Please endorse this statement opposing MU book ban

Dear friends,

Please read the letter included in this post that has been drafted to oppose the manner in which the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mumbai has flouted administrative procedures and bypassed academic bodies to omit a novel from the syllabus of English Literature for SYBA in response to pressure from a political group.

It is addressed to the Governor of Maharashtra, who is the Chancellor of the University and copies will be marked to the VC and to the Chairman of the University Grants Commission.

If you strongly feel that voices of dissent need to emerge against the shrinking democratic spaces within the University and the city of Mumbai in general, then please lend your support by endorsing the statement and signing the letter.

Thank you,

Neil Maheshwari.

Assistant General Secretary.
Social Service League.
 

P.S. - Please comment on this with your full name, college (or alma mater) and year if you're a student or with your organisation and position if you are not, to affirm your signature to this letter. Kindly remember that we need as many signatories as possible, both students and otherwise, to make the University and its officers take notice. In that vein forward the URL of this blog as far and wide as you can via e-mail, social networking sites and in person.

To,

The  Governor  of  Maharashtra,Address

Cc:

The Vice Chancellor,University  of  Mumbai,Address

The  Chairman  of  the  University  Grants  Commission,Address

Subject:  Statement  of  Opposition  Against  the  Vice-Chancellor’s  Decision  to  Drop  Such  A  Long  Journey  from  the SYBA  English  Syllabus  of  Mumbai  University

   We,  the  undersigned  current  and  former  students  and  teachers  of  the  University  of  Mumbai;  students  and  teachers  from universities  all  over  India;  representatives  of  different  peoples,  non-profit  and  non-governmental  organisations  and  independent researchers  and  mediapersons,  condemn  the  undemocratic  manner  in  which  Rohinton  Mistry’s  novel  Such  A  Long  Journey  was  omitted  from  the  Second  Year  Bachelor  of  Arts  (SYBA)  English  Literature  syllabus  of  the  University  of  Mumbai.

   We  are  disturbed  and  alarmed  by  the  manner  in  which  the  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University,  Dr.  Rajan  Welukar,  bowed  down to  the  demands  of  the  Bharatiya  Vidyarthi  Sena  (the  student  wing  of  the  Shiv  Sena)  and  had  the  novel  dropped  from  the syllabus  overnight,  purely  on  account  of  the  group’s  displeasure  with  “anti  Shiv  Sena  passages”;  “derogatory  references”  to Mumbai’s  dabbawalas,  the  Marathi  Manoos  and  Pandit  Jawaharlal  Nehru;  and  “extremely  obscene  and  vulgar  language  in  its  text”.

   While  we  do  not  deny  that  the  BVS  and  its  supporters  have  every  right  to  be  outraged  by  the  contents  of  the  novel,  we strongly  oppose  the  means  which  they  have  chosen  to  express  their  dissent,  which  includes  burning  copies  of  the  book  and the  issuing  of  ultimatums  not  only  for  the  VC  to  omit  the  text  from  the  syllabus  within  24  hours,  but  also  to  exclude  the professors  who  included  to  text  in  the  syllabus  from any university  work in  the  future.  Furthermore,  being  keenly  aware  of  the immense  bureaucracy  involved  in  the  decision-making  processes  of  the  University,  we  question  the  nature  of  the  administrative process  which  led  to  the  book  being  dropped  from  the  syllabus  and  demand  that  the  details  of  the  said  proceedings  be made  public.

   Lastly,  in  the  interest  of  upholding  the  democratic  principles  enshrined  within  the  Indian  Constitution,  we  demand  that  the  novel be  reinstated  in  the  syllabus  and  urge  the  BVS  and  its  supporters  to  initiate  healthy  and  democratic  debate  regarding whether  it  deserves  a  place  in  the  syllabus  or  not.

Yours  sincerely,

1. Asad Bin Saif                                BUILD
2. Avinash Kadam                           Revolutionary Cultural Movement
3. Dr. Arif Syed                               Citizens' Initiative for Peace
4. Jatin Desai                                  Peoples' Media Initiative
5. Kamayani                                    Human Rights activist
6. Madhav Menon                           Citizens' Initiative for Peace
7. Meena Menon                             Focus on the Global South
8. Salil Rameshchandra                   Citizens' Initiative for Peace
9. Sukla Sen                                    Ekta (Committee for Communal Amity)

Please add your name, college/organisation name, position/department/year, etc. as a comment.