Indian writer Ashok Vajpeyi to speak at UTM

Ashok Vajpeyi, the celebrated Indian writer currently embroiled in a political controversy in his homeland, will give a lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, at 6 p.m. in room 120 of the Instructional Centre, located at 3359 Mississauga Road. His talk, “Shattering the Silence: India’s Authors Protest Recent Murders”, will discuss what motivated him and others to take a stand against recent violence against several Indian activists.

A poet, essayist and literary-cultural critic, Vajpeyi was chairman of India's National Academy of Arts from 2008 to 2011. He has published over 23 books of poetry, criticism and art, and was awarded the 1994 Sahitya Akademi Award given by India's National Academy of Letters, for his poetry collection, Kahin Nahin Wahin. Earlier this month, Vajpeyi created a storm of controversy when he returned the award to support "the right to dissent" and to protest the recent murders of writers and what he called the Indian prime minister’s silence on these deaths.

Vajpeyi has served as the Indian Secretary of Culture and as vice-chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University. His work has been translated into many Indian languages, as well as English, French and Polish.

WHAT:            Lecture by Ashok Vajpeyi

WHEN:           Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, 6 p.m.

WHERE:         Room 120, Instructional Centre, 3359 Mississauga Road

*Visitors are encouraged to park in lot 9.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Nicolle Wahl
U of T Mississauga Communications
905-569-4656
nicolle.wahl@utoronto.ca