Friday, November 18, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Delhi univs voice support for banned Ramayan

 

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/delhi-universities-support-banned-ramayan/1/160403.html

Rohan Venkataramakrishnan and Suhas Munshi New Delhi, November 17,
2011 | UPDATED 16:24 IST
Delhi univs voice support for banned Ramayan

Students and teachers from two universities in Delhi assembled on
Wednesday to express their support in favour of retaining A. K.
Ramanujan's essay, 300 Ramayanas. They also had a discussion on the
various translations of the Ramayana.

While those gathered at Delhi University held a candlelight march, the
scholars gathered at Ambedkar University were audience to a short
documentary called Anek Ramayana.

The gathering at the DU campus saw about 50 people marching from the
department of history to the faculty of arts, shouting slogans against
the administration and the growing influence of communalism on
academia.

"Basically, we're trying to mobilise opinion both within the
university and outside. We are trying to use democratic ways to
express our demand," said Pankaj Jha, a professor of history at Lady
Shri Ram college. "The only thing that will really satisfy us in the
end is for the essay to be reinstated in the syllabus."

The march was preceded by a panel of professors discussing the impact
of the decision to drop the essay, written by renowned scholar A. K.
Ramanujan. History professor and daughter of the Prime Minister, Dr
Upinder Singh chaired the meet.

"In the face of all this intimidation... it seems like the space for
academics to express themselves is under threat, and we need to do
something about that," Singh told the crowd, "This is a question of
safeguarding the university as a place It is a struggle to ensure that
this kind of thing is not taken casually."

Ambedkar University was host to a short documentary film directed by
Sikha Sen, which explored the various translations and historical
depictions of the Ramayan. The documentary was followed by a panel
discussion aimed at debating how autonomous may an educational body be
in teaching its syllabus, and how immune may it be to political
pressure. "The issue before us is to decide whether to succumb to
political pressure. In my opinion we have to fight this political
pressure that pressurises syllabus decisions not on merit but
political basis," faculty member Salil Mishra said.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/delhi-universities-support-banned-ramayan/1/160403.html

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