Over 70 UK and Europe-based scholars concerned with South Asia have written a letter to the Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Haryana. They have condemned the September 21, 2016 attack on a group of staff and students of CUH who were involved in putting together a performance based on the award-winning writer Mahasweta Devi’s acclaimed short story “Draupadi”.
Kafila
Nivedita Menon
7 Oct 2016
The attack and threats of charges of sedition against those involved in the performance were instigated by the BJP-affiliated student group ABVP as well as by the local press, which has falsely and maliciously spread the view that the play is anti-national and represented an attack on Indian soldiers. The letter appeals to the Vice Chancellor of CUH to protect the freedom of expression of the university’s staff and students, and to encourage the democratic exchange of ideas through means of debate and discussion.
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Dear Vice-Chancellor Mahendra Pal Singh,
We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the attack on faculty members and students of the Department of English and Foreign Literatures at your university by members of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for the performance of a play on 21 September 2016. The play was based on a short story by the eminent Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi. We understand that the staff and students involved in the performance had sought and received all necessary permissions for the event, which was organized to commemorate the literary achievements of Mahasweta Devi, the recipient of some of the most prestigious Indian and international awards.
We write to express our serious concern over this attack on the freedom of academic expression of the staff and students at your university. Mahasweta Devi’s story “Draupadi” was written in 1971 and represents her creative expression of the exploitation of India’s tribals. It is regularly taught as part of course syllabi all over India and the world, including at the universities of some of the signatories to this letter. The claim by the ABVP and the local press that the play is an attack on Indian soldiers is manifestly fabricated. As one of the faculty members involved in the production, Dr Snehsata, has explained, students and teachers saw the programme as an academic and creative pursuit and their intention was certainly not to hurt the sentiments of soldiers as the ABVP has claimed: “In this event, I read the epilogue of the play recounting the data about atrocities on tribal people, especially sexual crimes against women by the Indian army. How ordinary soldiers are used by the state as a tool against its own people and how the body, especially the female body, becomes the site of revenge in the hands of Indian soldiers by the same state. All the teachers and students who were present there came up and congratulated us.”
We stand in solidarity with the courageous faculty members and students who performed the play and strongly oppose the sedition charges being brought on them. The university should be a place for the free expression of ideas, and thoughts; it should create space for dialogue and debate, and even disagreement. It is therefore further regrettable that the university caved in to political pressure and has instituted an inquiry into a matter that it had previously approved.
We appeal to you and other involved authorities to stand in support of your members of faculty and students who are courageously promoting the importance of literature and art in education.
You may contact us on the following email addresses:
Rashmi.Varma@warwick.ac.uk
rkalpana_w@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you for your attention,
Signed:
Dr. Rashmi Varma, University of Warwick
Dr. Kalpana Wilson, Birkbeck, University of London
Dr. Subir Sinha, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London
Professor Gilbert Achcar, SOAS, University of London
Professor Nadje Al-Ali, SOAS, University of London
Professor Dibyesh Anand, University of Westminster
Dr. Sundari Anitha, University of Lincoln
Professor Gautam Appa, London School of Economics and Political Science
Professor Jairus Banaji, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Murad Banaji, University of Middlesex
Dr. Shakuntala Banaji, London School of Economics and Political Science
Professor Gurminder Bhambra, University of Warwick
Dr. Brenna Bhandar, SOAS, University of London
Professor Chetan Bhatt, London School of Economics and Political Science
Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya, University of East London
Sourit Bhattacharya, PhD candidate, University of Warwick
Dr. Angela Chiu, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Rohit Dasgupta, University of Loughborough
Dr. Sukhwant Dhaliwal
Dr. Meena Dhanda, University of Wolverhampton
Professor Stephen Dodd, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Lee Edwards, University of Leeds
Professor Bashabi Fraser, Edinburgh Napier University
Ken Fero, Coventry University
Dr. Radhika Govinda, University of Edinburgh
Dr. Hugo Gorringe, University of Edinburgh
Professor Bishnupriya Gupta, University of Warwick
Chris Gutkind, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Vanja Hamzic, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Christopher Harding, University of Edinburgh
Dr. Adam Hanieh, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Sarah Hodges, University of Warwick
Dr. Feyzi Ismail, SOAS, University of London
Professor Patricia Jeffery, University of Edinburgh
Revd. Dr. Anderson H M Jeremiah, Lancaster University
Dr. Virinder S. Kalra, University of Manchester
Dr. Lars Laamann, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Florence Libert
Dr. Sumi Madhok, London School of Economics and Political Science
Dr. Caspar Melville, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Alessandra Mezzadri, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Satoshi Miyamura, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Nayanika Mookherjee, University of Durham
Maggie Morrison, PhD candidate, University of Edinburgh
Professor Upamanyu Pablo Mukherjee, University of Warwick
Nithya Natarajan. PhD candidate, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Eleanor Newbigin, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Kerem Nisancioglu, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Paolo Novak, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Goldie Osuri, University of Warwick
Dr. Sharri Plonski, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Tim Pringle, SOAS, University of London
Dr Navtej Purewal, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Amit Rai, Queen Mary College, University of London
Professor Shirin Rai, University of Warwick
Dr. Anandi Ramamurthy, Sheffield Hallam University
Dr. Rahul Rao, SOAS, University of London
Professor Ben Rogaly, University of Susse
Professor Srirupa Roy, University of Goettingen, Germany
Dr. Kanchana N. Ruwanpura, University of Edinburgh
Dr. Aditya Sarkar, University of Warwick
Dr. Eurig Scandrett, Queen Margaret University
Dr. Alpa Shah, London School of Economics
Dr. Amrita Shodhan, SOAS, London
Professor Pritam Singh, Oxford Brookes University
Shreya Sinha, PhD candidate, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Shruti Sinha, Toulouse School of Economics, France
Dr. Harriet Tarlo, Sheffield Hallam University
Dr. Shabnam Tejani, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Isabelle van der Bom, Sheffield Hallam University
Dr. Leandro Vergara-Camus, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Amina Yaquin, SOAS, University of London
Dr. Richard Whitecross, Edinburgh Napier University
Contacts:
Dr. Rashmi Varma, University of Warwick
Rashmi.Varma@warwick.ac.uk
Dr. Kalpana Wilson, Birkbeck College, University of London
rkalpana_w@yahoo.co.uk
Dr. Subir Sinha, SOAS, University of London
Ss61@soas.ac.uk
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