Delhi University Teachers Organising Discussion on 'Three Hundred Ramayanas'

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=751257

Discussion on 'Three Hundred Ramayanas' in DU
PTI | New Delhi | Feb 13, 2012

It has been six months since the removal of scholar A K Ramanujan's essay 'Three Hundred Ramayanas' incensed the teaching fraternity at Delhi University, but the rumblings have refused to die down.

A group of mostly Left-bent organisations of teachers and students is reviving their campaign against the withdrawal of the essay by organising a public talk on the issue.

The talk to be held on Wednesday will be attended by a number of scholars from within and outside the university.

Titled 'The Ramayana: Versions and Subversions', the talk will see the scholars discuss the numerous versions of the epic tale of Lord Rama, the controversy around the essay, and the "censoring" of education.

The 30-page essay, which offers a number of tellings of the epic story of Lord Rama, including the Jain, Buddhist and Kannada narratives, had not gone down well with sections of the right wing, some of whom called it "blasphemous".

The decision to remove the essay from the History syllabus was taken by the Academic Council in October last year amid much protest.

Groups of teachers and students had come together in a series of protests and debates against the decision last year.

"We see the removal of the essay as part of the policy of this fascist varsity administration that aims to suppress all dissenting voices and squeezing of space for democratic protest," said DUTA Executive Abha Dev Habib.

An online signature campaign was also launched against the decision and among the noted scholars who had signed the petition were Prof Bipin Chandra, Prof Romila Thapar and Prof Mridula Mukherjee.

"We would like to keep this alive as all the issues that we are facing in the University today regarding curtailing of democratic rights are interlinked... We also want our MPs to raise this issue in the parliament," Habib said.
Filed On: Feb 13, 2012 21:25 IST