The Algebra of Arundhati’s Injudiciousness

#138 Samina, I am not avading your point. two main points you have made so for are:

1. it is upto AR whatever she does about the award.

- frankly I agree with that in principle.
my only issue is she should be consistent in dealing with other institutions, people and monies in respect to the reason given for this refusal (I am against govt policies so I refuse etc..)
If she had said something like: figure A has ``decided`` this award and I am dead against his policies so I refuse. We won`t be talking about it.

2. You have automatically assumed and accusing Akademi to be a front of repressive Indian Govt. hence her refusal justified.

- this point has been amply refuted by many members on this board.

In fact by bringing the irrelavent examples of Bush and Sharon Olds, you are the one who are evading the central point raised to you by me that, is it really valid or possible for one to dissociate oneself from all public institutions of a country if one disagrees with a Government A or Administration B?

It is clear instead of answering that or acting on that you will come back with another patronizing post.

as for rancor created by Roy`s decision, I earlier searched media for article items against it (not news items about it) and google came up with only a few. so what rancor? other than in this small pocket of chowk.:-)

#144 please also add one more dimension (I hate this word) to that statement: she should have said ``no`` at the very outset. Generally, they are notified about this before the announcement goes out to the public. At that stage she could have said a no I am not interested. So she must surely said yes I will acept it. I wonder what made her change her mind in the matter of a few days?

BTW #141 (T)

Sadna,

I`m sorry, but we must choose to disagree in this case. Thanks for the illuminating discussion!

Saminasha
Thanks to you too. btw, you had asked (rhetorically though) about the books Sahitya Akademi has published. A list is available here(click on relevant language to see the list).

http://www.sahitya-akademi.org/sahitya-akademi/bklst00.htm

The Akademi does a lot of translating too so for example if you want to read an Assamese play in Kannada, the Akademi list of publications is your best bet to look for it.

Sadna,

Will do. thanks again.

Sadna,

FYI:

Corporate Power in the Ivory Tower
McMaster Campus Choice Conference 2006

Dear student, organization, or activist group

A quick glance at any university campus and one can see the
ever-increasing presence of large corporations (for instance the
Coca-Cola Exercise Physiology Lab at the University of Western Ontario).
These companies provide services on campus, fund academic and athletic
programs, and have chairs on the various governors` boards. However,
questions have been raised about our universities` growing dependence
upon corporate dollars and willingness to adopt corporate values. More
and more schools are signing exclusive contracts with multinationals
that are implicated in human, worker and environmental rights violations
around the globe, and limiting their student`s ability to choose on campus.

On Monday February 13th 2006, McMaster Campus Choice is holding the
``Corporate Power in the Ivory Tower`` conference 2006 aimed at addressing
the growing negative corporate climate in universities, most
specifically through an examination of the exclusivity contracts various
multinationals have secured with universities in the Canadian context
and beyond. The conference will address the problems that such a
monopoly on campus creates (in terms of a violation of democratic
principals both locally and globally) and explore various means of
resistance (by, for example, raising awareness of corporate malfeasance
and making stricter labour policies and standards for those companies
wishing to do business with our schools).

From this, we hope to create a sustainable inter-university consortium
by networking with students at other universities, as well as labour
unions, community activists, secondary school boards, and non-profit
organizations. We believe no corporation on campus should be exempt from
rules honouring the preservation of environment, or policies respecting
human and worker rights. We hope this conference will bring this issue
to the fore, as well as cultivate viable and ethical solutions.

Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Kenneth Saltman, a visiting professor to
McMaster from De Paul University in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Saltman will
be teaching a graduate seminar on ``Global Corporate Schooling.`` Saltman
published a book titled ``Collateral Damage: Corporatizing Public
Schools—A Threat to Democracy,`` and has spoken alongside exiled
Colombian Sinaltrainal union members in the United States. Later in the
afternoon there will be a panel of speakers who will discuss the various
issues surrounding the presence of corporations in the university
environment, using Coca-Cola Ltd. and its exclusive contracts with many
universities as a case study.

#150 by Saminasha on January 25, 2006 3:07pm PT


However,
questions have been raised about our universities` growing dependence
upon corporate dollars


Lehman college can set an example by rejecting the corporate $$...including tax $$ paid by corporations and people working for corporations..

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#152 by Saminasha on January 25, 2006 4:45pm PT


ever gain the courage to id yourselves?


It takes greater courage to get off taxpayer dole and get the real job..like the rest of us..

I doubt that given her own iconoclastic history, Vrinda Nabar ever imagined that Arundhati would think she(Roy) was making a stand by rejecting an award she (Nabar)had a hand in awarding.
Farzana, I agree with you that these are double standards,but I am surprised that you are surprised. Arundhati has a right to her double stanbdards, like everyone else.

Oppose them on every forum, put blocks in the way of their every move, reject all their appeasement tactics. Way to go Arundhati, you did the right thing.

thank you Farzana, Arjun, Sadna, HP, Missy Sammy, Queenie, and others for your input. It was enlightening to say the least. I was merely asking for the explication of the title of the book. Somehow, this has not been explained clearly by the author herself anywhere (and I have attended many of her talks seminars etc on this subject and she has evaded answering questions on this.

Thanks to all of you once again. Thanks to the sarcy turds who replied and spoilt the discussion (this includes Queenie and IM and up to a point Missy Sammy). I do not know what is going on between Missy and the other nics around here, but boy everytime she replies to QCP (queer chauvinistic pig - whose that for a variation of the nic) that guys goes OTT.

Back to the topic - Farzana, my query as an extension to the previous one is an obvious one (I guess that is why you deemed it necessary to respond). Much as I agree with the content of the article, I unable to understand the meaning of the title. Once again, I understand the dig vis-a-vis the AR book. Going by Sadna`s response (and using her explication as a basis here), the relationships, the causality etc are not clear. The usual nick & tuck and snipe & bite are missing.

Thanks for your time.

nb #154
Do tell us about Vrinda Nabar`s iconoclastic history :)

Saminsha #150
Thanks!

Arjun,

I beg your pardon? Can you explain how teaching has become the equivalent of a ``dole funded by taxpayers?``

Tread carefully on this one, because I am losing my patience with interactors like you.

If she did not do all this then how would she remain in the limelight. Look, even you have written an article with a headline with her name in it.

Being humble and accepting acclaim is not newsworthy. Being a contra is fasinating even if for all the wrong reasons