2015 Indian writers' protest

The 2015 Indian writers protest against alleged government silence on violence was a wide-spread protest in India. Starting from the beginning of September 2015, disgruntled writers and poets across India have started returning the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award to protest the increasing incidents of communal violence in India. They believe there is a climate of rising intolerance in the country under the present central government (NDA Alliance). Several elite writers and poets have also resigned their posts in the General Council of the country's top literary body, saying that they were shocked at the level of intolerance on freedom of speech and expression. This incident is also referred to as award wapsi.

Hindi writer Uday Prakash was the first to return the prestigious award on September 4, 2015, protesting against the murder of M. M. Kalburgi. Writer Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi followed Prakash in protesting the murders of rationalists like M. M. Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar. They also came out against the Dadri incident, in which a mob lynched a Muslim man in Dadri village of Uttar Pradesh over rumours of eating and storing beef. As of 2020, 26 writers are yet to return their souvenirs after declaring the return of awards. Only 13 writers have returned souvenirs and prize money. To prevent return of awards from taking place again, a Parliamentary committee recommended that the Centre should make recipients of government awards sign an undertaking that they would not return them at any stage as a mark of protest.