BATHINDA: To show solidarity with farmers and their demand for repeal of the three agricultural laws, noted Punjabi poetSurjit Patar announced that he would return his Padma Shri award. He made the announcement on Monday, after writing a few lines on the subject.
Patar, chairman of Punjab Arts Council, got the Sahitya Akademi award in 1993 for ‘Hanere vich sulagdi varnmala’ and Padma Shri in 2012. He said, “I am at pains to describe the way the central government is treating farmers. The government must listen to their miseries. I have taken the decision with a heavy heart.”
This was preceded by a number of sportspersons returning various awards and medals. Art and literary figures have announced return of Sahitya Akademi awards and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal also announced return of the second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan. Former union minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa announced that he would return the Padma Bhushan.
Patar said farmers, who feed the nation, are forced to sit on the borders of Delhi in harsh winter. In 2015, when authors raised their voice accusing the central government of depriving people of the right to free expression, Patar returned the Sahitya Akademi award. Raising a voice, he said every citizen had the right to express his views and these could not be crushed.