DELHI, INDIA, October 15, 2011 (thehindu.com): Delhi University’s history department is outraged at the Academic Council’s decision to drop from the history syllabus a celebrated essay on the Ramayana by the late scholar and linguist A. K. Ramanujan.
The essay, “Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five examples and three thoughts on translations,” had angered people who believe it sacrilegious to acknowledge the many versions of the beloved epic. When the decision to scrap the course was put to vote Sunday at the Academic Council, only nine of the 120 members present dissented.
One of those dissenters, Rakesh Kumar, called the decision “a glaring example of an academic institution succumbing to pressure.”
The present department head, Prof. R.C. Thakran, agrees with Kumar: “This essay is rich in academic content and there have been two resolutions in the past in which the history department unanimously agreed that as far as history as a subject is concerned, this piece is important for our students. But the resolution is binding and we cannot really do anything further about this.”
A writ petition had been filed in the High Court on the grounds that the essay hurt religious sentiments. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which directed the university to seek the opinion of experts and place it before the Academic Council. “The names of the expert team were kept confidential. Three of the four members were happy with the essay, but the fourth member expressed an opinion that second-year students may find it difficult. Nothing religiously offensive was found by these experts,” said Prof. Renu Bala, another dissenting AC member. “The essay should have been kept on its academic merit. Our culture is diverse and so are our legends. We give these students the right to vote when they turn 18, so why not the right to think,” she asked.