Dhaka: In a rare gesture, a Sri Lankan author, Anuk Ardupragasam, has announced to contribute a part of the prize money for victims of Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir.

Anuk Ardupragasam who won the prestigious 2017 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in Dhaka on Saturday announced that he would donate the amount to organisations working for people in Kashmir.

The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is an international literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South Asia themes such as culture, politics, history, or people.

Soon after receiving the award in Dhaka on Saturday evening, according to reports, the author said he will donate one third of the prize money to organisations working for Rohingya Muslims, North Eastern Sri Lankans and Kashmiris.

Arudpragasam’s “The Story of a Brief Marriage” , a touching tale of a young man trapped on the frontlines between the Sri Lankan Army and the Tamil Tigers, has bagged the $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017. The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is an international literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South Asia themes such as culture, politics, history or people.

The award was presented to Ardupragasam by Bangladesh Finance Minister at the Bangla Academy during the closing ceremony of the three-day long Dhaka Literature Festival.

According to reports, the award winning author is keen on providing a helping hand to people living in conflict zones such as Kashmir. KMS