India

US Historian's Hyderabad Event Cancelled; She Blames Right-Wing Outfits

Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 Aug, 2018 01:15 PM

Historian Audrey Truschke's talk in Hyderabad scheduled for Saturday was cancelled, with the American author claiming that right-wing outfits were behind the cancellation.

A representative of Krishnakriti Foundation, one of the organisers of the event, confirmed that the lecture titled "Unpopular Stories: Narrating the Indo-Islamic Past and Navigating Present-day Prejudices" was cancelled but did not elaborate.

"I deeply regret that my presentation and the subsequent exchange of ideas will not occur.

"Today is a sad day for the pursuit of knowledge and academic freedom, and it is a happy day for proponents of the Hindu Rashtra," Ms Truschke wrote in a Facebook post.

The assistant professor at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, tweeted that her lecture in Hyderabad was cancelled.

"The subject of 'Unpopular Stories', proved a bit too true, perhaps, when the Hindu Right protested to the police."

"The revised schedule is that I will not visit Hyderabad on this trip to India, regretfully," she said in another tweet.

In the Facebook post, Ms Truschke claimed the organisers took this decision after being informed by the Hyderabad Police that several individuals had written letters protesting her appearance.

"I saw only one such letter, and it was from an individual with self-admitted connections to the RSS, BJP and BJPM," Ms Truschke claimed.

I spoke in Delhi this evening on Aurangzeb to a packed house of a few hundred people. The questions were great - So many people were curious about different aspects of Aurangzeb's reign. It was incredible.#Aurangzeb #India #Delhi #History
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) August 9, 2018

#HowHistoriansThink -

When you cannot make sense of established facts about the past, the problem is not with the facts but rather with your analysis. You need a new framework in order to explain the complicated actions of premodern Indian kings.#history #Aurangzeb #Mughal https://t.co/1sk6q3DFOD
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) August 9, 2018

The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir both protected and destroyed Hindu and Jain temples. If you want more details about which temples, why, and how a historian makes sense of this complicated--seemingly contradictory--set of policies, well, I literally wrote a book.#Aurangzeb pic.twitter.com/wuD9HtlRtW
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) August 9, 2018

A background check revealed I am controversial.

A background check would also show -
I hold a PhD
I am a professor
I am a well published on the subjects on which I planned to speak

What credentials do you think should be relevant for a scholar to speak?https://t.co/4lgeG5LMS4
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) August 9, 2018

She said she was to speak on several areas of her academic research, including Mughal history and Sanskrit literature.

Ms Truschke said she was especially looking forward to talking with Hyderabad citizens about 'Aurangzeb's brutal assaults' on sultanates in the Deccan in the 1680s and debates concerning what brought about the end of Indian Buddhism in the early second millennium CE.

However, a senior police official told PTI they had not asked the organisers to cancel the event.

"We have not withdrawn permission nor asked them to cancel the event, they themselves took the decision," the official added

Prev Next

MORE India ARTICLES

Marriage Doesn't Mean Wife Always Ready For Sex: Court On Marital Rape

The Delhi High Court said that in a marital relationship, both the man and the woman have a right to say no to a physical relationship

Marriage Doesn't Mean Wife Always Ready For Sex: Court On Marital Rape

11-Year-Old Schoolboy's Body, With Throat Slit, Found In House In Thane

The body was found at 10 pm on Monday in a house in Thane's Ulhasnagar, not far from where the boy lived, police said

11-Year-Old Schoolboy's Body, With Throat Slit, Found In House In Thane

Copper Dome Of Main Entrance Of Golden Temple To Be Plated With Gold

A dome atop the main entrance of the Golden Temple would be gilded with gold and devotees were generously donating ornaments for decorating the holiest religious site for Sikhs, the SGPC said on Tuesday.

Copper Dome Of Main Entrance Of Golden Temple To Be Plated With Gold

Punjab Gangster Dilpreet Dahan, Alias Baba Now In Mohali Police Custody

With gangster Dilpreet Dahan, alias Baba, yet to stand on his feet, the court had to shift downstairs to take stock of his condition.

Punjab Gangster Dilpreet Dahan, Alias Baba Now In Mohali Police Custody

WATCH: Activist Swami Agnivesh Beaten Up By BJP Youth Workers In Jharkhand

Social activist Swami Agnivesh was taken to hospital with injuries on Tuesday after suspected Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activists thrashed him at Pakur in Jharkhand while shouting "Jai Shri Ram" slogans.