Jacinta Kerketta, a prominent Adivasi poet and independent journalist, has turned down the 2024 “Room to Read Young Author Award.” This award is co-sponsored by US AID and Room to Read India Trust for her children’s poetry collection, Jirhul. Kerketta’s decision comes in protest against the violence in Gaza, highlighting the role of US arms manufacturers in the conflict.
Kerketta voiced her concerns about receiving recognition from US AID and Boeing while children in Palestine are suffering. She criticized organizations that promote children’s education for their ties to arms companies that contribute to violence against children. “How can the arms business and care for children coexist when children’s lives are being destroyed by the same weapons?” she stated.
Boeing has a long history of working with the Israeli military and recently partnered with Room to Read India Trust for an education initiative launched by former Union Minister Smriti Irani. Kerketta believes this partnership reveals a conflict between promoting education and profiting from weapons used in warfare.
Her poetry collection, Jirhul, which focuses on flowers meaningful to Adivasi communities, was nominated for the Children’s Book Creators’ Awards. The award ceremony is scheduled for October 7, but the organizers have not yet responded to her decision to decline.
Kerketta emphasized the ethical dilemma of accepting awards in the current global context. “Books for children matter, but adults have failed to protect them—thousands are dying in Palestine,” she remarked.
Published by Jugnu Prakashan, Jirhul aims to foster socio-political awareness among children, reflecting Adivasi cultural heritage. “These poems were meant to raise awareness, especially when children in our country mostly read about roses and lotus,” she added.
This is not the first time Kerketta has declined an award on principle. Last year, she rejected an honor from the India Today Group due to disrespect shown to Adivasis in Manipur. Her recent decision mirrors that of author Jhumpa Lahiri, who also declined an award from New York’s Noguchi Museum, protesting the dismissal of employees who showed solidarity with Palestine by wearing keffiyeh scarves.
Jacinta Kerketta has published seven other books, including Ishwar aur Bazar, Jacinta ki Diary, and Land of the Roots.
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