Writer, Activist And Much More!

Poet, writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar celebrated his 75th birthday this year and was also honoured with the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award. This article is a compilation of his replies to many interesting questions posed to him over the years.

- Javed Akhtar

While completing 75 years of age does in itself call for a major celebration, for poet, lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar, there has been a cherry on top of the icing this year for being the first Indian to receive the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award for 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. The citation states that the recipient will be a distinguished individual from the worlds of science, scholarship, education or entertainment who excels at upholding scientific truth. Surely, it is a moment of triumph. Previous recipients include American TV host, comedian and political commentator Bill Maher and English-American intellectual, philosopher, social critic and writer Christopher Hitchens.

Akhtar, who is known for his strong, well-grounded and fiercely independent views on polity, society, art and culture and religion alike, said that he was deeply honoured. “I have been a great admirer of Richard Dawkins ever since I read his first book ‘The Selfish Gene’. I received an email from him informing me that I had been unanimously selected for the award by the board of Centre for Inquiry USA in which The Richard Dawkins Foundation is housed. Richard Dawkins is a fierce advocate of empirical science over superstition. I have read all his books and they have strengthened my own views on the need to expose religious dogma as an enemy of critical thinking and rationality,” he stated.