Whose Ashoka
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Later Buddhist legends of Ashoka,or later rulers who sought to draw parallels between themselves and Whose Ashoka;» him, or still others whose discourses sought to silence Which Ashoka;» the Ashokan moment, all offer a complex and folded genealogy of the workings of social,memory. As the TALK: Ashoka and the Making of Modern India conference unfolded, many other contributors. even Collaboration: University of Texas, Austin; those specifically striving .after the historical Asoka, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Indian stressed the need to understand these diverse moments Council for Historical Research; and American of prior historicism and their politics, rather than Institute of Indian Studies, August 5, 6 & 7 succumbing to any easy positivism and endorsing such purposively constructed narratives of the Ashokan Ove: three long and intense days, the lIe was host moment in Indian history. The discussions on Nehru's to an international conference that saw rigorous own self-identification with Ashoka, and even the and concerted re-examination of what we know of book launch of Gurcharan Das's book on 'dharma' the ,Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Attended by noted were particularly fruitful in this regard, bringing historians, Buddhist studies scholars, art historians home how such processes of recalling the past are and archaeologists, the conference ran three parallel ineluctably based in the present and its politics. public lectures and an exhibition which underscored Professor Sallowman's public lecture was a lucid the key themes of the survey of the conceptual conference. In various ways, and definitional issues in and from an extremely wide ASHOKA studying the origins of writing range of perspectives, all the AND systems in ancient south Asia, participants strove to highlight THE MAKING OF which came into startling and discriminate between wh~t MODERN INDIA visibility with the Ashokan we do know and can possibly edicts. While his address know about the historical focused on the possible , Ashoka, as differentiated from dimensions of the historical the various avatars of Ashoka, importance of the period coming down to us from of Asokan rule .itself, other different times and places,' born from Ashoka being participants consistently remembered and appropriated. stressed the need to place the period back within the Professor Romila Thapar's longer trajectories of early brilliant inaugural address Indian history, much of highlighted how after Ashoka's which is being revisited and own time, his ideas and rewritten from archaeological memories have a long and perspectives. varied history of being narrated and reinscribed in specific ways. The Ashokan Pillar • MUDIT TRIVEDI Among the others who paid tribute to Khan Sahib's memory were Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar, Ustad Asad Ali Khan, Pandit Debu Chaudhury, Shanno Khurana and Birju Maharaj. A short interview with Ali Akbar Khan made for Doordarshan, and video clips from concerts sponsored by Sangeet Kala Vihar . were also a part of the programme. Heartfelt tributes were paid to Kamala Das who wrote prolifically both in Bnglish and in her mother tongue, Malayalam. Practically self-taught in her craft, her poetry and prose had a sensitivity and edginess that was uniquely her own. Kamala Das burst on to the Indo-Anglian literary scene almost 45 years ago with a collection of poems, Fulsome and deserved tributes were paid to Ustad Ali SuMMEr IN CalcuttA. At 42, she published her Akbar Khan, the greatest exponent of the sarod, and autobiography, which had as much fiction as fact. It indeed the finest instrumentalist in Hindustani music was a restless life, often painful, but not without its in the last hundred years. Vinay Bharat Ram, a pupil of creative rewards. Khan Sahib,his sister Annapoorna Debi and her former Rukmini Bhaya Nair remembered meeting Kamala husband, Pandit Ravi Shankar, paid a loving tribute to Das for the first time as an impressionable nineteen- his departed Guru who died on June 21 in the U.S. year-old. K. Satchidanandan, apart from reading out at the age of 87. Vinayji narrated several entertaining Das' poems like others before him also presented a anecdotes, including one about Ali Akbar's debut in paper on her OeuorE. Bombay in 1949 when he was given 45 minutes to prove his mettle before a discerning audience. He played for Suresh Kohli's documentary had an interesting interview with Kamala Das and perhaps helped exactly the allotted time and mesmerized the audience in understanding her better. Keki N. Daruwalla with the rendering of an unknown raga. When pressed conducted the proceedings with tact and elegance. by his followers for information repeatedly, he said the rAGAwas Cauri Mar!fari! • PARTHA CHATTERJEE Ustad ALI Akbar KHAN, Photo Credit: AvinasH Pasricha KAMALA DAs - ." '". "',~ """~'-;' ';'.f", " ''''_' '''~V,'' "'-_"'~. ~ ~. 6.:". • r: . ' . Africa; 25 per cent of girls die before age 15; 30 per Delicit Childhood cent of children remain unschooled. Serious gaps persist in the legal framework with no law covering the DR. DURGABAI DESHMUKH MEMORIAL 0-6 age group. Thousands of children are trafficked LECTURE 2009: Deficit Children -Implications annually. The Child Labour Act merely prohibits for India's Democracy 57 processes and 16 occupations as hazardous for Speaker: Dr. Shantha Sinha children. Agricultural work, home factories and work Chair: Justice J.S. Varma rendered for the family fall outside legal purview. Collaboration: Council for Deficit investment in children leads to a deprivation Social Development, July 15 of education; they lack skills and self-esteem leading to a deficit childhood. It leads ultimately Invoking the Constitution's Directive Principles, to deficit citizenship, preventing the enjoyment of Shantha Sinha observed that after more than sixty democratic rights. years of independence, children's rights have yet What must be done to right these wrongs? State and to receive the whole-hearted commitment of the civil society must take a rights-based approach that State. Despite achievements in expanding education would lead to action with respect to all children. A and health care and a range of initiatives targeting compulsive optimist, Sinha believes that every right historically marginalized groups, current statistics attained sets new norms, provides opportunities show dismal outcomes. to bridge gaps, representing a step towards a more India has the highest proportion of undernourished inclusive and enlightened citizenship that can children: 46 per cent are underweight and 79 per cent radicalize India's democracy. are anaemic. The IMR is higher than sub-Saharan • PRODIPTO ROY date of the beginning of the Indus Civilization (in his opinion c. 2,700 B.C.) and through the unravelling of Subverting Historv points and counter-points related to the chronology Frontiers of History/Indian Archaeology of the civilization, its distribution and interaction LECTURE: Who Owns the Indian Past? zones, artistic traditions and rituals and also Harappan The Case of the Indus Civilization technology, reiterated how deeply embedded this Speaker: Professor Oilip K. Chaluabarti, civilization was in South Asia's past-a product of Emeritus Professor, Cambridge University indigenous developments and precursor of things Chair: Or. B.M. Pande,July 21 to come. Chakrabarti's own summing up of the provocatively thought-provoking talk says it all-that there is a Following an introduction to the series by B.M.Pande, consistent attempt at play these days to disassociate Dilip Chakrabarti sought to both assess and caution the Indus Civilization with later Indian history· and us on the making of the Indian past, especially in the that this is mostly the result of the operations of First context of the Indus Civilization. That the question World Archaeology in the Third World. Comparing 'Who Owns the Indian Past?' is not a rhetorical one and contrasting this with the situation on the ground, but inextricably linked to issues of identity and 'desired he emphasized that we should all be aware of this for, pasts', was established by marshalling evidence from in one way or the other, all of us are inheritors of the the writings of several scholars and by pegging the argument around vital and current debates that define Indus Civilization. Indus Civilization studies. Chakrabarti began with the • DEEKSHA BHARADWAJ holistic, juxtaposing the principles of yOGa, kinetics, acupuncture, aerobics and metabolism, among others. In all these, the correctness of the presentation with reference to aspects, such as ANGasuDDHAM and saushtHavAm, is an essential criterion. The sense of position and motion as components of kinesthetics; The benefits accruing to the body and mind have to be properly developed. by the practice of the movement and While Kanaka explained the findings of the techniques of Bharatanatyam, was research with reference to each component in subject of this interesting lecture- the format of the art form in a graded sequence demonstration. A trained dancer and as generally in vogue, her students in different qualified teacher, Kanaka has been age-groups gave appropriate demonstration. doing research on the therapeutic value The presentation thus highlighted the inherent of the art form. The techniques, based mainly merits in our traditional knowledge system on Bharata's 'Natya Sastra, are contained in where concepts reflect the wisdom and the different codifications. According to an intuition of our ancient seers. Learning important guiding principle, vision (drisHti)