Eminent Punjabi writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana announced that she will return her Padma Shri in protest against the rising communal tension in the country. She wrote in a letter to the Central government that, to kill those who stand for truth and justice put us to shame in the eyes of the world and God. <br/><br/>Tiwana thus joins the 23 writers and poets who have returned their prestigious Sahitya Akademi awards. She was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2004. She was also awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971. <br/><br/>Earlier, Maya Krishna Rao has returned her Sangeet Natak Akademi award. Joining the bandwagon of protesters, several writers have returned their State Sahitya Akademi awards, and 5 litterateurs have resigned from Sahitya Akademi posts.<br/><br/><br/>Meanwhile, the Sahitya Akademi has convened an emergency meeting of its executive board comprising 24 writers representing different Indian languages on October 23rd to discuss the issue of a string of writers returning their Akademi awards in protests against growing intolerance in society. Sahitya Akademi President Vishwanath Pratap Tiwari said the meeting has been called to discuss the issue of resignations of the writers.<br/><br/>At least 17 authors have till now returned their awards to protest against the killing of writer MM Kalburgi and lynching of a Muslim in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over his alleged consumption of beef.