Adivashi poet Jacintha Kerketta turns down India Today Group's literary award

Nationaldesk:
Adivashi poet and journalist Jacinta Kerketta has refused to accept the Aaj Tak Sahitya Jagriti Udyam Pratibha Samman, a literary honor given by the India Today Group, for her Hindi-language collection of poems Ishwar and Bazaar, Newslaundry reported on Friday.  
 Published in 2022 by Rajkamal Prakashan, God and the Bazaar talks about the civilizational threats faced by India's indigenous population and their grassroots struggles against power.  Kerketta, a member of the Oraon tribal community, was born in 1983 in Khudaposh, a village in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
 In 2022, Forbes named the poet as one of the 22 Self-Made Women of India.

 On Friday, Kerketta told Newslaundry that if a book is written about society, it becomes important, but not about people.  "That's not our way of looking at things," She said.  “We want to celebrate our work collectively… What should a writer or poet do just for his own respect?  Because of these things I refused to accept this honour.
 She also blamed the mainstream media for not trying to bring to light the plight of the tribals.  "This is not just about one media house, but whatever decision I take will definitely be influenced by how the so-called mainstream media of the country plays its role towards the marginalized people," she told the news website.  
 Highlighting the plight of the Kuki-Zomi tribals in Manipur, Kerketta said he was not happy with the news of the award.  "This is happening at a time when respect for the life of Manipur's tribals is eroding," Kerketta told the news website.
 Since May 3, Manipur has been ravaged by deadly ethnic conflict between the majority Meitei and the tribal Kukis.  More than 200 people have been killed in the violence and nearly 60,000 have been forced to flee their homes.
 The Sahitya Aaj Tak Awards are distributed annually to honor achievements in Indian language literature.  The awards ceremony will be held for three days from today at the National Stadium in New Delhi.  The award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000.