Knox 207
Dara Shikoh Fellowship
Institute for Comparative Literature and Society
The Organization of Pakistani Students
The South Asia Institute
Who was Dara Shikoh and why do we care about him? Why is his legacy quickly becoming the most contested Mughal legacy in South Asia? Yale University’s Supriya Gandhi will discuss all this and more over the course of her talk at Knox 207 on Friday, September 29 at 5 PM.
Dara, the eldest son and heir apparent of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, was killed by Aurangzeb in a bloody war of succession. He remains alive in popular memory, however, as a patron of art and a strong proponent of inter-religious harmony – with several commissioned translations of the Upanishads into Persian to his credit.
The talk will explore what it means to think of Dara and his contributions to religious pluralism today, especially in the context of his appropriation by the Hindu right wing in India as an example of a “Good Muslim”. In addition, it will feature bits from Supriya Gandhi’s upcoming biography and short clips from her collaboration with Delhi-based dastaangoi artiste Ankit Chadha.
Gandhi is a lecturer at Yale whose research examines the interface of Islam and Indic religions in South Asia. She has studied in India, Iran and Syria before earning her doctorate. Her forthcoming project explores the role of the Persianate cultural and intellectual ecumene in the making of modern Hinduism. Her talk is supported by the Dara Shikoh Fellowship, the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, the Organization of Pakistani Student, and the South Asia Institute.
