Another Publicity stunt by Arundhati Roy!
Once again, one finds Arundhati Roy in the news, this time for rejecting a literary award conferred upon her. The Sahitya Akademi award was conferred upon her for the year 2005, for a collection of political essays compiled in a book The Algebra of Infinite Justice. However Ms. Roy, (in a way which is very characteristic of many leftists) has refused to accept the prestigious awards, citing that she was against the government policies on matters of environmental and social concerns (…More)
After winning the Booker for her book, time and again one finds Ms. Roy forcing herself into the limelight, by throwing another tantrum. First it was locking horns with the judiciary, and expressing dissent on the decision of the Supreme Court (and going to jail for that). Arundhati remained unrepentant, crying foul over the Supreme Court decision. Now she has rejected a prestigious award from the government of India.
It is high time that Ms Roy realises that she is old news, rather than indulging in publicity stunts. Ms Roy, you have had your 15 minutes of fame, why have this trouble in fading away from limelight, and why come up with ridiculous reasons for your actions? You point to the unsustainable environmental damage when it comes to dams, but what about yourself?
Your claim to fame was your book, a collection of paper. The number of books sold must have required tons of paper, which must have lead to the cutting down of so many trees. Why did you not refuse the royalty on those books? Why did you not reject the Booker? Wasn’t your book responsible for some environmental damage? Why didn’t you raise these issues then?
The reason for your rejecting the Sahitya Akademi award is simple. It is fashionable to reject Indian government awards. The media takes it up, and voila, instant fame! Lots of writers have gracefully accepted this award, but that did not mean that these writers completely agree with the government.
It is high time that our so-called celebs realise that an award by any government is an honour by the people it represents, and rejecting that award is tantamount to insulting the people of the nation. It is imperative that irrespective of whom one is, one respects the will of the people, for in any democracy, it is the peoples will that is supreme
After winning the Booker for her book, time and again one finds Ms. Roy forcing herself into the limelight, by throwing another tantrum. First it was locking horns with the judiciary, and expressing dissent on the decision of the Supreme Court (and going to jail for that). Arundhati remained unrepentant, crying foul over the Supreme Court decision. Now she has rejected a prestigious award from the government of India.
It is high time that Ms Roy realises that she is old news, rather than indulging in publicity stunts. Ms Roy, you have had your 15 minutes of fame, why have this trouble in fading away from limelight, and why come up with ridiculous reasons for your actions? You point to the unsustainable environmental damage when it comes to dams, but what about yourself?
Your claim to fame was your book, a collection of paper. The number of books sold must have required tons of paper, which must have lead to the cutting down of so many trees. Why did you not refuse the royalty on those books? Why did you not reject the Booker? Wasn’t your book responsible for some environmental damage? Why didn’t you raise these issues then?
The reason for your rejecting the Sahitya Akademi award is simple. It is fashionable to reject Indian government awards. The media takes it up, and voila, instant fame! Lots of writers have gracefully accepted this award, but that did not mean that these writers completely agree with the government.
It is high time that our so-called celebs realise that an award by any government is an honour by the people it represents, and rejecting that award is tantamount to insulting the people of the nation. It is imperative that irrespective of whom one is, one respects the will of the people, for in any democracy, it is the peoples will that is supreme
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