"It is unfortunate that the Maharashtra government has fallen prey to this campaign and cancelled the award. But this does not diminish the quality and ability of the translator, Anagha Lele, who merely did this as one of her professional jobs for Lokwangmay Gruha. As her livelihood is dependent on her translations it would be unfair to deny her the award.” So stated Maoist sympathizer Kobad Ghandy on the state government’s decision to withdraw the Late Yashwantrao Chavan State Literature Award 2021 for Lele’s Marathi translation of his book Fractured Freedom: A Prison Memoir.
The Maharashtra government which had on December 6, 2022 announced the award reversed its decision a scant six days later citing administrative reasons. Opposition to the award had been expressed on social media. The department headed by minister Deepak Kesarkar of the breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena (SS), gives awards in 35 different categories. The translation had been chosen from among 33 awardees for the Tarktirth Laxmanshasatri Joshi Puraskar which carries prize money of one lakh rupees. The selection committee was also disbanded.
Following the announcement there was a stir on social media with critics urging the government to reverse its decision.
In a statement to the newspaper Ghandy said, "The book’s English version has been a bestseller since its release in March 2021. The social media campaign against the author is full of lies and distortions as proved by my public statements and acquittal in all cases. Besides the quality of the translation… (is the reason why) the award was given and not the content of the book.”
In its issue of December 17, The Indian Express (IE) quoted Ghandy as saying: "The courts have acquitted me of all charges. So, the social media campaign was only to whip up hysteria to get the government to cancel the award… (Nor) in the book is there any indication of it being Maoist in any way. The book in its conclusion says that in any social project for change one has to include the concepts of naturalness, straightforwardness, honesty, simplicity, etc, as also freedom with a goal towards the happiness for the majority. What do they have against this?”
Criticizing the decision, translator Lele iterated to IE on December 16 that there was nothing objectionable in the book. "Some people took objection on social media and without any proper review the government took immediate action and withdrew the award on the grounds that the book supports Naxalism. Social media buzz was considered more important than the expert committee’s opinion… I am a professional translator (and when approached by the publisher) I decided to take it up as work.”
In a show of solidarity Marathi author Anand Karandikar who had received the award in the "general literature” category for his book Vaicharik Ghusalan, announced that he asked the government to take back his award, reported The Times of India (ToI) on December 14. He described the scrapping of the award as "absolute gagging of freedom of thoughts and freedom of expression…I have written a letter to the Maharashtra State Literature and Culture Board informing them that I want to return my award and the money worth one lakh rupees.”
Though he does not agree with Ghandy’s thinking, he feels that the latter has every right to express his views in a democracy, Karandikar told Press Trust of India. Questioning the logic of the government’s action, he observed that Ghandy’s book has already been published and is on sale.
There were further repercussions with the chairman of the Maharashtra government’s Marathi language committee and four members of the literary board resigning in protest against what they termed the government’s "one-sided” decision, noted ToI on December 15. They claimed that there was rarely any political interference in literary awards.
A flurry of political reactions followed, with opposition leader Ajit Pawar of the National Congress Party slamming the government for scrapping an award that had already been given, likening the act to an undeclared emergency, reported mid-day on December 15. "Literature, art and sport should be devoid of government interference,” he maintained. An editorial in Saamna, the mouthpiece of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the SS on December 17 noted that though the award had been withdrawn, the book has not been banned. Expectedly, the Bharatiya Janata Party strongly defended the decision to cancel the award, noted The Free Press Journal on December 16, congratulating the state government for being firm in its stand against Naxalism. Sherene Vakil