiction in English language for his book 'An Era of Darkness'.
"The awards were recommended by distinguished jury members representing 23 Indian languages and approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi which met today under the Chairmanship of Chandrashekhar Kambar, President, Sahitya Akademi," K Sreenivasarao, Secretary of the Akademi, said in a statement.
Speaking to reporters in his Lok Sabha constituency Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor said he was extremely honoured to receive the award, and it was a matter of great "pride and satisfaction."
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"An honour like this is somewhat unexpected. My first book was published in 1981. For 38 years, no one whispered my name in connection with a national literary prize, although I won some international ones," he said.
Govt shouldn't plunge India back into 'an era of darkness'
Shashi Tharoor's 'Era of Darkness' throws light on the adverse effect of British colonial rule in India and how the British exploited India - from the drain of national resources to Britain to the negative transformation of agriculture.
Referring to the ongoing nationwide stir against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Tharoor urged the BJP-led government at the Centre not to plunge the nation again into 'an era of darkness'.
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"When I wrote that book, I saw it as something of the past - that we ended the era of darkness by attaining freedom in 1947. But to once again see disturbances and distress - all because of a totally unnecessary initiative of the government... My plea to the government is - do not plunge our nation again into an era of darkness," he said.
Tharoor further stated that there was no question of him not accepting the award as it had nothing to do with the government.
The winners will receive an engraved copper plate and Rs 1 lakh cash prize at a special function on February 25, 2020 in Delhi.
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