(Updated below)
Mangalore Univerisity Hindi Teachers belatedly realized they didn’t want to teach Samskara.
My response to that at Churumuri. Here is the money quote:
So if we are not debating with URA on his suggestion on how we can go beyond a hierarchical caste system (that only sexual contact can break caste taboos), then I don’t know what else are we going to discuss in our classrooms with our youngsters.
If Mangalore University’s Hindi teachers aren’t raising these questions in their classrooms, if all they find in Samskara are these references to or descriptions of sexual encounters, and if their worry is merely how to teach such episodes, then I think they should find another line of work.
The issues that Samskara raises are some of the great questions of our time and regardless of our opinion, we must raise them and hold vigorous discussions in our classroom. I don’t care if a professor were to defend the caste system or say URA is wrong in his description of Brahmin women or Madhva community. That is perfectly reasonable. But what is unacceptable is the refusal to discuss these issues with 19- or 20-year-old young men and women in a language and literature class. That would be a disservice to the students, as well as a great under-estimation of their maturity and capabilities.
Update: ಕನ್ನಡಪ್ರಭದ ಈ ಲೇಖನ ಗಮನಿಸಿ. ನನ್ನ ವಾದದ ಹಲವು ಅಂಶಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲೂ ಕಾಣುತ್ತವೆ.
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