Veteran actress Shabana Azmi has slammed online trolls and critics for questioning the credentials of her husband and noted lyricist Javed Akhtar for winning the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award. She was upset about a post which suggested that Akhtar was only nominated for the award but did not win it.
Clearing the confusions, Azmi tweeted, “This is patently untrue! We have an email from Richard Dawkins on 5th June offering the award and also from Robyn Blumner, who heads the Centre for Inquiry, USA. I feel sad for these pathetic trolls who do not care that they will stand exposed in seconds for such a preposterous claim.”
The online post also said that in excitement, Javed Akhtar informed the media that he won but people associated with the award said that he was only nominated.
The award has been named after well-known English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and is awarded to a noted individual from the field of science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, who promotes the values of secularism, rationalism and scientific truth.
This year, the coveted award has been given to the noted writer and lyricist for promoting critical thinking, secular values and rationalism. Akhtar is also the first Indian to win this award.