ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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The Nandy Conundrum

This is a response to K V Cybil's controversial poser (EPW, 12 October 2013) in the context of Ashis Nandy's comments on dalits at the 2013 Jaipur literary fest. Can Nandy's own writings on humiliation help us reflect on this controversy and what do the social scientists and the teaching community have to learn from this about the practice of social science in India?

K V Cybil’s recent discussion, “A Dalit Reason for Character: Inheritance and Re-emergence” (EPW, 12 October 2013), has yet again provoked us to revisit Ashis Nandy’s remarks passed at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2013. Of particular interest to us was the following question with which Cybil begins his discussion:

Nandy’s renown as an intellectual cannot be seen as separate from his thoughts expressed through his works, which are taught in many universities at different levels. So, can it be that his statements at the literary fest be also used as teaching material now?

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