Arundhati Roy to speak on 'Waqt ki Aahat'
New Delhi: In what may mark writer-activist Arundhati Roys return to controversies, the Booker-winning novelist is scheduled to address a gathering here on the topic "Waqt ki Aahat".
Roy, who rose to global fame as the new deity of prose in 1997 after bagging the most prestigious literary honour 'The Booker Prize' for her debut novel will be in conversation with Alok Rai (Professor of literature at the Department of English, Delhi University) on Wednesday.
Speaking to IANS ahead of the event, Roy criticised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA dispensation on a range of issues, contending that "I don't think the country has ever been in a situation like this". She said that "there's an ideological preparation to change the constitution" and anticipated that the ruling regime will do "everything they can to re-polarise".
"What I truly fear is that there is a sense this year that the tide is changing and there is a panic among the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, so they will do everything they can to re-polarise.
Although vocal in her criticism of the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS, Roy has, of late, maintained a low-profile and stayed away from controversies.
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Azim Premji Foundation to help up to 2.5 lakh girls across 18 states pursue higher education
Bengaluru, May 15 (PTI): Azim Premji Foundation announced Azim Premji Scholarship on Thursday to support girls pursuing higher education after school.
Speaking to PTI, Anurag Behar, Chief Executive Officer, Azim Premji Foundation, said they have decided on 18 states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
"These states were chosen because we have more partners and more ground presence in these states. Our intention is to expand it to the whole country by next academic year or the year after at most," said Behar.
According to him, they have really simple eligibility criteria. "Girls who have done their class 10 and 12 schooling in government schools with admission in a bona-fide higher education institution in a degree or diploma programme," added Behar.
Selected students will receive Rs 30,000 per year, payable in two instalments.
"After the completion of the year, and once it is verified that they are continuing their education, the next cycle will begin. This will continue until they complete their course," said Behar.
Behar said they are likely to sponsor nearly 2.5 lakh students.
"We did a pilot round in the academic year 2024-25, containing ourselves to Madhya Pradesh, and certain districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. We received nearly 1.10 lakh applications. Out of which only 25,000 were eligible," he added.
The Foundation, said Behar, is making a significant commitment to support girls to pursue higher education.
"This will help them gain greater control over their life's trajectory," he added.
The application process for the 2025-26 cycle will start in September 2025.
