Dear Mrs. Ananya Vajpeyi, 

I appreciate you for responding to my mail on the other side of story of Sanskrit. Due to hectic schedule for last two months, I could not get time to write back to you. Hope, by now you might have watched the links that I had shared with this list. I am sure that will certainly provide you another picture of the same storyline. 

Yes, I really get your point. You are right. There exists dichotomy in every society. Bringing change in the mindset of the society takes time. We need to think, argue, discuss, deliberate, write, criticise, teach ...and to wait for “THAT” change you and me are aspiring for. 

My urge is to leave the age old “purusha sukta” stories and work on the current situations. Yes, we cannot deny the experiences of Mrs. Panwar. We should not. But, beyond that there is something else also to see. Generalisation in either side is a “danger”. It does not lead to any conclusion. As you rightly said it requires “mutual respect” from both sides. It is unfair to deny the “experiences” of Panwar ; it is equally unfair to deny “experiences” of others with similar conditions. As you have said society is full of dichotomies, we academicians can not take sides. Our job is to be objective and guide the society on the right track. One sided creations are objectionable. Any such push will lead to “Vancouver” event. I believe the organisation of the Vancouver event was not properly conceived due to one sided representation of the panel. Post Vancouver discussions including your column in the Hindu again focused on the reaction part of the event. However, in my opinion it missed the points that need to be understood. 

Here the point to be noted is : it is easier to discuss the discrimination sitting in AC seminar halls. But, working on the grass root level to bring changes with a positive mindset is not so easy. In our dialogue, we are also missing the real heroes. Aren’t we ? 

You are a wonderful researcher. It’s expected out of a sincere researcher to do some objective research and also showcase  the change that is seen in transformed India  along with work that is still needed to be done, that is the transformation of rigid closed mindsets, which is still operating as we experience. 

On these lines, our effort was to go for some reality check. We did some experiments in UDUPI conference. We placed the same here (event links). I was dismayed for not getting a single response from the people in the list who were earlier discussing a lot about the Vancouver event. Moreover truth just does not lay with one Panwar, but many such Panwars are also not heard. 

I acknowledge your point on self examination and self criticism. The same “rule” applies to all. The people without making any effort to gain knowledge will shout and try to create a Dias for their stories. But, who will stand for those, who create histories ?  See the links bellow : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpNyBKee_3Q

You will find similar efforts in many places. Our humble request is to provide space for them too, so that they can expand themselves in such a way that no more chances for “panwar-feelings” continue in society. This ‘inclusiveness’ also deserves all ‘inclusive’ space. 

While empathising for the experiences of Dr. Panwar, I dissent with her for her half cooked interpretations of old passages without proper studies. I urge her to stop telling stories. Instead, she may spend her valuable time to study well and challenge the same society. Knowledge brings “respect”.  The strong response from the audience on that day was neither towards her experiences ; nor towards her position. It was all about the management of the event. 

I personally do not want to take part in such debates. Unfortunately I was a witness of the event where no “constructive take home message” was delivered. The hunt for an answer prompted us to make these small efforts. 

Let’s continue to work together to create atmosphere for fruitful dialogue.

Warm regard, 
SV 


On Thu, 21 Feb 2019 at 5:50 PM, Ananya Vajpeyi via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

Dear Shri Varakhedi, 

Thanks for your notice below. I haven't had a chance to watch the videos yet, but I would like to do so and to respond once I have seen and heard the women scholars you say spoke in Udupi at your function. 

You and your colleagues at the BVP deserve to be acknowledged for taking very seriously the discussion on caste and gender in Sanskrit Studies initiated in Vancouver last summer. It's heartening that you identified and invited women scholars, from different parts of India and belonging to diverse social backgrounds, to share their experiences and learning with a predominantly male field. 

I would urge you to go further and also acknowledge that not all women and not all people outside of the traditionally sanctioned Brahmin community have found Sanskrit institutions and discourse to be egalitarian and inclusive, even in today's context. I do hope you can find it possible, given the process of self-examination and self-criticism you must have undertaken, to go back and hear what Dr. Kaushal Panwar was narrating, and to understand the struggles that lie behind what she and so many others have gone through in the present and in the past.

Eventually I would like to see a rapprochement between Dr. Panwar and the members of the audience who so rudely interrupted and attacked her (and the rest of us on the panel) at the WSC. I would expect a retraction of the use of terminology and nomenclature that is deemed offensive to the self-respect of social groups that have long faced discrimination, exclusion and violence in the arena of knowledge and education. 

This is the real goal of telling ALL the stories of Sanskrit that are circulating out there, every one of which has its reality and its relevance, even though they may be difficult to reconcile sometimes with one another, given the massive and deep contradictions in our society. Without mutual respect and the ability to empathise with one another's different experiences, we cannot live together.  

I look forward to a continuing dialogue.

With good wishes, 

Ananya Vajpeyi.  

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2019 23:25:11 +0530
From: Shrinivasa Varakhedi <shrivara@gmail.com>
To: Veeranarayana Pandurangi <veerankp@gmail.com>
Cc: indology@list.indology.info
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] " Story of my Sanskrit" at BVP conference
Message-ID: <DDEC7D19-55A1-4715-AD44-0900BE3D7E84@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Dear Colleagues,

This is the direct response to the "Open Forum" that has been staged in Vancouver last year. Thanks to the organisers for sharing the link of the event. It is an eye-opening sharing of personal experiences of young women studying/researching/teaching Sanskrit  in Indian Academia. The personal stories narrated by these women inform us the current trend of Sanskrit studies in India. Statistics suggests that more than 60% female students are studying and same no of women are enjoying faculty position in some states like Maharashtra, Kerala, and WestBengal. Two among these five women do not belong to so called upper cast (as they narrate). They are speaking in Sanskrit fluently. They are encouraged to study Veda, Shastras along with others. No discrimination is experienced. This is the REAL story of Sanskrit. 

https://youtu.be/jVq7OjL3Oz4 <https://youtu.be/jVq7OjL3Oz4>

Interestingly NO response/feedback/discussion is initiated. Other part of the continued story is the Mahila Vakyartha Goshthi. The exposition of Shastrarthas by these young women was astonishing. You will really wonder to experience the quality of presentation of ideas without any error or confusion at any point. The clarity and exhibition of confidence are beyond words. These are ?unheard voices? in real sense. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaOuxiYbVpo <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaOuxiYbVpo>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMp9ngdvzSc <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMp9ngdvzSc>

I appreciate the response from scholarly fraternity on these events. 

Warm regards,
Shrinivasa Varakhedi

--

Ananya Vajpeyi 
Fellow and Associate Professor
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
ext: 229


 
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warm regards,

Shrinivasa Varakhedi
Vice-chancellor 
Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University
Ramtek, Nagpur, Maharatshtra

------------------------------
(Recipient of Presidents Award)
Professor in Shastra and Former Dean (Academics)
Karnataka Samskrita University,
Bengaluru - 560018

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