Javed Akhtar
By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 9 June 2020: Famous Indian writer and lyrist Javed Akhtar has been honored with the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020. The Award has been given to him by the Centre For Inquiry (CFI) and is given to the recipient who will be a distinguished individual from the worlds of science, scholarship, education or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism, upholding scientific truth wherever it may lead.
The award is named after the world-renowned biologist is presented to those who publicly speak about secularism, rationalism and uphold scientific truth. The Richard Dawkins Award is an annual award that was presented by the Atheist Alliance of America up until July 2019 when it moved to the CFI.
Akhtar has been vocal in recent times with his Tweets on the CAA, Tablighi Jamaat, Islamophobia, and many secular causes. Akhtar told the Indian Express, “This win will tell the world that there are people in India who express views which are sometimes not popular. Democracy has given us a gift, and we will always protect it.”
“I am thrilled! I know what a hero Richard Dawkins has been for Javed. The award gains all the more significant because, in today’s time when secularism is being attacked by religious fundamentalists of all hues, this award comes as a validation of Javed’s long service to rational thinking,” said Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar’s wife, and actress.
