Is it not Facist
Attitude?
It is very very demeaning that Delhi University purged an essay on Ramayana from its syllabus.
Because some of the die-hard Hindutva activists opposed it, the scholarly essay written by late A.K.Ramanujan (who himself was a Brahmin and) served in Chicago University as Professor of Tamil.
The essay “Three Hundred Ramayanas : Five examples and Three thoughts on translations” which formed a part of syllabus of B.A.(Honours) course was scrapped due to the opposition of some people.
An academic institution like the Delhi University should not succumb to this kind of external - extra-constitutional people to exert pressure and dictate terms on academic matters.
A University is not a school. It is meant for research and development of reading to the young minds.
Many scholars have written about the existence of multivarious texts and editions of Ramayana in India and abroad translated in various languages and adopted by various cultures. This story of Rama took many turns and twists in various folk lores and songs in various languages in India.
The purged essay of A.K.Ramanujan is rich in academic content, which will be very very useful for the scholars undertaking research work about the epic Ramayana.
The reason adduced for this purging is that the essay says things like ‘Ravana was Sita’s father and that ‘Rama and Sita were siblings’, so obviously it was construed that the essay hurt the religious sentiments of the people.
On a writ petition filed in this regard, the Supreme Court directed the university to seek the opinion of experts and place it before the Academic Council for a decision. A committee of four members was formed and they studied the essay and submitted their views. Three members said that nothing religiously offensive was found in the essay. The fourth member expressed only an opinion that the second year students may find it difficult.
Inspite of the opinion of the experts, the matter was put to vote in the academic council of the University. The Vice-Chancellor just informed the Academic Council that the essay should be deleted in the interests of the university.
Thiru Abha Dev Habib, an Executive Member of the Academic Council of the University says, “ we are disappointed with the Vice-Chancellor, who despite being an academic has indulged in such a regressive act. By removing such texts, a sort of fascism is being encouraged; no educationist will be happy with such a decision.”
Historians and writers ridicule this action. “It is a matter of deep shame for all of us that A.K.Ramanujan’s great essay on the Ramayana is banned by the Central University of Delhi”, Kannada Writer U.R.Ananthamurthy said.
Another Kannada writer Chandrasekhar Kambar, winner of this year’s Gnapith Award, said: “The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are texts which have been recreated many times over by several cultures in India and outside. Intolerance shown towards a scholarly study of these versions should be condemned by the entire academic fraternity”.
Deleting an essay written by a great scholar like A.K.Ramanujan after undertaking a vide research, from the syllabus of the course of a University, on the instigation and threatening of reactionary forces like Sang Parivar is to be condemned strongly by the entire academic fraternity, insisting the reversal of the decision of the University.
Let us hope that the University will consider the opposition raised by the academics and give up their decision to delete the essay from the syllabus!
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