Javed Akhtar Becomes The First Indian To Win The Prestigious Richard Dawkins Award

Lyricist Javed Akhtar has been honored with the prestigious Richard Dawkins award. This makes him the first Indian to receive the honor. Javed Akhtar told NDTV that he was not expecting the award.

“I wasn’t sure that these people would know what I am saying, what I am writing, what I am speaking from different podiums. But thank you very much. Mr Richard Dawkins’ letter was a very very pleasant surprise,” he said.

The Richard Dawkins Award is awarded to individuals that “publicly proclaim the values of secularism, rationalism, upholding scientific truth”. The previous winners of the award include Bill Maher, Stephen Fry, and Ricky Gervais.

Javed Akhtar has been outspoken about topics like CAA, Tablighi Jamaat, islamophobia, through social media. Bollywood names like Anil Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Nikhil Advani, and wife Shabana Azmi took to social media to react to the news.

Anil Kapoor tweeted, “Knowing that Richard Dawkins has been your hero since you read ‘The Selfish Gene’, the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award must be extra special for you @Javedakhtarjadu Saab! It’s a truly incredible honour! Congratulations.”

The musician’s wife, actor Shabana Azmi, also reacted to the news. She wrote, “Such marvellous news. Congratulations @Javedakhtarjadu.To win an award from your Hero is the ultimate validation.”

Dia Mirza wrote, “Javed Akhtar Saab has won the the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. He is the only Indian to have won this award! @Javedakhtarjadu Congratulations! You make us proud.”

Filmmaker Siddharth Malhotra tweeted, “Many many congrats Javed Saab for the the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values @Javedakhtarjadu you an amazing person and every award becomes better with u attached”