Academicians against Indian author accepting Pak honour

Urdu litterateur Gopi Chand Narang, chosen for Pakistan's third highest civilian honour 'Sitara-i-Imtiaz', should not accept the "meaningless" award in light of the recent events which have affected Indo-Pak ties, a section of academicians has said.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, several academicians and Urdu professors from Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Ambedkar University also appealed to the government not to grant permission to Narang to go to Islamabad to receive the award.
However, 82-year-old Narang said he would not be able to go to Pakistan to receive the award due to ill health but regretted that the issue was being "politicised".

"Literature and culture are beyond geography and boundaries", he said, and added that the controversy will not stop him from accepting the award here.
A former president of Sahitya Akademi, Narang's name figured in the list of Pakistan's national award recipients announced on the eve of the country's independence day in August 2012. The investiture ceremony for the awards is scheduled for March 23, Pakistan's National Day.
"Considering the recent series of incidents from beheading our soldiers to resolution passed by Parliament of Pakistan against the hanging of convicted terrorist Afzal Guru, it does not seem appropriate and wise to receive any honour from such a government which is not only interfering in the internal affairs of our country but also likely to spoil our social fabric on the pretext of such award," said Khalaid Alvi, Head of Urdu department, Zakir Hussain College, University of Delhi.

Khalid and others have also written to the Ministries of Home and and External Affairs to deny permission to Narang for going to Pakistan to receive the honour.

They urged the government to "advise Professor Gopichand Narang to stay away from accepting this meaningless honour".
Narang said he was honoured to get the award but doctors have advised him against travelling to Pakistan.
"I would not be able to go to Pakistan as my doctors have advised me otherwise. But I have asked the country's High Commission here to present me the award in Delhi.
"Literature and culture are beyond geography and boundaries created at the stroke of midnight.I know for better what is in national interest and what is not," the Padma Bhushan recipient said.