Against my creative integrity: Mustansar Hussain Tarar rejects ‘tainted’ Kamal-i-Fun

Veteran writer Mustansar Hussain Tarar, who is one of the country’s leading literary figures, recently rejected the Kamal-i-Fun 2020 award, presented to him by the Pakistan Academy of Letters. The celebrated Urdu language writer refused the honour on the basis of it being divided between two individuals this year. Seraiki poet Dr Ashu Lal was also presented with the literary award, who rejected it on the basis of his ideological views.

Tarar took to Facebook following the announcement of the award, which comes with a cash prize of Rs1m, stating in a video message that he has refused the “controversial and tainted award” because it goes against his creative integrity to share it with another author despite his 60-year-long literary career. 

In a conversation with The Express Tribune, Tarar explained, “My only concern and objection is against the violation of the rules.” He reiterated the statement made by him in his video message, sharing, “According to the rules, every year one writer is selected for the Kamal-i-Fun award. This year, for the first time in the award’s history, the award has been divided amongst two writers. This is why I refused the award. It also came to my knowledge that Dr Ashu Lal has refused to accept the award, and I believe we are in the right to oppose the violation of rules.”

Tarar is known for his novels and travelogues, which include titles such as Bahao and Undulus Mein Ajnabi. He was presented with the Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 2016. He is widely considered to be the greatest living novelist in the Urdu language.

The decision to award the writers was made by a panel of distinguished literary figures, which included Asghar Nadeem Syed, Mahmood Sham, Muhammad Izharul Haq, Dr Anwar Ahmad, Dr Rauf Parekh, among others. The panel was presided over by Kishwer Naheed.   

He shared in the video message posted to social media, “Ladies and gentlemen, you must be aware that a few days ago, the country’s highest so-called literary award, Kamal-i-Fun was announced. In the 20/21-year history of this award, this is the first time that the award has been divided. Otherwise, according to the rules and regulations, it has always been presented to one writer belonging to any language.” 

He added, deeming the division bizarre and questioning PAL’s decision, “Why was this tradition violated? Why were the rules set for this award ignored? This is akin to taking the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, and giving half of it to you and the other half to some other writer. What is this ridiculousness?” 

The celebrated writer continued, “I was made aware some time ago that the other half of the award has been presented to Dr Ashu Lal and he has, in keeping with his views and ideology, rejected to accept this award. I believe that he has done the right thing, because, not just with me, but it was unfair to him as well to be presented with only half of the award.”

Citing his illustrious writing career and age, Tarar added, “Because of this, it is difficult for me to accept an award as controversial and tainted as this. This is against my creative integrity. At the age of 83 years and after a creative process of 60 years, no, it is not acceptable to me.” 

The writer went on to thank the committee members who voted for him, concluding, “I am indebted to them and I believe they will understand my point of view. Lastly, I would like to thank my readers, because they are the reason I am where I am today. In fact, you can say that I have been presented with a Kamal-i-Fun award by my readers on every book. They don’t consider me half a writer, but a whole one.” 

Seraiki poet Dr Ashu Lal has also rejected the honour, citing the state’s “anti-people and anti-art” nature in an interview with a local publication. After the announcement of the award, the poet took to Twitter to share his rejection of the Kamal-i-Fun. Thanking his friends, he wrote in a tweet, “I refuse to accept the award. I have not sent any book to the Academy of Letters. My personal opinion is that my refusal is more valuable. Since [the] last 40 years, my literary activism is my award and honour.” He concluded by saying, “Do not want to live in brackets.” 

In an interview with a local publication, he elaborated further on his refusal to accept the award. Dr Ashu Lal explained, “The deep state is oppressing the natives, our resources and our culture. Our children go missing under the fascist regime. The natives are ignored badly. How can we accept the award from an anti-people and anti-art state?”