Saturday, December 28, 2024

Sahitya Academy cancels seminar after netizens outrage over invitation to Devdutt Pattnaik, known for abusive online behaviour

On Friday (15th November), Sahitya Akademi (an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Culture) cancelled a seminar after social media users expressed outrage over the invitation extended to Devdutt Pattanaik.

“Due to unavoidable circumstances, the two-day Seminar on “Indian Mythology: Memory, Retellings & Translations” to be held in New Delhi on 25-26 November 2024 stands postponed,” informed Sahitya Akademi in a tweet.

It further added, “The Sahitya Akademi will announce the new dates for the Seminar which will be held at a later date.”

Devdutt Pattanaik was invited to give the inaugural address to a seminar titled ‘Indian Mythology: Memory, Retellings and Translations’ on 25th November 2024.

The event was cancelled after netizens exposed how the alleged ‘mythologist’ abused women in multiple tweets using dehumanising language.