New Delhi: The Sahitya Akademi for the first time on Friday condemned the killing of writers and urged the writers to take back the awards they returned in anguish against the Akademi's silence so far on the issue.

The appeal followed a meeting of the Akademi's executive board, Krishnaswamy Nachimuthu, an Akademi member and a Tamil scholar, told the media here.

Over 100 litterateurs have returned their Akademi awards to protest primarily against the attacks by some Hindutva groups on writers and thinkers like MM Kalburgi.

The writers also cited the lynching of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh over rumours that he ate beef as an example of growing intolerance in the country and took out a peaceful march here on Friday.

Kalburgi was killed in August this year followed by a series of protests by writers over growing religious intolerance across the country, but the Akademi has been silent till date.

Another noted writer, Govind Pansare was attacked on February 16 in Kolhapur when he was shot at from a close range. Pansare, 81, died of bullet injuries four days later.

(IANS)