"Elephant, empire & ecology in ancient India" a talk by Prof. Raman Sukumar at Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 1st May 2013

Time : 3:00 pm

Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)

Place : Seminar Room, First Floor, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi
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Event Description : The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to a Public Lecture in the ‘Science, society and nature’ series on 'Elephant, empire and ecology in ancient India' by Prof. Raman Sukumar, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Abstract : The elephant rose from the status of a supreme animal, Gajatame, in early Buddhist India to that of a supreme god, Ganesha, in Hindu India by about the 4th or 5th century. In spite of a rather turbulent relationship with people through history, the elephant has also been widely revered across the cultures of south and southeast Asia. This talk traces the unique elephant-human relationship from the ancient Harappan civilization when it is believed to have been first tamed, through the use of elephants in the armies of major kingdoms and empires, to its rise to supreme godhead in the medieval Hindu period. It also discusses the role of the elephant in the rise, sustenance and eventual decline of the Mughal and the British empires. It concludes by providing sociopolitical and ecological interpretations as to why the largest land mammal was accorded sacred status in Asia, though not in Africa.

Speaker : Prof. Raman Sukumar is Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

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