Writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar becomes the first Indian to win the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award. It is an annual award presented by the Atheist Alliance of America until July 2019 when it moved to the Center for Inquiry (CFI). It honours, “a recipient who will be a distinguished individual from the worlds of science, scholarship, education or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism, upholding scientific truth wherever it may lead”. Previous recipients include comedian and political commentator Bill Maher, actor and writer Stephen Fry and psychologist Steven Pinker. Richard Dawkins is a renowned English ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and author. Akhtar said he was deeply honoured as he has been a great admirer of Richard Dawkins. Javed Akhtar said that he was not expecting the award and was surprised that the organisers were even listening to what he was speaking about the Indian political climate. Akhtar’s wife Shabana Azmi took to Twitter to share her happiness. Anil Kapoor & Dia Mirza also congratulated Akhtar. Akhtar has often voiced his opinion on raging socio-political issues be it CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) or the reopening of liquor shops post the lockdown, public policy, secularism & communism in society, on social media platforms like Twitter, interviews and at literary events.
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