Extremely disturbing, says P Sainath as he returns Basavashree award

P Sainath, veteran journalist and founder editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), on Friday night, said he is returning the Basavashree award

Mumbai P Sainath, veteran journalist and founder editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), on Friday night, said he is returning the Basavashree award, which was conferred on him by the Sri Murugha Mutt in 2017.

Journalist author P Sainath (HT Photo)

Sainath’s decision follows the arrest of Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the chief pontiff of the influential Lingayat Sri Murugha Mutt in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district, on September 1, for allegedly sexually abusing two girls. Sharanaru was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), the Indian Penal Code and SC/ST Act for allegedly sexually exploiting two girls studying in the Mutt’s schools.

Speaking to HT on Saturday, the Ramon Magsaysay awardee said that the Basavashree award was conferred for PARI as the Mutt recognised it as a new trend in journalism and considered it public service. PARI is dedicated to stories of rural India, and the website has no subscription fee or advertising content.

“It is extremely appalling and disturbing that these charges have been brought against the pontiff of the Mutt. He was the one who actually handed me the award like he did to several others over the past few years,” said Sainath.

Sainath added, “I also felt that there has been too much silence within Karnataka. The government should have acted swiftly some time ago but everybody quietened with an election coming up. The power of one hand versus two high school girls is simply mind boggling.”

In a series of tweets on Friday night, Sainath stated, “Shri Sharanaru has been arrested for alleged sexual abuse of children, specifically high school girls. No words are strong enough to condemn any such offences against children. In solidarity with the survivors and with the cause of Justice in this case, I hereby return the Basavashree award (and the Rs. 5 lakhs prize money that came with it, by cheque) conferred on me by the Mutt in 2017.

Sainath, in his tweet, also appealed to the Karnataka government “to pursue the investigation into the scandal vigorously and not allow any compromise whatsoever”.

In another tweet, he said, “I would like to record my appreciation of the efforts of the Mysuru-based NGO “OdaNadi” to bring the awful incidents to light and their decades-long fight against social evils. Their persistence has forced the launch of the investigation.”

However, Sainath also told HT, “To be fair, the Mutt has a very progressive history of 200 years or more in many aspects of social reform, and that makes it doubly sad that damage has come to it with the chief pontiff getting himself in this kind of trouble. Most of its awardees were also people who were progressive such as social activist Medha Patkar.”

Presented since 1997, the Basavashree award honours people for services to society in their respective fields by following the principles of Lord Basaveshwar (also called Basavanna) who founded the Lingayat sect. A 12th century poet and philosopher, Basaveshwara is known to have brought about several social reforms. He believed in a society free of the caste system, with equal opportunity for all and preached manual hard work.