Ashis Nandy controversy - February 14 - sum up and links

Our very first discussion was held today. The topic decided upon was the recent Ashis Nandy controversy (regarding his remarks on caste).

Some of the points taken up were-

• The issue, the background, the consequences, the media readings; quoted out of context? Media hype? Unacademic readings of an academic claim? Yet an unacademic audience for an academic claim. The nepotism of upper castes as currency for climbing the social ladder, as opposed to the forced corruption of lower castes (since they don't have people in high places to engage in nepotism).
• How has/will the controversy (including the actual utterance, media hullabaloo, and social responses) affect the Dalit/minorities movements in India; perhaps as a diversion from the grassroot realities to spending time, money, and energy on litigating something that might have been a "neutral/academic" statement. [though the neutrality is contested]
• Nandy's "crime" vis a vis other atrocities towards Dalits.
• Nandy's divergent stands on corruption (as a tool for equality), empiricist approaches (he's against it usually, but himself employs statistical tools), rape (the concept of anomic rape, and how it's prevalent in 'urban India')
• How are these issues mediated? Enthusiastic, but ignorant media misconstruing academic claims as moral ones.
• Why is Nandy so silent about the entire issue? Repeated television interviews cast him repeating what he said and not casting any new light into the matter. Different readings into his silence; because of litigation? because of Gandhism? Or is there more to it than his colleagues commit?
• Dalit issues on campus; sometimes blowing it out of proportion is good, because it creates a sensitive [unstatic] population, who will go out of the campus with the sensitivity instilled.
• Media reforms? Journalists should be trained not in language or communication techniques, but in socio-politic, economics, ethics, sciences; training to understand disciplinary jargon and approaches; more 'academic' [substantiated] reporting.

And here are some links...

1. http://ashisnandysolidarity.blogspot.in/
2. http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?283859
3. http://www.scribd.com/doc/61127632/Ashis-Nandy-on-Sati
4. http://www.epw.in/authors/ashis-nandy?ip_login_no_cache=d9a271544172dc026049b3288a7773e0
5. http://www.epw.in/discussion/sati-kaliyuga.html

Have more interesting reads? Comment away!


Next week's topic:  The aftermath of the aftermath of the Delhi rape event; examining the remains/debris...
(Thursday, 21st February, Library Lawns)