Kolkata: Literary theorist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has praised Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her efforts to reduce poverty and reaffirmed her commitment to India’s future.
She extended full support to Banerjee’s “secular approach” in the current context. In a letter to Banerjee on Wednesday, Spivak expressed her gratitude to the Chief Minister for her congratulatory message on receiving the prestigious
Holberg Prize. “I am writing to thank you for your recent tweet/X post about me where you most kindly mention the award offered to me by the University of Bergen and the Government of Norway. I was particularly touched by your reference to my long-standing activities in rural West Bengal because I am most appreciative of your own efforts to alleviate poverty. Indeed, I have been obsessed with my commitment to democratic education of the very poor in various backward districts of Bengal for the last forty years.
I spend a good deal of time with them and try to learn how to interact with cognitive damage of lang-standing,” Spivak’s letter read. On March 17, Banerjee took to social media to hail Spivak’s achievements.
The Columbia University professor expressed her hope that Banerjee will keep a kind eye on the efforts to expand the horizons of intellectual labor in ‘beloved’ Bengal. “I am glad that you mentioned our project of a bilingual edition of 1,000 years of Bengali writings. Some of the best writers of the world are translating the Bengali classics for the global audience of these texts. We have received funds from South Asian artists, from a fund-raising dinner and from various public-spirited donors. Your approval will undoubtedly be of great help to us in our fund-raising,” the letter read.
When asked about Spivak’s letter, Banerjee said that she is humbled on receipt of the letter. “She ( Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak ) is doing very good things and we are proud of her. She has mentioned in her letter my work for the weaker sections and I liked that very much. We have to work for the under privileged class and the weaker sections. All the people are loved by us,” she maintained.