12 FILMMAKERS GIVE NATIONAL AWARDS BACK, ASK GOVT TO ACT

Twelve filmmakers, including Dibakar Banerjee and Anand Patwardhan, returned their National Awards on Wednesday to protest “growing intolerance” and to express solidarity with the FTII students.

The filmmakers’ decision mirrors that of a string of writers and poets who recently gave back awards to voice their disapproval of what they said was an environment of intolerance and gagging of dissent in the country.

The move came hours after the FTII students, striking against the “political appointment” of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman, called off 139-day-old agitation. They, however, said peaceful demonstrations would continue.

“Our past glory is being cited as the reason for many acts and deeds. I feel that glory must be spelled out. To me, that glory was an education system that encouraged questioning, argument, debate and a give and take of ideas,” Banerjee, honoured for Khosla Ka Ghosla said, invoking the guru-shishya tradition.