A lecture on the portrayal of women in Mahabharata scheduled for Saturday evening in Chennai, which had invited the wrath of some social media groups, was cancelled by the organizers of the event.
The lecture organised by CP Ramaswami Aiyer Foundation was titled, “Reluctant Brides, Deviant Wives, Cunning Witches: Women in Tamil Mahabharatas”, and was to be delivered by Vijaya Ramaswami, a former professor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Ramaswami is a scholar of repute, who has authored books on South Indian history with a focus on women. She used to teach at JNU’s Centre for Historical Studies (CHS) and is currently Tagore Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, where she is working on the subject of ‘women in Tamil folklore’.
The cancellation follows opposition to the lecture by some social media posts which urged people, especially women, to call up CPR Institute of Indological Research and register their protest against the professor and the topic of the lecture. The foundation says the event was cancelled due to ongoing construction work.
“Everybody is calling and I am flooded with calls to know about the cancellation. The campus is slushy and for the ongoing construction, we are not able to get sand. There is a crunch. I am not aware of any social media campaign. I am also not on social media,” CPR Foundation president Nandita Krishna told HT, and added that the lecture had been “postponed”.
{{/usCountry}}“Everybody is calling and I am flooded with calls to know about the cancellation. The campus is slushy and for the ongoing construction, we are not able to get sand. There is a crunch. I am not aware of any social media campaign. I am also not on social media,” CPR Foundation president Nandita Krishna told HT, and added that the lecture had been “postponed”.
{{/usCountry}}CPR Foundation is a prestigious institute engaged in the promotion of heritage, ecology, art and culture besides education.
The development comes close on the heels of the SRM University postponing its plan to award an honourary doctorate to Sahitya Akademi awardee and Tamil poet Vairamuthu after defence minister Rajnath Singh pulled out from the varsity’s convocation ceremony following an outcry from the BJP and other Sangh Parivar organisations.
The saffron party and its associates had opposed Singh’s participation alleging Vairamuthu had disrespected Hindu gods and saints in the past. Vairamuthu’s feting was also opposed since he has been accused of sexual harassment by popular playback singer Chinmay Sripada and others.