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UID:13560-dccc14f94892804f5d6e33270a86adc6@events.la.psu.edu
DTSTAMP:20260515T095246Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230914T153000
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SUMMARY:“#GandhiMustFall: The Dilemmas of Being Turned into Statue” with Sumathi
Ramaswamy
DESCRIPTION:\n“#GandhiMustFall: The Dilemmas of Being Turned into Statue
”\n\nUsing a material culture approach\, I reflect on the overwhelming p
enchant for the creation of statues of Gandhi\, the most among India’s p
olitical leaders to be so “honored” both at home and overseas\, where ma
ny a statue has been installed as the official government gift. It is wo
rth reflecting on this phenomenon at a time when across the world\, beca
use of varying projects for critically reckoning with difficult inherite
d pasts\, statues of (big) men are being defaced\, destroyed\, or displa
ced as the heroic stories they emblematize dissolve. How might Gandhi re
spond to such acts\, especially since his statue is increasingly vulnera
ble as well? On the one hand\, given his status as the putative father o
f the Indian nation\, Gandhi’s image is ubiquitous to the point of being
banal. On the other\, rival father-figures have frequently threatened h
is hold on the Indian imagination\, including and especially the Dalit s
ocial justice leader B. R. Ambedkar whose statues as well offer a critic
al counterpoint for action and reflection to Gandhi’s. Caught between th
e politics of devotion and the ethics of dissent\, the Gandhi statue epi
tomizes in our time the challenge of being and belonging in a complex mu
lti-layered nation such as India that this presentation seeks to explore
.\n\nFor more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/south-asian-speak
er-series-sumathi-ramaswamy/
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“#Gandh
iMustFall: The Dilemmas of Being Turned into Statue”
Using a material culture approach, I reflect on the overwhe
lming penchant for the creation of statues of Gandhi, the most among Ind
ia’s political leaders to be so “honored” both at home and overseas, whe
re many a statue has been installed as the official government gift. It
is worth reflecting on this phenomenon at a time when across the world,
because of varying projects for critically reckoning with difficult inhe
rited pasts, statues of (big) men are being defaced, destroyed, or displ
aced as the heroic stories they emblematize dissolve. How might Gandhi r
espond to such acts, especially since his statue is increasingly vulnera
ble as well? On the one hand, given his status as the putative father of
the Indian nation, Gandhi’s image is ubiquitous to the point of being b
anal. On the other, rival father-figures have frequently threatened his
hold on the Indian imagination, including and especially the Dalit socia
l justice leader B. R. Ambedkar whose statues as well offer a critical c
ounterpoint for action and reflection to Gandhi’s. Caught between the po
litics of devotion and the ethics of dissent, the Gandhi statue epitomiz
es in our time the challenge of being and belonging in a complex multi-l
ayered nation such as India that this presentation seeks to explore.
For more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/sou
th-asian-speaker-series-sumathi-ramaswamy/
LOCATION:102 Weaver Building
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