Tamil Nadu university withdraws Arundhati Roy’s book after ABVP objection

Acting on objections from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli has withdrawn famous author Arundhati Roy’s book, Walking with the Comrades, from its postgraduate English syllabus. The book was primarily based on her go to to Maoist hideouts.

At a gathering chaired by Vice-Chancellor K. Pitchumani, it was determined that the book shall be eliminated and changed with a couple of essays from naturalist M. Krishnan’s My Native Land: Essays on Nature.

“The book was included in the syllabus in 2017. It was only a week ago that it was brought to our notice that Ms. Roy had glorified Maoists. So we formed a committee to discuss the issue and the panel recommended its withdrawal,” Mr. Pitchumani, who was appointed Vice-Chancellor final 12 months, advised The Puucho.

“Besides the ABVP, others complained too, and the issue assumed multiple dimensions. So we decided to withdraw the book. It is appropriate that Krishnan is from Tirunelveli,” he additionally added.

Ms. Roy’s book was prescribed for the third semester of M.A. English, below Commonwealth Writing. It was a part of the syllabus for the final three years. She first wrote it as an extended essay in Outlook journal in March 2010.

“The terse, typewritten note slipped under my door in a sealed envelope confirmed my appointment with India’s gravest internal security threat. I’d been waiting for months to hear from them,” begins Ms. Roy, who ventured into the forests to fulfill the Maoists.

Accusing the book of brazenly supporting the killing fields and riots by the “anti-national Maoists”, ABVP Dakshin Tamil Nadu joint secretary C. Vignesh urged the Vice-Chancellor to take away the book from the syllabus.

He mentioned it was regrettable that Maoist and Naxal concepts had been imposed on the scholars for the final three years.

“The teachers also taught an anti-national subject. Students are subjected to mental agony as the book encourages hatred against our country,” he mentioned, demanding its removing from the syllabus and an apology from the university.

Warning to varsity

Mr. Vignesh had warned that if the University delayed its determination to withdraw the book from the syllabus, the ABVP would carry it to the discover of the Union Ministry of Education.

“We will launch protests,” Mr. Vignesh had warned.

Organiser, the mouthpiece of the RSS, additionally carried a report towards the book. “The book allegedly glorifies the Maoists, who are classified as Bharat’s gravest internal security threat,” the journal mentioned.