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

24 Injured As Gas Cylinder Explodes In Ludhiana

The cylinder explosion took place in a a house belonging to a man identified as Ashok Kumar in Smart Colony.

24 Injured As Gas Cylinder Explodes In Ludhiana

Odisha Parcel Bomb Case: Police Say Lecturer Carried Out Parcel Blast, ‘Jealousy’ Was Motive

Punjilal Meher, the accused and a colleague of the deceased groom's mother, was arrested by the Crime Branch last night, Director General of Police RP Sharma told reporters at Cuttack.

Odisha Parcel Bomb Case: Police Say Lecturer Carried Out Parcel Blast, ‘Jealousy’ Was Motive

There Are Some Things A Hug Can Buy: Rahul Gandhi's US Visa Jibe At PM Modi

Rahul Gandhi's remarks come amid Trump administration's plan to propose to end giving work permits to the spouses of H1-B visa holders to work in the US, a move that could have a devastating impact on tens of thousands of Indians.

There Are Some Things A Hug Can Buy: Rahul Gandhi's US Visa Jibe At PM Modi

Puducherry Teacher Gets 10-Year Rigourous Imprisonment For Sexually Abusing Minor

Additional District and Sessions Court Judge S Sivakadatcham handed out the sentence to Sivanesan working in a government high school at Surakudi in the district on Wednesday.

Puducherry Teacher Gets 10-Year Rigourous Imprisonment For Sexually Abusing Minor

Explosion At Husky Refinery In Wisconsin Sends Several People To Hospital

A tank containing crude oil or asphalt exploded at a Wisconsin refinery owned by Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc. on Thursday, injuring several people and causing a blast that one worker described as sounding like a sonic boom.

Explosion At Husky Refinery In Wisconsin Sends Several People To Hospital

13 Children Killed After Train Rams Into School Van At Railway Crossing In UP's Kushinagar

At least 13 students under 10 years were killed when a speeding train rammed into their school van at an unmanned rail crossing in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and halted only after dragging the mangled vehicle for some 100 metres.