The occasion marked a victory of sorts for the readers and contributors to the Loksatta Dnyanasanskriti Nidhi, a fund raised by The Indian Express Group’s Marathi publication Loksatta. A cheque of Rs 7.5 lakh was donated for re-building the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI).
Barely a day after the attack on BORI on January 5, a fund-raising was spontaneously organised by Loksatta to assist the rebuilding of the institute.
At an informal gathering at the institute here today, The Indian Express CEO and Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta and Loksatta editor Kumar Ketkar, handed over the cheque to the institute’s secretary Dr Saroja Bhate. The donations came from all over Maharashtra.
Several dignitaries from the city, including playwright Satish Alekar, Symbiosis Institute founder Dr S.B. Mujumdar, theatre personality Mohan Agashe, social activist Mohan Dharia, Indologist Shobhana Gokhale, legal luminary Satyaranjan Sathe and former Pune University V-C V.G. Bhide were also present.
Addressing the gathering, Gupta said: ‘‘It’s remarkable that in a urban scenario, where people rarely relate to the community, here, the people who had a lot to lose professionally and physically, stood up and fought this vandalism.’’
Ketkar recalled the threats made to Loksatta for supporting BORI’s cause. ‘‘We hope this fund assists in the task of rebuilding the institute to make it more glorious,’’ he said.