Sahitya Akademi ‘postpones’ seminar after drawing ire for inviting ‘mythologists’ Devdutt Pattanaik, Namita Gokhale

A proposed seminar on ‘Indian Mythology,’ planned by the Sahitya Akademi for November 25-26, has been “postponed”. The decision followed public outrage over the invitation of controversial speakers Devdutt Pattanaik and Namita Gokhale who are notorious for their unhinged anti-Hindu propaganda. Notably, the Sahitya Akademi is an autonomous body that falls under the Ministry of Culture. The proposed seminar was planned at Sahitya Akademi Auditorium on Indian Mythology but today (15th November), the organisation said that the event has been postponed adding that new dates will be announced at a later date.   

Taking to X, Sahitya Akademi informed the public about the cancellation of the said seminar. The tweet read, “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*.”

After the announcement of the seminar featuring Devdutt Pattanaik and Namita Gokhale, netizens started outrage over Devdutt and Namita being provided a space in the seminar given their vile comments and anti-Brahmin rhetoric. 

Author Shefali Vaidya registered her outrage through a tweet in which she wrote, “Sick and tired of a govt funded body like Sahitya Akademi and Ministry of Culture inviting Hindu hating jokers like Namita Gokhale and Devdutt Pattanaik for their events even after TEN whole years of Narendra Modi govt being in power! How long do we have to hear ‘change happens slowly?’ Do they NOT see people like Ashwin Sanghi, Amish Tripathi, Ami Ganatra, Arun Krishnan and a whole lot of others who write on these topics? Such a shame!”

Protesting the Academy’s move to invite Patnaik, Hindu rights activist Vijay Gajera wrote, “Hello, @MinOfCultureGoI, can you please tell us whose idea is to invite Hindu hater fake historian Devdutt Pattanaik? How many years do we need to remove morons from ministry who invite such garbage people?”

Journalist Dibakardutta questioned the invite saying, “How can someone with views like this be invited by @sahityaakademi, @MinOfCultureGoI to give an inaugural address on ‘Indian mythology’? Does the govt undertake any basic background checks before handing out invites to people like Devdutt Pattanaik? This is beyond disgusting.”

He had also flagged Patnaik’s vile remarks which have resurfaced on social media in the backdrop of the invitation to the proposed seminar.

Social media has been flooded with Devdutt Pattanaik’s old tweets where he resorted to using vile and filthiest language to demean women.

From trying to distort the history of Sanatan Dharma to spreading hatred against Brahmins, the controversial mythologist has been at the receiving end of criticism for his deranged take on Indian history, culture, and Sanatan Dharma. On many occasions, imminent personalities like Sanjeev Sanyal among others have busted his canards on air. He also has been repeatedly called out for intellectual dishonesty and his claims regarding Indian History.