A Note of Appreciation and Gratefulness
Dear Life Members, Executive Members and participants of XVI Annual Conference,
The extraordinary circumstances in which XVI Annual Conference of Rajasthan Association for Studies in English was held has prompted me to write this note of appreciation for the organizing team at Smt. Madi Bai Mirdha Government Girls’College, Nagaur and the colleagues at M.S.Mirdha Government PG College, Nagaur who made enormous efforts to make the conference a great success. I wish to place on record my special appreciation for Dr. Devendra Rankawat and Mr. Shashikant Acharya who worked day and night to make the conference successful. I am also thankful to our guests Prof.Naresh Dadhich, former Vice Chancellor of Vardhman Mahaveer Open University, Kota, Sh.Narayan Bareth, former Correspondent BBC, Magsaysay Award winning activist and author Ms.Aruna Roy, Dr.Anant Bhatnagar, state secretary PUCL and well known litterateur who had agreed to grace the conference but were requested to cancel their visit due to the refusal of the district collector of Nagaur to conduct the conference.
As is known to all of you the honourable Supreme Court of India gave the decision on the Ayodhya Issue and the state government imposed section 144 of the IPC in several districts of Rajasthan including Nagaur much before the decision came. The commissioner of department of College Education ordered the closure of all colleges of Rajasthan in a decision taken late night of 8th Nov. 2019. This information reached the organizing team in the morning of 9th Nov. 2019. The Principal of Smt. Madi Bai Mirdha Government Girls’College, Nagaur, in compliance of the order of the state government, ordered the organizing team to vacate the College by 10.00am when the inaugural function was scheduled to begin.
In this situation, in consultation with the President of RASE Prof. Rajul Bhargava and Vice President Prof. Sudhi Rajiv, it was decided to abide by the orders of the state government. Since more than fifty delegates had arrived the venue was shifted to Pitti Dharmshala, where some of the delegates were staying. Dr.Aidan Singh Bhati, Sahitya Academi award winner poet , Prof. Suman bala, Delhi University and Dr. Sanjay Kumar Singh, O.P.Jindal University, Raigad, Chhattisgarh had arrived. All the delegates and guests gathered in an open space in the Dharmashala and an informal session ensued with the felicitation of Dr. Aidan Singh Bhati who was offered a citation by Prof. Sumanbala, Dr. Sanjay Kumar Singh and Prof. H.S.Chandalia, Vice President of RASE. Prof. Mukta Sharma, treasurer of the Association read the citation.
This was followed by Dr.Aidan Singh Bhati’s acceptance speech and recitation of poems in Rajasthani and Hindi. He said that poetry is a universal language which is like a bridge which connects people and cultures. It is an expression of emotions and feelings of the masses. Poetry is often a voice of dissent and questions the undemocratic actions of the establishment. Dr. Sanjay Kumar Singh also recited his poem and shared his thoughts on the subject “Understanding Learning Pattern of Generation Z Students to Promote a Conducive Learning Environment and the Challenges of Teaching”. Prof. Mukta Sharma and Dr. K.S.Kang also shared their thoughts on the theme of the conference. Prof. H.S.Chandalia, Vice President of RASE also recited a number of Poems. He said that the theme of the conference “Widening Canvas and Shrinking Spaces” was actually experienced by the participants as the very basic right to organize a conference was snatched away by the state by a blanket order. In order to safeguard the safety and security of the organizing team and participants it was decided that the research papers will be deemed to have been presented and the conference deemed to have taken place as the law and order situation forced us to remain away from the venue of the conference. It was also decided that the selected research papers will be published in the forthcoming journal of the Association which will be released in the XVII Annual Conference.
As an afterthought several ideas came to our minds and to the minds of our colleagues. It was later thought that we could have continued in the Dharmshala, the presentation of the papers the next day also. But the truth is that the administration was conscious of the presence of delegates in the Dharmashala and had tried to interrupt in the proceeding session. In such a situation it was not wise to continue. I am thankful to all the delegates and the students’ team from Central University of Rajasthan who unconditionally followed our instructions and peacefully concluded the conference.
Rajasthan Association for Studies in English is committed to the cause of academics and preservation of the constitutional values of democracy, secularism, socialism, freedom of thought and expression and respecting critical opinion. It is an independent forum of research in English Studies and shall remain so. We have a website www.raseindia.com on which all the previous journals have been uploaded. The audited balance sheet of the Association is here that shows liabilities and assets worth Rs 2,44,4626. The amount in the saving banks account of the Association with Allahbad is Rs 1,51,480. I request all the scholars and teachers who are not yet members to join the Association.
Dr.H.S.Chandalia
Vice President, RASE