'Hindutva' ideology ruining name of Hindus everywhere, says Nayantara Sahgal

Writer Nayantara Sahgal, the niece of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who returned her 'Sahitya Akademi' Award over the Dadri lynching case, said here on Wednesday that the rampant 'Hindutva ideology' was ruining the name of Hindus in the nation.

"The prevailing situation of the country is very pathetic. The Hindutva ideology which is going on in the country right now is ruining the name of the Hindus and as a Hindu myself, I am very hurt," Sahgal told ANI here.

Sahgal returned the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award yesterday, recording her protest against what she calls "vicious assault" on India's diversity and debate, and the government's failure to safeguard it.

In a statement explaining her decision, titled "Unmaking of India," she referred to the killing of a Muslim man over rumours that he had eaten beef and also the killings of rationalists MM Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.