“After reading books like Ashok Banker’s Ramayana…such hooliganism in the name of religion…is unacceptable…”
May 22nd, 2008 by Ashok
I liked the following blogpost about the ABVP’s disruption of Delhi University over the inclusion of an essay by the late A.K. Ramanujan from the book So Many Ramayanas. You can find a link to the complete text of the book itself here. What I liked about the post below is her balanced approach to the political protest–hooliganism, as she quite correctly calls it–and the fact that she refers to my own Ramayana series as an example of newfound tolerance towards such literary interpretations. I was also pleased to see that at least three of the five books on her Shelfari shelf in the sidebar of her blog were books that I also enjoyed hugely: The Barn Owl’s Caper, Beloved Witch, and The Hungry Tide. –AKB
Posted by a blogger from Delhi, India, on her blog Luna Noctiluca.
Political Furor disrupts DU
Having grown up listening to thousands of folklores on Indian mythology, the recent violent uproar of ABVP(Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad) against A.K Ramanujan’s essay “Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation”, which was one of the recommended reading for a course on Ancient Indian Culture in the BA (Honours) programme, shocked the students of Delhi University. After reading books like Ashok Banker’s “Ramayana” (the much lauded series which is also being produced as a cinema) which lends the whole concept a “Lord of The Rings” touch, such hooliganism in the name of religion which compromises with intellectual freedom is unacceptable for the DU students.
On the 26th of February this year, ABVP (the student wing of RSS) activists ransacked the University History department and manhandled the Head of the Department Prof. Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri. Ramanujan-a widely acclaimed scholar with impeccable academic credentials- had intended in his essay to explain how the Ramayana is interpreted in various ways across India. This however did not suit certain right wing individuals who claim the final authority on Ramayana- namely RSS or their juvenile counterpart-ABVP. They interpreted it to be an essay which is “malicious, capricious, fallacious and offensive to the beliefs of millions of Hindus.” What angered the DU students was the mortifying manner in which it was handled. Around 100 people-who were NOT DU students-gathered outside the School of Social Sciences building, led by the former vice president of the DU Student Union Vikas Dahiya. They had, in a move which is very fishy, informed the media about their delegation and had started vandalizing the department the moment the media arrived there instead of having a proper dialogue. The DU History students, joined by other student union parties, staged a counter rally showing their disapproval for one of the most fascist organizations of India.
The Student Political parties of DU which suddenly come alive during the election period of the academic year are only known to participate cursorily in the movements which the students of the university organize. For example, the protest against the mass molestation of women. And now to top that, these parties are engaging in controversies which strait jacket academic research and scholarly pursuits. Most of the members of these parties do not care one hoot for the welfare of the students or the university but are primarily engaged in promoting their own political careers. Some of these members are involved in fake marksheet scams to procure admissions in bachelor courses of the university so that they can contest for the elections again and again. These members are shamelessly ignorant of most of the facts around them, as one of the ABVP spokespersons displayed when he demanded to meet A.K Ramanujan to abuse him, oblivious of the fact that Mr. Ramanujan has passed away 15 years ago.
Hindu College student Priyanka Singh says, ‘ABVP is unjustified in exploiting religion to gain political mileage’ and this is a sentiment which is shared by hundreds of DU students. Political parties therefore are eyed with suspicion in Delhi University. The attitude of indifference towards these parties is born out of such meaningless controversies. Hence, political parties in the university are nothing but a waste of time, space and huge amounts of funds every year which could otherwise be used for research and development in various fields which is much required in the university. A country which is based on secular democracy should not face such religious crises in the 20th century. And as members of young India, DU students have decided to take up various issues which the political parties manage to either ignore or end up making a spectacle of.
