Bengali poet Mandakranta Sen returns Sahitya Akademi award

Noted Bengali poet Mandakranta Sen on Wednesday returned her Sahitya Akademi Young Writers Special Award to protest against what she described as intolerance and communalism in the society.

Sen received the award in 2004 for her body of work in Bengali poetry.

She said a Muslim man's lynching in a Uttar Pradesh village over rumours that he ate beef and attacks on writers across the country were the direct reasons for her decision to return the honour.

Nearly two dozen authors have announced their decision to return their awards as a mark of protest since Mohammed Akhlaq was killed by a mob, and in the wake of murders of rationalists in the country.