by HARSH KAPOOR
The withdrawal of Wendy Doniger’s book, shriking secular space and the freedom to read with full text of statements by Wendy Doniger and by Kum Kum Roy read out at the seminar.
‘Speaking of The Hindus’ with Profs. DN Jha, Kunal Chakrabarti, Apoorvanand, Chair: Prof. Romila Thapar. The organiser Prof. Mukul Managalik led the event with introductions and a note of thanks. The seminar was organised by Ramjas College History society, University of Delhi on the 6th of March 2014.
[These audio recordings in English and Hindi were done as part of South Asia Citizens Web Digital Archive initiative – sacw.net and are made available here for access to wider society beyond ivory towers]
The following statement by Prof. Wendy Doniger was read out at the seminar:
“I would love to greet the speakers at your seminar and lecture, and to thank them for doing the work that they are doing.
You might add that although the fate of my books, and all the other books that have come under fire, and will now come under fire, is still uncertain, the unexpected scale and power of the protest against the suppression of books in India is most heart-warming.
I am confident that this movement will ultimately succeed in mobilizing Indian sentiment to the point where it will be possible to change the laws that protect such suppression.
I am hopeful that the widespread awareness, in the rest of the world, that India is no longer a true democracy will shame its leaders into restoring it to its true, democratic self. And this seminar in Delhi is one of the hopeful beginnings of that process. I am so grateful to you, and I am with you in spirit.
Yours, Wendy (5 March 2014)”
South Asia Citizens Web to listen to the audio recordings