" The Fourth SAARC Writers Conference will be remembered for the many unique opportunities that the lovers of literature got to share their experiences with writers and intellectuals of the SAARC region. Such creative encounters add a new vision, a new sensitivity to the multifarious problems of the region, highlighting the historical and geographical necessity to confront them together. "

• • While Hon'ble Shri K. R. Narayanan, the President of India, was on the dais at the Inaugural Session, news flashed that terrorists had attacked the Indian Parliament. It was an emergency situation, and the President was urged by the security staff to leave the venue urgently. But disregarding the advice, the President stayed on and left the function only after presenting the SAARC Literary Awards to the four awardees. A very thoughtful and gracious gesture on the part of the Hon'ble President of India who, being a scholar himself, is sensitive towards the dignity of writers.
  
  
• • Of the four SAARC Literary Awards presented at the Conference, three have gone to Indian writers
  (G. N. Devy, Laxman Gaikwad and Maitreyi Pushpa) who are writing and also working for the upliftment of tribals and backward, denotified tribes in various parts of India. These communities, by and large, are the most marginalised sections of the society and the Foundation is proud to confer awards on these young, ideologically committed and socially active writers who, both by their writings and social activism, have made a significant difference in the lives of these marginalised communities.
  
  
• • Again, two of the awards have gone to women writers (Maitreyi Pushpa and Zaheda Hina) who have fought many gender-related inequities and prejudices in their respective social contexts, and successfully emerged as powerful creative voices. By conferring these prestigious awards on women writers, the Foundation has articulated its silent policy statement that the talent of women writers, usually ignored by male critics, should be recognized and the writers given their proper due. The awards and the intent behind their conferment have thus given a push to the agenda of women's empowerment.
  
  
• • It was Shamsur Rahman of Bangladesh who was the sole recipient of the First SAARC Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement presented to him in Dhaka during the Third SAARC Writers Conference in March 2001. This time too, one of the recipients of the Second SAARC Literary Award was Zaheda Hina of Pakistan.