2 months ago
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Taking a swipe astatine the SNDT University, the varsity that allegedly cancelled her lecture without providing immoderate reason, feminist historiographer Uma Chakravarti, 84, who delivered the Neera Desai Memorial Lecture connected Saturday (March 14, 2026), said that the assemblage had created a needless controversy.
“It is amusing. SNDT was a assemblage which was acceptable up by Maharshi Karve by bringing unneurotic Brahmin widows who were formed disconnected successful Hindu nine by Brahminical patriarchy. I had written the nonfiction connected Brahminical patriarchy 30 years ago. I wasn’t adjacent going to talk astir it during my lecture. But it is counterproductive to beryllium truthful acrophobic astir it,” she said.
She was speaking astatine Shivaji Mandir successful Dadar connected ‘A Feminist Looks Back: Four Decades of a Long March’ for a bid titled ‘Lectures That Needed to Happen’ organised by the non-profit Mumbai Peace.
The invitation to the programme had stated: “Dr. Uma Chakravarti’s talk, scheduled for March 14 astatine the RCWS (Research Centre for Women’s Studies), SNDT University, was cancelled by them without immoderate crushed being given.”
She had written the effort 30 years ago, aft the Mandal Commission. “It didn’t person thing that Phule and Ambedkar didn’t speech of. I had enactment textual grounds to physique an statement connected Brahminical patriarchy,” Ms. Chakravarti said. She added that the nonfiction was dug retired aft the 2018 controversy, erstwhile immoderate women activists stood adjacent to the then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, with a placard speechmaking ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’.
“It was an effort published successful the Economic and Political Weekly in 1993. It started to circulate madly then. You can’t halt anyone from accessing thing successful this Internet age,” she said.
The historiographer questioned the request for the authorities and nine to question power implicit women’s lives. “Why should we beryllium taxable to immoderate signifier of control? If required, we volition spell beyond the Constitution to physique a nine which is genuinely fraternal. Freedom from fearfulness is precise important. We request to look astatine oppression crossed the board. We person had to combat against it. There are galore issues. There is simply a request to spell into history. The humanities roots of patriarchy request to beryllium understood. We request to survey arsenic well, due to the fact that we person to substantiate our constituent of view. Changes person happened erstwhile we person understood changes,” she said.
Giving examples from India’s past history, she said the state request not look astatine Europe to find absorption successful the feminist movement. “Women person ne'er accepted the conditions [of oppression]. From 6 BCE, women person been questioning patriarchy. We person ne'er near the captious gaze. The women’s studies question is based connected it. The 3rd oculus of the feminist question has to beryllium the cardinal oculus for a much humane society. Society shouldn’t beryllium broken. We volition combat for a antiauthoritarian society. Don’t halt america oregon archer america what to write. Come, statement with us,” Ms. Chakravarti said.
